2017 UG Commencement Program

25 S tudent C ommencement S peaker Lacei Marie Sams , a business administration major, is from St. Louis, Missouri. She is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honors Society, and participated in internships with the Make-A-Wish Foundation Southern Florida and with the Florida Panthers hockey team under the guidance of Kelly Concanon, Ph.D. Sams serves as the vice president of legislation for the Undergraduate Student Government Association, vice president of the United Greek Council, and president of the Sigma Chi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. While attending Nova Southeastern University, Sams served as an admissions ambassador, participating in a variety of events and programs for incoming students. In 2016, she won first place for the South Atlantic Involvement Award for the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and won second place for the same award in 2017. Sams also won first place in the Palm Beach International Film Festival for her poster design. Sams plans to earn an M.B.A. in Marketing at NSU. A braham S. F ischler C ollege of E ducation Aubrey S. Bryant , a secondary biology education major with minors in folklore and mythology and student art, is from Greenville, South Carolina. She transferred to NSU four years ago and describes the decision as one of the greatest of her life. She initially struggled in education, but is happy she stuck with the program. She said her professors in the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education are phenomenal, as they ensured she was successful and included real- life examples to help mold her into a successful educator. She is proud to have completed her degree requirements with a 3.9 GPA and has always put her best effort into her classes and her assignments. Bryant thinks her field experiences over the last two years have helped mold her into the person she is today. Although she describes herself as shy, she said her classroom experiences helped her grow out of her shell. Those experiences also allowed her to become more outgoing and allow her to express her passion for teaching and the care she has for students. She hopes to encourage her future students to follow their dreams. During one of her internships, she said she was lucky to be placed at a high school with a high population of students learning English. During her internship, Aubrey worked with the ESOL coordinator at the school. This forced her to adapt her teaching strategies, which allowed her to express her passion for science in a way in which most of her students could understand even when faced with a language barrier. Bryant said she is proud to have been a student at NSU, and enjoys sharing with others facts about the college she represents. O utstanding S tudents M orning U ndergraduate C eremony