Shenandoah University

Shenandoah University junior Meghan Gaskins was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's Softball Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career on March 16. The junior from Chesapeake, Virginia, started two games and made three total appearances for the Hornets last week, posting a 0.50 ERA and striking out 15 over 14 innings. Gaskins fired a no-hitter in a 4-0 win over Wheaton College (Illinois) during the Space Coast Spring Games in Melbourne, Florida, on March 9, the first of two complete games for the right-hander during the weeklong tournament. In that March 9 win, Gaskins struck out seven batters and didn't allow a base runner until a leadoff walk in the seventh inning. The no-hitter was the first for the Hornets since 2022. On March 11, Gaskins pitched a five-inning complete game shutout while striking out five in a 16-0 win over Emerson. Gaskins then pitched the final two innings of the Hornets' 8-7 walkoff win over Baldwin Wallace University on March 12. Gaskins is 4-0 on the year with a 0.67 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and only 13 hits allowed in 21 innings.

Shenandoah University's field hockey team posted the fourth-highest collective GPA across all three NCAA divisions in 2025 as 24 Hornets were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association's 2025 Division III National Academic Squad. Fourteen of those 24 Shenandoah's student-athletes - Camryn DeLeva, Ava Fields, Regan Fields, Reagan Flory, Autumn Goldsberry, Lily Kyvelos, Kaitlyn Mogar, Kaitlyn Nakamura, Elizabeth Quinn, Madison Short, Emily Swartzbaugh, Sidney Tucci, Kayleigh Vodvarka and Mackenzie Watkins - also were named an NFHCA Scholar of Distinction, which recognizes those who earned a cumulative GPA of 3.90 or higher during the fall semester. A minimum GPA of 3.50 is required for student-athletes to qualify for the NFHCA National Academic Squad.

Shenandoah Conservatory has announced the winners of the 2026 Student Soloists Competition (SSC) following the final round on March 1 in Armstrong Concert Hall. Winners included Morna Chenchen Hu, soprano (Category II); Wentao Luan, saxophone (Category I); Andrew Wood, piano (Category I); and Coleman Wright, saxophone (Category II). Honorable mentions went to Grace Ashby, soprano (Category I), and Lizhuo Sun, piano (Category II). Winners of this year's competition will be featured in performances with the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra throughout the Conservatory Performs 2026-27 season.

Shenandoah University's Division of Athletic Training continued its run of excellence at the 2026 Virginia Athletic Trainers' Association (VATA) Annual Meeting on Jan. 2-4, at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, Virginia. Shenandoah's student quiz bowl team, composed this year of Makenna Thrush, Trilby Kite, Aesia Garban and Kristen Meinberg (alternate), won the VATA Quiz Bowl for the fourth straight year. Those four, and fellow student Caitlyn Sweet, also presented research posters during the conference, and professors Kim Pritchard, Ph.D., LAT, ATC, and Kelley Wiese, Ph.D., LAT, ATC, were each recognized for their oral presentations.

Shenandoah University had 1,195 students earn a spot on the Dean's List for the Fall 2025 semester. To qualify for the Dean's List, students must be enrolled full-time in baccalaureate degree programs and earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher. Dean's List students who achieve a semester GPA of 3.90 or higher also qualify for the university's President's List.

Shenandoah University celebrates the 530 students who earned a spot on the President's List for the Fall 2025 semester. To qualify for this prestigious academic recognition, students must be enrolled full-time in baccalaureate degree programs and attain a semester GPA of 3.90 or higher. All President's List honorees are also recognized on the university's Dean's List, which includes students who earn a semester GPA of 3.50 or higher.

Shenandoah University head baseball coach Kevin Anderson has announced his program's leadership council for the 2026 season. Senior outfielders Kyle Garrett and Jaime Padilla and junior pitcher Jacob Gilbert were named captains for the Hornets. Nine other individuals will serve as class representatives for the program: Dillon Mauzy (first-year outfielder), Will Tighe (first-year catcher), Matthew Atchley (sophomore third baseman), Liam Stewart (sophomore pitcher), Samuel Vandrey (sophomore utility player), Nick Bell (junior pitcher), Blaine Griffin (junior pitcher), Michael Meyers (senior pitcher), and Jonathan Stokley (senior first baseman).

Shenandoah University's 2026 Global Citizenship Project participants learned where they will spend spring break next March during the university's 35th International Convocation on Nov. 19. Those 50 individuals, split into five groups, will travel to Slovakia, Hong Kong, Saint Lucia, Cuba, and Kenya.

