VSU Honors Bryan Moats With Outstanding Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Award

VALDOSTA — Bryan Cordell Moats of Ocala, Florida, is the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Award at Valdosta State University.

“I am honored to be recognized by my college and university,” he said. “This award has shown me that my hard work has not only been recognized but it has also been appreciated.”

The Outstanding Student in Humanities and Social Sciences Award is presented to a College of Humanities and Social Sciences student with a record of academic excellence and distinguished service inside and outside the classroom.

Moats will officially graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in History, a Minor in Political Science, a Minor in Native American Studies, and an Honors College Certificate in Summer 2021. He will be recognized as an early walker during VSU’s 231^st Commencement at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

Moats plans to continue his education and pursue a Master of Arts in History at VSU this fall. He sees himself working as a researcher and professor at a university in the future.  

As a student at VSU, Moats was a member of the Honors Student Association, where he served as research coordinator, and Pi Sigma Alpha: The National Political Science Honor Society. He volunteered at Ocali Charter Middle School in his hometown.

Moats took full advantage of research and experiential learning opportunities offered by faculty at VSU. He presented “The History of Reade Hall” at the 2019 Georgia Collegiate Honors Council Conference (three-minute video presentation) and “Dann v. Bundy: The Confusing Issue of Land Rights” at the 2020 Georgia Undergraduate Research Collective Conference (virtual webinar presentation).

Moats presented “Caesar as a Military Leader: The Battle of Alesia” at the 2020 Georgia Collegiate Honors Council Conference (oral presentation), the 2020 Posters at the Georgia State Capitol (poster presentation), and the 2020 VSU Undergraduate Research Symposium (virtual webinar presentation). This research was also published in Omnino, VSU’s undergraduate research journal.

Moats also presented “The Seminole Wars of the 19^th Century: A Look Into the Causes of the Longest Conflicts in American History” at the 2021 Georgia Collegiate Honors Council Conference (virtual oral presentation), the 2021 Posters at the Georgia State Capitol (poster presentation), the 2021 VSU Undergraduate Research Symposium (virtual webinar presentation and virtual poster presentation), and the 2021 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (virtual oral presentation).

His commitment to academic, leadership, research, and service excellence resulted in him earning repeated Dean’s List honors, the Hugh C. and Joan S. Bailey Family Endowment Scholarship, the John and Gertrude Odum Scholarship, the William M. Gabard History Scholarship, and the 2021 Carol Locust Academic Achievement Award.

Moats said he is grateful for the support he has received from his family, including mom Karen Moats, dad Thomas Moats, and all of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmothers.