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Florida Southern holds spring commencement

LAKELAND, Fla. (April 29, 2003) - Two hundred eighty-nine Florida Southern College students received diplomas during two spring graduation ceremonies Saturday. 

Students receiving degrees during the morning baccalaureate service included 37 from the Orlando program, 14 from the Lakeland evening program, and 2 from the graduate program. Fourteen students graduated with honors, with 3 summa cum laude, 5 magna cum laude, and 6 cum laude. 

The Rev. Teresa L. Hill, co-pastor of Isle of Faith United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, offered the baccalaureate sermon. A 1979 graduate of Florida Southern, Hill has served as pastor of churches in Gainesville, Orlando, the Melbourne area, and Jacksonville and is a former Jacksonville District superintendent. 

The afternoon commencement for 236 Lakeland day students was held in the Jenkins Field House. Honors went to 67 graduates, with 22 summa cum laude, 15 magna cum laude, and 30 cum laude. 

Attorney T. Terrell Sessums, a partner in Salem Saxon, P.A., delivered the commencement address. Sessums has been a member of the FSC Board of Trustees since 1989 and currently serves as chairman. He was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1963-1974 and served on the Florida Board of Regents from 1979-1988. 

Note to the Editor: The attached list includes full names of graduates with information about degree type, major, academic honors, and parent or spouse names (when available).

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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