Wesley Hanson Named Top College of Business Administration Graduate at VSU

John Wesley Hanson of Macon, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2021 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration at Valdosta State University. He graduates summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and a Minor in Accounting on May 7.

VALDOSTA — John Wesley Hanson of Macon, Georgia, is the recipient of the Spring 2021 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration 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.

Hanson will be recognized during VSU’s 231^st Commencement at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 7, at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium. He will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management and a Minor in Accounting.

“To be named the top graduate for the Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration is remarkable and humbling,” he said. “I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to learn from so many extraordinary professors.”

Hanson credited VSU Athletics and the men’s golf team for welcoming him into the Blazer Nation community and making it possible for him “to receive an excellent education.”

“The hours that I spent studying, doing homework, and taking exams while practicing, traveling, and competing in tournaments were difficult but definitely worthwhile,” he shared.

As a student at VSU, Hanson served as captain of the men’s golf team, president of the Wesley Foundation, and an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Beta Gamma Sigma: The International Business Honor Society, and Sigma Alpha Pi: The National Society of Leadership and Success.

Hanson’s commitment to academic, athletic, leadership, and service excellence resulted in him earning repeated Dean’s List honors, the 2021 and 2020 Student-Athlete Academic Award, the 2020-2021 Belk Hudson Management Scholarship, the 2019-2020 Scruggs Scholarships, the 2019 Maxwell Joseph Stephenson Memorial Scholarship, and the 2018-2021 Lewis G. Russell and Buster Cowart Jr. Golf Scholarship.

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selected Hanson for Third Team Academic All-America honors during the 2019-2020 academic year, making him the first Blazer to earn that distinction in the history of the men’s golf program at VSU.

The Gulf South Conference named Hanson Freshman of the Year in 2018 and Spring Men’s Golf Champion Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2019-2020. He accumulated a number of Gulf South Conference academic awards during his time at VSU.

Hanson was also a three-time recipient of the Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars Award. He anticipates earning this award again this year.

After graduation Hanson plans to continue his education and pursue a Master of Business Administration at VSU, while taking full advantage of an extra year of being eligible to play with the men’s golf team. The National Collegiate Athletic Association extended player eligibility for one year due to the global pandemic’s impact on college-level sports; that announcement was made in the fall.

Hanson sees a number of possibilities for his future profession, with management consulting or athletic administration currently at the top of his list. His supportive family includes parents Jeff and Ellen Hanson, brother Brooks Hanson, and beloved dog Randy Hanson.