John E. Sallstrom Honors College at Georgia College & State University

09/04/2026

On Wednesday, September 16 at 6:00 PM, GCSU Honors alumnus Cameron Watts (’20, Economics) will lead a Zoom-based Legends of Honors session on “Innovations to Empower the Everyday Voter.” Cam recently completed his MPA at the University of Pennsylvania and serves as a Program Manager for Change.org’s new Civic Dialogues initiative. There he works to bring citizen voices into the policymaking process in ways that are accessible and that bridge ideological divides. Cam will discuss his career and means of facilitating participatory citizen initiatives. For more information, and to register, please click on the embedded link or use the QR code in the flyer.
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=-pzSv3GO5kKavJU6bW8H1giav39RPopKqTdOG7TuO09UOVQzS1JBSEhDVVJUSkdYOVM1NUFVN1BFVy4u&origin=lprLink&route=shorturl

09/04/2026

The run-up to the holiday weekend has been packed with great programs. On Wednesday, Sept. 2, Assistant Director of Residence Life André Joseph led a discussion of his book The Sophomore Surge, which provides second-year students tips on getting the most out of their sophomore year in college. The following evening, GCSU Honors alumnus Will Turner, who is currently pursuing a Master of Accountancy at the university, led a discussion on best practices for personal finance both in college and beyond it. Both conversations were insightful and dynamic. Thank you, Mr. Joseph and Mr. Turner! Special thanks are also extended to Dr. Steve Elliott-Gower for hosting Wednesday’s program.

09/02/2026

Dr. Steve Elliott-Gower, who directed GCSU’s Honors Program from 2008 to 2020 and who now leads the Honors Global Civic Literacy Residential Learning Community, has been selected as a Distinguished Ambassador in the Council on Foreign Relations Education Ambassador program for the second year in a row. Congratulations, Dr. Gower, and thank you for the dynamic teaching and mentorship that you have brought to Honors for nearly 20 years! https://frontpage.gcsu.edu/node/25156

09/01/2026

Yesterday evening, three Honors alumni—Jacob Carter, Brandon Williams, and Julian Lopez-Hanson—hosted a dinner seminar on “Finding Your Place at GCSU & Beyond.” They reflected on their own experiences in college and their subsequent careers and then led a workshop in which students reflected on where they have been, where they are, where they would like to go, and how to get there—encapsulating all of those things in individual mission statements that they crafted for themselves. The program was deeply meaningful, with many participants volunteering to share their mission statements with the group. Thank you to Jacob, Brandon, and Julian for taking so much time with the next generation of GCSU Honors students!

08/31/2026

The Honors College will host a drop-in alumni gathering at The Brick on Sat., Oct 17--during Milledgeville's Deep Roots Festival--from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. There is no cost, but please register so we can provide an appropriate amount of food. We hope to see you there!

Event on Georgia College & State University

08/25/2026

The first week of the semester got off to a good start last week, with Eta Sigma Alpha’s peer mentoring kickoff on Thursday and Team Building on Saturday. Thanks to all of the incoming students who participated! Special thanks are also extended to ESA Director of New Membership Madison Hennig for leading the peer mentoring program, to Assistant Director of Outdoor Education Anna Grace Douberly and her colleagues for leading the Team Building program, to Honors Assistant Director & National Scholarships Director Anna Whiteside for picking up donuts for breakfast, and to GCSU’s catering staff for providing lunch.

08/17/2026

Yesterday evening, the Honors College held the annual Ice Cream Social at Bell Hall. It was a great way to wind down the last day of Orientation before classes started today. Special thanks are extended to Anna Whiteside and to Eta Sigma Alpha board members Julia Baker, Mackenzie Antis, Meghan Alley, and Diem-Linh Hoang for helping set up and serving ice cream.

One of the students who attended, Maggie Creekmore, was also featured in a wonderful story that University Advancement released today. Kudos, Maggie, on all of your accomplishments! Special thanks are also extended to Sicilia Reed, GSCU’s Digital Engagement Coordinator and a 2024 Honors alumna, for interviewing Maggie and writing the story.
https://frontpage.gcsu.edu/node/25100

08/13/2026

On Tuesday, the 2027 CAT Crew volunteers moved into Bell Hall. Dr. Steve Elliott-Gower, Dr. Juli Gittinger, Dr. Brian Newsome, and a small group of students who live off campus assisted those volunteers as they moved into Bell Hall the day before general move-in. On Wednesday, the CAT Crew volunteers, Ms. Anna Whiteside, Dr. Brian Newsome, and several parents helped everyone else move into Bell Hall. More than 70 students participated in Wednesday’s program, which made the process go very smoothly. Deep gratitude is expressed to everyone who helped on Tuesday and Wednesday. You got the 2027-2028 academic year off to a great start for the John E. Sallstrom Honors College!

07/13/2026

The Office of Alumni Engagement is accepting nominations for GCSU's 2027 Alumni Awards. Please consider nominating Honors alumni for these awards, particularly the Alumni Achievement Award and the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award. Self-nominations are also welcome. In the nomination form, please select “The Honors College Alumni Achievement Award” for the former and the “Outstanding Recent Alumni Award” for the latter. Honors alumni nominated for the university’s “Outstanding Recent Alumni Award” will also be nominees for the Honors College’s separate Honors Young Alum of the Year Award.

Celebrate the achievements of our alumni community. Explore annual alumni award recipients and inspiring spotlight stories highlighting excellence, leadership, and impact.

05/28/2026

The Honors College is pleased to release the 2025-2026 edition of Honorable Mentions, the annual Honors newsletter.

Emily Wright (’26), one of the students featured in the magazine, has also been named the inaugural recipient of the Peach Belt Conference’s Total Student Athlete Award!

Special thanks for production of Honorable Mentions are extended to student editor Jade Ferguson, student contributor Maggie Creekmore, and University Communications staff members Al Weston, Brooks Hinton, Bailey Wilson, and especially Andrea Medel (who designed the layout).

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