VALDOSTA — Katie Lynn Ward of Valdosta is the recipient of the Fall 2023 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services at Valdosta State University.
The President’s Award for Academic Excellence is presented to a high-performing graduating student in each of VSU’s six colleges — Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of the Arts, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Science and Mathematics, and James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services.
Ward will be recognized during VSU’s 236th Commencement at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, on the Main Campus Front Lawn. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Education in Elementary Education.
“I started my VSU experience knowing I wanted to be an elementary educator, and I stayed the course,” she shared. “From the beginning, I got involved in the Wesley Foundation and a Christian community that has helped to ground me with the right priorities throughout my VSU experience. I give God the glory for this culminating honor.
“Being that I didn’t get to have a full high school graduation due to COVID-19, I am full of gratitude to receive this award and be able to represent my college in this way.”
As a student at VSU, Ward was an active member of the Wesley Foundation, where she served on the Connect and Media Team, and The Porch Community Church, where she served as a small group leader for high school girls and participated in college ministry and discipleship groups. She worked as a tutor at the on-campus Ruby R. Sullivan Literacy Center and as a student teacher at W.G. Nunn Elementary School.
Ward volunteered with Vacation Bible School events, elementary school festivals, and South Georgia Chrysalis retreats. She enjoyed serving in children’s ministry and having an impact on the world through mission trips.
Ward’s commitment to academic and service excellence resulted in her earning repeated Dean’s List recognitions, the Gerald Patrella Award for Outstanding Student Achievement in Mathematics Education, the VSU Alumni Association Endowment Fund Scholarship, and the Dorothy Dewar Service Scholarship.
After graduation, Ward plans to continue her education at VSU and pursue a Master of Education in Elementary Education. She has also accepted a job at Sallas Mahone Elementary School in Valdosta, where she said, “I was once a student myself.”
“I am ready and excited to be a teacher giving back in my community,” she added. “One day, with more experience under my belt, I hope to become an academic coach or maybe an administrator.”
Her supportive family includes mother April Ward, father Max Ward, brother Stewart Ward, sister Allie Ward, and sister-in-law Tenley Ward. Her parents, brother, and sister-in-law are all VSU alumni.