Caylor Mark Named VSU College of Science and Mathematics Top Graduate

Caylor Rae Mark

VALDOSTA — Caylor Rae Mark of Tifton, Georgia, is the recipient of the Fall 2018 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of Science and Mathematics at Valdosta State University.

The President’s Award for Academic Excellence is presented to the graduating student with the highest grade point average in each of VSU’s six colleges — Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, College of the Arts, James L. and Dorothy H. Dewar College of Education and Human Services, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and College of Science and Mathematics.

VSU will celebrate its 226^th commencement on Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8.

Mark will serve as the official banner carrier for the College of Science and Mathematics during the undergraduate commencement ceremony at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8, on the VSU Front Lawn. She will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.

“This is an incredible opportunity and such an honor to be asked to lead my fellow classmates and graduates into commencement this fall,” she said. “Our degree is the physical proof of how hard work and determination lead to success, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Class of 2018.”

As a student at VSU, Mark was a Zell Miller Scholar and a member of Student Members of the American Chemical Society, the Pre-Dental Club, the University Ambassadors Program, and the Delta Theta Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, where she served as scholarship chairwoman and vice president of finance, helped raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities, and supported other student groups on campus. She logged more than 200 hours of community service, including weekly volunteering with the Miracle League of Valdosta, and worked as a chemistry tutor and supplemental instructor.

Mark traveled twice to Peru on medical mission trips with her church, First United Methodist Church of Tifton. She participated in VSU’s 2018 Undergraduate Research Symposium, where she presented research on vitamin C and cancer at the Three-Minute Video Competition and a poster on the medical efficacy of Taxol as a cancer drug.

Mark’s commitment to academic, service, and research excellence resulted in her earning the Hoyt-Jolley Foundation Scholarship and the 2018 Department of Chemistry Optima Chemical Award. She was also a member of the Dean’s List during her time at VSU.

Mark plans to attend dental school after graduation. She hopes to live a life that allows her to help as many people as possible. She is the daughter of Tom and Nancy Mark.