Student Success at the College of Science and Mathematics

At Georgia Southern, we believe in empowering students to rise—beyond expectation, beyond limitation and into lives of purpose and discovery. In 2025, COSM continued to deliver on this promise through groundbreaking programs and student achievements that speak to our mission and momentum.

$1.9 Million NSF Grant Fuels Opportunity

In Spring 2025, COSM was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the National Science Foundation Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) program. Led by Sara Gremillion, Ph.D., professor of biology, the grant supports 36 high-achieving, Pell-eligible undergraduates majoring in Biology and Chemistry over the next five years. Students will receive up to $15,000 annually for four years, with additional funding for undergraduate research, conference travel and internships.

The first 18 scholars—hailing from Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina—will take part in our STEAM Basecamp in August and a monthly seminar series emphasizing academic excellence, well-being and career development.

EagleMed Launches to Lift Future Medical Leaders

This year marked the launch of EagleMed, a transformative new program designed to guide and elevate students pursuing professional medical and health-related doctoral degrees—medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and more.

The initiative brings together faculty from Biology and Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics (BCP), alumni in the field, and the Office of Career and Professional Development to provide students with advising, resources and experiential learning.

Students enrolled in EagleMed have access to:

• A dedicated Folio resource hub

• 1:1 mentorship with pre-professional advisors

• Campus workshops and events, including suturing clinics, mock interviews and panels with admissions reps and alumni physicians

In its first year, EagleMed focused on pre-med students—the largest cohort—on both the Statesboro and Armstrong campuses.

EagleMed By the Numbers (Year One):

• 15 students accepted to MD programs (48% acceptance rate)

• 6 students accepted into dental school (33% acceptance rate)

• 14 students received FREE MCAT prep (~$2,000 value per student)

• 25 students worked with a writing intern on personal statements

• Top-tier medical and dental school acceptances included:

◦ Harvard School of Dental Medicine (MA)

◦ Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY)

◦ University of California – Davis School of Medicine (CA)

◦ Loyola-Stritch, George Washington, Oregon Health & Science, Texas A&M, UAB

• In-state acceptances included Mercer, MCG, Dental College of Georgia, and PCOM

New Clinical Partnership:

Thanks to a partnership with East Georgia Regional Medical Center, students now gain hands-on experience as hospital transporters while shadowing physicians—directly linking education to care.

Graduate Student Research: Funded and Far-Reaching

Graduate students in the MS in Biology program are securing competitive national fellowships and grants that fund high-impact environmental and biomedical research.

Georgia Sea Grant Research Traineeships have awarded $25,000 each to 12 students since 2019—totaling nearly $325,000 in external research funding for Georgia Southern.

Traineeship Recipients (2019–2025):

2019-2020: William Annis, Lauren Moniz

2020-2021: Raven Hurt, Shannon Matzke

2021-2022: Samantha Alvey

2022-2023: Alexandra Theisen, Conner Simon, Chestina Craig

2023-2024: Alejandra Daniel, Julia Frees

2024-2025: Skyler Fox, Zachary Gordon, Mark Hoog (ENVS Ph.D. student)

National Recognition and Awards:

NOAA Margaret Davidson Fellowship (2022–2026): Wil Atencio and Ember Crutchfield

Nancy Foster Scholarship (2019–2020): Erin Arnson

Ogeechee Riverkeeper Fellowship (2023): Molly McKeon

Yamaha Rightwaters Conservation Scholarships: Patrick Lewis, Zachary Gordon

Post-Graduate Georgia Sea Grant State Fellows (2021-2025):

These 1-year, full-salaried fellowships place graduates in state/federal agencies— similar to the prestigious Knauss program. COSM recipients include:

2021-2021: Sergio Sabat-Bonilla 2021-2022: Victoria Baglin, Shannon Matzke

2022-2023: Michael Brennan

2024-2025: Justin Sanclemente

2025-2026: Skyler Fox