TIFTON – Elisabeth O’Quinn, a rural studies – business and economic development major from Fitzgerald, received the prestigious George P. Donaldson award at the spring commencement ceremony on Friday at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

O’Quinn became the first Summa Cum Laude graduate in the history of ABAC with a grade point average over 3.9 on a 4.0 scale.  To be eligible for the Summa Cum Laude distinction, graduates must complete a bachelor’s degree.  ABAC awarded its first bachelor’s degree in May of 2009.

A total of 217 graduates participated in the ceremony. Forty-eight students received bachelor’s degrees including the first ABAC bachelor’s degrees ever awarded in Natural Resource Management (Forestry), Natural Resource Management (Wildlife) and Biology.

The guest speaker at the event was Congressman Austin Scott.  He challenged the students to find their pathways to success.

“You will wake up in the morning with a college diploma,” Scott, the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s Eighth Congressional District, said.  “When you wake up, you will face the future with a thousand different paths you can take.

“Each path will have its challenges.  I can tell you that change happens very fast in all of those paths.  Never let a fear of failure determine your path.”

Scott told the graduates that the most important first step was to “get started.  It doesn’t matter where you start but continual improvement should be your goal.  Get better every day in whatever you do.  If you say you’re going to do something, do it.”

O’Quinn began her ABAC career in 2009 as an interior design major.  She graduated with her associate’s degree in family and consumer sciences—interior design with high honors in 2011 and immediately began course work toward her bachelor’s degree in rural studies.

O’Quinn is an ABAC Foundation Scholarship recipient and has been named to the Dean’s List or President’s List every semester she has attended ABAC.  She received the top award, the Award of Distinction, from the Stafford School of Business in 2013 and the Divisional Discipline award in rural studies – business and economic development in 2012.  She was also the recipient of the Rural Studies Division Scholarship in 2013.

Serving as vice-president of the Rural Studies Club this year headed up a long list of campus involvement. She has also served as secretary of the Family and Consumer Sciences Club and as a member of the Phi Theta Kappa and Alpha Beta Gamma honor organizations.

O’Quinn represented ABAC with a speech at the Tift County Rotary Club and in Pelham as a part of a group sharing a marketing plan for the Hand Trading Company building.  She also assisted at Lewis Hall in the Campus Rededication Ceremony and assisted with mentoring project resources for the United Way of South Central Georgia.

O’Quinn expanded her leadership skills with a one-year internship at the Georgia Peanut Commission during her college career.  She is now working with the Stafford School of Business at ABAC.
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ABAC commissioned Steve Penley to create the painting for the Stafford School of Business in the newly renovated Lewis Hall.  Penley will personally unveil the piece in a 3 p.m. ceremony in Lewis Hall as a part of the rededication activities, which also include tours of Tift Hall and Herring Hall.

Today’s activities also feature a 6:30 p.m. free concert open to everyone in the center of campus and fireworks over Tift Hall at 8:30 p.m. to celebrate the college’s 105^th birthday.  Other Celebrate ABAC weekend events include the “Gee Haw, Whoa Back” rodeo at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

“I am looking forward to all the events today and this weekend but I am particularly pleased with this ABAC signature piece that Steve Penley created,” ABAC President David Bridges said.   “I look forward to seeing it hanging in businesses and homes across the state and country.”

In addition to commissioning the work of art itself, ABAC will present limited edition, signed and numbered prints of the piece to contributors who donate to the Stafford School of Business at ABAC at the $500 level and above.

Business School Deans Dill and Susan Driscoll said funds from the Penley prints will enhance student enrichment experiences including the support of national and international internships, a professional speaker series, networking opportunities, student community life, and other necessary educational supplements that better position ABAC students for promising futures.

“Donors at or above the $500 level to the Stafford School of Business will receive this special memento that all Georgians can be proud of, reminiscent of their investment in the future of ABAC students, the college, and the community of Georgia,” Dill Driscoll said.

“I am excited to be involved with everyone at ABAC and to create such a meaningful piece that represents their long-standing impact on the state and the pride they have for what they do,” said Penley. “Georgia is such a big part of my life, and no matter where I’m traveling in this country, it is always great to come home. I think it’s the greatest state in the country and to be associated with any institution that educates my fellow Georgians is an honor.”

Born in 1964, Penley was raised in Athens and Macon.  In 1983, he began studying art at the University of Georgia before continuing his studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Best known for his iconic portraits, Penley has become one of America’s most popular artists emerging from the south.

Penley’s signature painting techniques incorporate a unique style of bold color, strong brush strokes and vivid imagery.   An international breakthrough for Penley’s art was heralded by the selection of his work for “True Color: Meditations on The American Spirit, An Artist’s Response to 9/11.”

In 2004, Penley was selected as the official artist for the G-8 Summit on Georgia’s Sea Island.  He received an official commendation from the Georgia State Senate in 2005.

Penley’s 2008 solo exhibition at the new World of Coca-Cola followed an exhibit by Andy Warhol and the release of Penley’s third book, “The Reconstruction of America”.  Penley also collaborated with legendary UGA football coach Vince Dooley to chronicle the exciting history of Bulldog football.

In 2010, Penley released “Ronald Reagan and The American Ideal” with a forward by Newt Gingrich, a book that not only celebrates Reagan’s call to return America to its founding principles, but also illustrates fundamental American ideals in bold colors.

Penley’s paintings have been acquired by many distinguished corporate, public and private collections, including Coca-Cola, King & Spalding, Houston’s Corporation, The Federal Reserve Board, Washington, D.C., Mercer University, Robert Mondavi, The Booth Western Art Museum, The Georgia Museum of Art, Twelve Hotels, The Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Frank Luntz, Neil Cavuto, Kaiser Permanente, ESPN Zone, Sean Hannity, Air Tran/Southwest Airlines, and Chick-Fil-A.
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