Class acts

Published 8:15 am Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Ohio University College of Arts and Sciences student Belinda Ayala, of Dalton, has been named to the Ohio University spring 2025 Dean’s List. The Dean’s List recognizes undergraduate students who complete a particular semester with a grade point average (GPA) between 3.5 and 3.999 with a minimum of 12 credit hours attempted for letter grades that are used to calculate the GPA. In the spring semester 2025, approximately 6,700 Ohio University undergraduate students qualified for the Dean’s List.

Henry Burgess, of Rocky Face, is one of Northwest Mississippi Community College’s graduates. These graduates were awarded degrees and certificates for the spring 2025 semester by Northwest President Dr. Michael Heindl on May 8 and 9 during the college’s 118th Commencement.

Leigha Silvers, of Dalton, made the spring 2025 Academic Achievement List at Georgia Southwestern State University and was among 885 students recognized for scholastic achievement. To be eligible for the Academic Achievement List, a student must previously earn at least 12 credit hours at GSW, be enrolled in three to 11 hours of courses and earn a 3.5 or higher GPA.

Lanie Cronan, of Cohutta, made the spring 2025 Dean’s List at Georgia Southwestern State University and was among 885 students recognized for scholastic achievement. To be eligible for the Dean’s List, a student must earn a semester GPA of 3.5 or better and take a minimum of 12 credit hours.

Hannah Holden, of Chatsworth, and David Rivas, of Dalton, were named to the Midway University Dean’s List for the 2025 spring semester. To be named to the list, a student must be classified full time and obtain a 3.60 grade point average for the semester.

Allyson Craig, of Tunnel Hill, graduated from the University of West Alabama during spring commencement exercises held in May on campus in Livingston. Craig was awarded a master of science in conservation biology from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The spring 2025 graduating class at UWA includes nearly 600 students representing some 19 states from across the U.S. and abroad.

Sydmil Harris, of Dalton, has been named to the spring 2025 Dean’s Honor Roll. Harris is a senior majoring in communication disorders. Harris is among more than 1,500 students named to the spring 2025 Dean’s Honor Roll. To qualify, students must be registered for 12 or more credit hours and earn a GPA of 3.6 or higher.

Samuel Minter, of Dalton, Brooke New and Harmony Hammontree, of Cohutta, and Jace Sanford, Alexander Sosebee, David Osborne, Leah Minter and Laura Minter, of Chatsworth, earned Lee University Dean’s List honors during the spring 2025 semester. Dean’s List recognition is earned by full-time, undergraduate students with a semester grade point average between 3.7 and 4.0.

Two Dalton students at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, were recognized for their successful academic work at the close of the 2024-25 academic year.

Ash Day, a junior from Dalton, has been named to the Dean’s List for the spring 2025 semester at Maryville College, and Kiersten Maynard, of Dalton, graduated during the college’s May 3 commencement ceremony with a bachelor of arts in finance/accounting. Consideration for the Dean’s List is open to full-time students who have a grade point average of at least 3.6 in all work undertaken, no grade below a “C” and no incompletes for the semester.

In a ceremony held May 13 by the University of North Georgia, Dharian Antonio, of Dalton, commissioned into the Army National Guard as quartermaster. At the ceremony, about 50 graduating cadets were awarded commissions as second lieutenants. The University of North Georgia is a University System of Georgia leadership institution and is the military college of Georgia. With more than 19,000 students, the University of North Georgia is one of the state’s largest public universities.

Jesus Reyes Rodriguez, of Dalton, was recently elected to membership into the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest all-discipline collegiate honor society, at Kennesaw State University. Rodriguez is among approximately 20,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10% of seniors and 7.5% of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10% of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction. Phi Kappa Phi was founded in 1897 under the leadership of undergraduate student Marcus L. Urann who had a desire to create a different kind of honor society: one that recognized excellence in all academic disciplines. Today, the society has chapters on more than 300 campuses in the United States and its territories. Its mission is to “cultivate a community that celebrates and advances the love of learning.”

Jack Wells, of Dalton, has been named to the Western Carolina University spring 2025 Chancellor’s List. Wells was among more than 2,900 students to achieve this honor. To qualify for the Chancellor’s List, students must earn a GPA of 3.8 or higher. Students named to the Chancellor’s List are also named to the Dean’s List.