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2020 Fall Graduation

General

45 UWA Student-Athletes Expected to Receive Degrees

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Forty-five Tiger student-athletes, including 16 who have earned the University of West Alabama Scholar Athlete Medallion and one who finished his playing career eight years ago, are scheduled to receive their college degrees at commencement exercises Saturday at Pruitt Hall Gymnasium.
 
Included in that number is Otha Foster III, who after serving in the Marine Corps, finished his football career at UWA in 2012. Foster continued work to finish his undergraduate degree through the birth of two children and professional football stops in both the NFL and CFL with the Kansas City Chiefs, Toronto Argonauts, Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Baltimore Ravens and the British Columbia Lions.
 
"I would like to thank Coach Brett Gilliland for going out of his way and reaching out to me about finishing my degree at West Alabama," Foster said. "Without him I don't know how long I would have waited to go back, or even if I would have gone back to finish.
 
"Graduating from college was one of the things my daddy, the late Otha Foster, Jr., always wanted me to do. My mother Valerie Aikens has also been asking me for years to go back and finish," Foster said. "This degree shows my young children and family members that we can be both athletes and scholars. There is no limit or timeframe on greatness. Also, being a good person leads to other good people like Coach Gilliland being in your corner. I am forever a UWA Tiger!"
 
UWA has plans for honoring summer and fall graduates at Saturday's commencement exercises, with ceremonies held in a hybrid format to allow graduates' families and friends to watch live online. The undergraduate ceremony begins at 10 a.m. and the graduate ceremony at 12:30 p.m.
 
"We are so proud of our Tiger student-athletes for achieving their graduation goal," UWA Director of Athletics Bobby Wallace said. "Even in different and difficult times, we are delighted to celebrate such an accomplishment with them and their families.

"We are especially pleased to award 16 Scholar Student-Athlete Medallions to distinguish those Tigers who earned success in both the classroom and their competition venues," Wallace said. "As I have said numerous times, there are three things we strive for every student-athlete to possess when their time at UWA is over – a degree, a medallion and a championship ring."
 
To earn the Scholar-Athlete Medallion and student-athlete must graduate with a 3.00 or better.
 
Of the 45 graduating student-athletes, 24 are either former or current Tiger football players, including Chad Toocheck, who finished his all-conference career in 2014. Softball has seven graduates and baseball three. The entire list is below.
 
Commencement exercises will be held on campus. To maintain safe distances, only graduates, faculty and essential university staff will be allowed in the facility. Friends and family can watch the ceremonies live at www.uwa.edu/live, and both will be available at the same address for later viewing. 
 
UWA's commencement exercises have been broadcast via livestream for several years for those who could not attend the ceremonies. 
 Students nor faculty are required to participate in commencement exercises.
 
Health and safety protocols for commencement exercises include, but are not limited to:
·     Social Distancing 
·     Facial Coverings 
·     Temperature & Symptoms Screenings 
·     Sanitizer Stations 
·     Limited number of persons allowed in facility 
·     No large gatherings or congregating on campus 
·     Other orders and restrictions as directed by authorities prior to event date 
 
Updates and correspondence have been sent to graduates from their respective deans. For more information on commencement exercises, contact Dr. Tina N. Jones at tnj@uwa.edu.
 
2020 UWA Student-Athletes Fall Graduation
Scholar-Athlete Medallion in Bold
Name Sport
Terry Jerome Bell Football
William Blake Men's Soccer
Justin Booker Baseball
Taylor Shane Clemmons Baseball
Telayes Cole Football
Allison Brianna Craft Softball
Landen Michael Davis Baseball
Roger Maris Davis, Jr. Men's Basketball
Stefond Davis Football
Cedric Dees, Jr. Men's Track
Jo Michael Edwards Football
Eric Michael Faulkner Football
Aaron D. Ferguson Football
Otha Foster III Football
Hayes Fulford Softball
Carl Gladys II Men's Track
Kierra Groce Women's Basketball
Daquan Marquel Guice Football
Kierra Renae Hague Softball
Deandre Devone Harper Men's Basketball
Abigail Grace Hawkins Women's Soccer
Tavarious Hutchinson Football
Joshua Elijah Jemison Football
Mark Joseph Johnson II Men's Golf
Fabion J. Jones Football
Christopher Mason Langley Football
Undreas Lilly Football
Chelsea Lobitos Softball
Carmen Lee Maness Women's Rodeo
Wyatt McCann Men's Rodeo
Jack McDaniels Football
Jurmorris Montez McMillion Football
Stuart Mixson Football
Leondria Denise Parker Softball
Kornelius Donta Rogers Football
James Smith II Football
Tyler Kelvin Thornton Men's Rodeo
Tremayne Depraise Tolbert Football
Chad A. Toocheck Football
Korlan Quade Trull Men's Golf
Julia Christine Tubbs Softball
Richard Jacob Vick Football
Brydrecus Leshawndre Watkins Football
Xavier D. Williamson Football
Paul Anthony Wilson, Jr. Football
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