ATLANTA (Aug. 4, 2006) -- Fourteen Georgia State University student-athletes will graduate as part of commencement exercises on Sunday, Aug. 6. The graduation ceremonies will take place on campus at the Georgia State Sports Arena.
Those student-athletes on the men's side include basketball players Boyd Copeland (B.S., exercise science), Malcolm Manier (B.A., sociology) and D'Andre McGrew (B.S., exercise science), men's tennis player Matijia Sulin (B.B.A., marketing) and baseball player Justin Meyer (B.A., human resources).
Women's student-athletes graduating include basketball players Timetra Richmond (B.S, computer science) and Shadonda Perkins (B.A., speech), Colonial Athletic Association softball Pitcher of the Year Elizabeth Hyman (B.A., math), volleyball athletes Danielle Gonzalez (B.A., journalism) and Robyn Van Dam (B.S., biology), and all-CAA women's track and field honorees Natasha O'Connor (B.A., psychology) and Ciji Canady(B.S., computer information systems).
Two other former Georgia State stars that shared similar paths of success in their basketball careers will share the stage Sunday as they walk across the floor again in the Georgia State Sports Arena to receive their college degrees.
Thomas Terrell (B.A., sociology) and Patechia Hartman (B.A., sociology) both left Georgia State before graduating to accept professional contracts in Europe. But, through summer school, they have never given up on the goals of earning the college degree.
At Georgia State, Terrell and Hartman both were two-time conference Players of the Year, both led teams to conference championships that earned NCAA postseason bids, and both brought Panther fans to their feet with countless great plays and great games.
Terrell has been his league Player of the Year the past two seasons in Barcelona, Spain. Hartman returns after her first pro year with a team in Szolnok, Hungary.
Terrell came to Georgia State after two years at Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) Community College and played on the 29-5 2000-01 team that advanced to the Final 32 and the 20-9 team of 2001-02 that earned a bid in the postseason NIT.
Hartman spent four years at State from 2001-2005 after a stellar high school career in metro Atlanta. The 5-6 lightning-quick guard played on two NCAA postseason teams as her teams advanced to the conference championship game all four years.
