Elizabeth McCullers Named College of the Arts Outstanding Student at Valdosta State University

Elizabeth Deborah McCullers of Macon, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2017 Outstanding Student in the Arts Award. She is pictured with Dr. Richard A. Carvajal, president of VSU.

VALDOSTA — Elizabeth Deborah McCullers of Macon, Georgia, is the recipient of Valdosta State University’s 2017 Outstanding Student in the Arts Award.

“I’m so honored to be receiving this award,” said McCullers, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from VSU in May. She plans to move to Chicago to work, audition, and pursue additional training in improvisational theatre at The Second City and The iO Theater. 

“I never imagined my college career would end so well.”

McCullers was recognized during VSU’s annual Academic Honors and Awards Dinner.

Blake Pearce, dean of the College of the Arts, honored McCullers with the Outstanding Student in the Arts Award, which is presented to the College of the Arts student with the highest grade point average and a record of distinguished service.

During her time as a student at VSU, McCullers was a regular on the Dean’s List, an Honors Scholar and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta: National Honor Society for First-Year Students, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key International Honour Society, the TBNL (To Be Named Later) Improv Troupe, the Theatre and Dance Box Office staff, and Alpha Psi Omega: National Theatre Honor Society, where she served as president and treasurer. She was part of a panel presentation on higher education and grading systems at VSU’s 2015 Conference on Instructional Technologies, Innovations, and Educational Strategies, or TIES Conference, and has volunteered her time to serve as a simulated patient to train students in the School of Nursing. She was a part of several Theatre and Dance productions, including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Into the Woods,” “Bunnicula,” Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind,” “The Tempest,” “The Wiz,” “She Stoops to Conquer,” “Evita,” and “As You Like It.” 

McCullers’s commitment to academic, creative, and service excellence on campus, in the community, and around the world resulted in her earning the Golden Circle Scholarship, the National Guard Insurance Trust Scholarship, the 2017 Theatre Academic Award from the Department of Communication Arts, and the Spring 2017 President’s Award for Academic Excellence for the College of the Arts, which is presented to the graduating student with the highest grade point average in each of VSU’s five colleges. She is the daughter of Robert and MayBeth McCullers.