Achievement through adversity: MSU recognizes Spring 2020 graduates

Morehead State University recognized the academic excellence of the more than 1,000 graduates of the Class of 2020 on Saturday, May 9.   

The MSU Spring Commencement Program is online at https://bit.ly/3fIKe8W. 

Since MSU’s Spring 2020 Commencement Ceremony was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University invites you to participate in a special ceremony to recognize and honor their achievement later this year. This event will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020. It will only include students from the Spring and Summer 2020 class and will not be combined with our regularly scheduled fall commencement, which will take place at 10 a.m. that same day.  

Alexa Potts of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was selected as the commencement speaker representing the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. She is the daughter of Dan Potts and Amy Potts. She graduated with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and Legal Studies with a minor in Spanish.  

At Morehead State, Potts was a member of the George M. Luckey Jr. Academic Honors Program. She was an Undergraduate Research Fellow for three years, where she presented her research on travel writing in Kentucky at the Kentucky Philological Association and the Celebration of Student Scholarship in 2018. She also represented the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the 2017 Idea Festival in Louisville.  

She was named the 2019 Outstanding Undergraduate Student in History. Potts was a recipient of a Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences student academic award for outstanding undergraduate student in History, Philosophy, Politics, Global Studies and Legal Studies (HPPGL) for the 2019-20 academic year. She completed three terms as attorney general for the Student Government Association (SGA). She also was a member of the MSU Flute Ensemble, the Societas Pro Legibus and Sigma Delta Pi – National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society.  

As a member and team captain of MSU Rifle, Potts was named Air Rifle All-American and First-Team All-OVC (Ohio Valley Conference) for air rifle and smallbore during the 2018-19 season. That same year, she set the school record for air rifle individual scoring versus Jacksonville State. At the 2019 OVC Championships, Potts also set the smallbore individual scoring record, the smallbore individual 20 shots prone school record and the individual aggregate school record. She qualified for the 2019 NCAA Championships as an individual.   

Her academic achievements as a student-athlete include receiving the OVC Academic Medal of Honor for excellence in athletics and academics for the 2016-17 school year. Later, she was named the 2019-20 OVC Scholar-Athlete, awarded annually to the top three men and women in the OVC for their accomplishments and leadership on the field and in the classroom. Potts also served as the student leader for Athletes in Action (AIA).  

Potts said she plans to enroll in law school and credits MSU with her preparedness.  

“My MSU education is one of the most valuable things in my life because it has enriched me with knowledge and experiences that have prepared me for my future while leaving warm memories of my undergraduate years. Without my MSU education, I would not be the student I am today, ready to continue the pursuit of my legal education at law school,” Potts said. “My education at MSU has provided me with tangible skills, such as the ability to draft a legal motion, engage in research, speak in public settings and collaborate with a group to reach common goals. I would not be ready to jump into law school without these important skills, and I would not have mastered these vital skills had it not been for my MSU education.”  

For details on MSU’s graduation ceremonies, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/graduation.