Sunday, August 20, 2017

Nota Bene: Batten Honors College Matriculation Ceremony

Today we welcome to campus the first cohort of the Batten Honors College with a Matriculation Ceremony at the new Greer Environmental Sciences Center. The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. with a processional from the Honors Village (Village IV). Though the event was originally scheduled to take place on the front steps of the building, it will now be held indoors due to high temperatures and possible rain. An ice cream social will follow. If you are unable to attend, the event will be live streamed at: https://boxcast.tv/view/batten-honors-college-matriculation-ceremony-ubuogdei6mdibd3fzgeh

A new tradition at Virginia Wesleyan, the ceremony will include music, welcoming remarks, and the signing of a Batten Honors College Matriculation Book that will serve as a permanent record of each entering cohort of this program for exceptional students.

These impressive students have a collective grade point average of 4.03 on a 4.0 scale, an average SAT score of 1340, and an average ACT score of 29.

I am pleased to announce our first Batten Fellows and Shumadine Scholars:

Batten Fellows   
Audrey Bally             Tourrettes sur loup, France
Matthew Bavuso       Weems, Virginia
Marie Bazile              Norfolk, Virginia
Mia Bevilacqua         Sellersville, Pennsylvania
Allaina Boggs           Williamsburg, Virginia
Shannon Bradley      Keyport, New Jersey
Aleah Brinn               Belhaven, North Carolina
Jason Brugman        Spotsylvania, Virginia
McKayla Calapp       Herriman, Utah
Qi Chen                    Yinzhou District/Ningbo, China
Jenah Creecy           Virginia Beach, Virginia
Hunter Draut             New Bern, North Carolina
Mallory Langford       Highfields Qld, Australia
Alexander Leonard   Apex, North Carolina
Skylar Mao               Hua Yuan, China
Max Peters               Vienna, Virginia
Alex Powers              Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Asha Richards          Silver Spring, Maryland
Brianna Sandy          Chesapeake, Virginia
Jennifer Vega           Chesapeake, Virginia
Jenna Whitener        Clemmons, North Carolina
    
Shumadine Scholars   
Alexi Baumgardner   Emmitsburg, Maryland
Hope Burleson          Montpelier, Virginia
Tatiana Crawl            Bowie, Maryland
Molly Delmont           Glen Allen, Virginia
Robert Eley               South Prince George, Virginia
Rose Ernst                Fredericksburg, Virginia
Kitana Finley             Fredericksburg, Virginia
Tyler Jenkins             Portsmouth, Virginia
Miah Kurtz                Topton, Pennsylvania
Zachary Lubick          Gibsonia, Pennsylvania
Lindsey Lykins           Moyock, North Carolina
Zachary Masalski       Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Kayleen Meinen         Virginia Beach, Virginia
Quinton Nace             New Oxford, Pennsylvania
Sarah Ramsey           Roanoke, Virginia
Andrew Taylor             Swansboro, North Carolina
Hayden Thornbrugh   Chester, Virginia
Anthony Wilson          Lynchburg, Virginia
James Wyatt              St. Stephens Church, Virginia

The Batten Honors College is gratefully named for Virginia Wesleyan Trustee Emerita Jane P. Batten and her late husband, Frank Batten, Sr. For nearly 40 years, Mrs. Batten has made Virginia Wesleyan a priority in so many different ways, the latest of which is the development of the Batten Honors College. She has been a force for change, improvement, and empowerment, and she believes deeply that students of the highest academic ability will flourish through this innovative program. We are endlessly grateful for her passion for knowledge and her enduring support.

Please join me in welcoming this tremendous group of students to our campus. We look forward to walking beside them in this journey, and we wish them the very best in their academic pursuits.