Shenandoah University welcomed 27 new inductees into Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), the national leadership honor society, on Sunday, Dec. 7. ODK recognizes sophomores, juniors, seniors, graduate students and alumni who excel in leadership and academics. Students selected to Omicron Delta Kappa must meet the honor society's leadership values of collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, scholarship and service. Additionally, they must be in the top 35% of their class and demonstrate leadership in at least one of the five pillars of campus life: academics and research; athletics; service to campus and community; communications; and creative and performing arts. To become a member, students can self-nominate or be nominated by a faculty member, staff member or current ODK member. Nominees are then selected for induction through an application process. Benefits of ODK membership include access to exclusive scholarship opportunities, regular publications and resource materials to support leadership development, and job-related networking opportunities with over 250,000 current ODK members and hundreds of thousands of alumni and honorary members worldwide. For more information about Shenandoah University's ODK circle, visit su.edu.

Shenandoah University set another school record during the 2024-25 academic year with 358 student-athletes garnering Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honors. This year marked the second straight that Shenandoah has had over 300 honorees, and the most recent total is 29 more than SU had in 2023-24. The Hornets trailed only Washington and Lee (539) in total ODAC All-Academic honorees, and was one of three schools to eclipse the 300 mark (Lynchburg had 341). In all, the ODAC had 3,364 honorees and topped 3,000 for the second straight year. Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete who competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class. Prospective honorees must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the academic year to be considered for ODAC All-Academic Team recognition.

Shenandoah University is pleased to announce that 1,369 graduates earned degrees and/or certificates during the 2024-25 academic year. This total includes 239 August 2024 graduates, 366 December 2024 graduates, and 764 May 2025 graduates. Shenandoah's 2025 University Commencement took place on May 24.

Shenandoah University presented the 2025 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards to recent graduates Liberty Tennyson '25 and Logan Williams '24, '28 at its Baccalaureate service on May 23. Each year, the Algernon Sydney Sullivan and Mary Mildred Sullivan awards are presented to deserving individuals at over 70 colleges and universities in the U.S. First awarded in 1890, the Sullivan Awards recognize individuals of noble character who act as humble servants and place service to others above self-interest. According to the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation, the Sullivan Awards are the only national collegiate service awards in the U.S.

The Shenandoah University School of Business hosted its fifth Legacy Golf Tournament on April 24 at the Winchester Country Club, raising more than $92,500 for the Legacy Scholarship, which supports high-achieving, first-generation regional business students at Shenandoah. The recipients of the 2025 Legacy Scholarship included Kara Mondrone, Andrea Suchite-Melendrez, Jacquelyn (Jacky) Sanchez, Katherine Weinhold and Wesley Pendzich.

On April 24, the Student Government Association held its inauguration ceremony for the 2025-26 Executive Council in the Pruitt Health & Life Sciences Building, Halpin Rotunda. The Executive Council consists of undergraduate and graduate students dedicated to leading other members of the SGA and serving as liaisons with faculty. Although most positions are chosen through an application process, Shenandoah University students elect the president and vice presidents each spring. The 2025-26 Executive Council is as follows: President: Carter Sand Vice President of Undergraduate Affairs: Masha Balakersky Vice President of Graduate Affairs: Carlie Cross Director of Communications: Amy Oleksy Director of IDE: Jessica Velasquez Director of Finance: Emma Thompson Speaker of the House: Elisabeth Myers Chief of Staff: Jaxson Hall

Shenandoah University third-year Pharm.D. student Sheridan Herron '26 won the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) National Patient Counseling Competition during the APhA Annual Meeting that took place March 21-24, in Nashville, Tennessee. Herron, who was recognized during the APhA-ASP Student Awards Celebration on March 22, is the third Shenandoah University student in the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy to win the APhA-ASP National Patient Counseling Competition, joining Joanna Lyon (2014) and Danielle Przychodzin (2003). Shenandoah, which admitted its first class of doctoral pharmacy students in 1996, began participating in the National Patient Counseling Competition in 2000. Shenandoah University's three national winners are the most of any pharmacy school over the last 25 years, and Shenandoah is tied with the University of California, San Francisco for the most in the history of the National Patient Counseling Competition, which debuted in 1985.

Eva Gary '25 (Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre) will join "Pretty Woman: The Musical," for the last leg of its U.S. national tour in 2025. Gary will play the lead role of Vivian Ward in the production based on the 1990 film of the same name.

Shenandoah University's Esports program recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Shenandoah Esports Awards. A total of seven individuals received one of six awards during a ceremony on May 7.

Over 131 undergraduate and graduate students presented a display of 73 projects at the 2024 Shenandoah University Research Expo. Nearly all schools at SU were represented in the expo, which featured an array of creative/portfolio, empirical and proposal/review projects across a variety of disciplines. Thirty-six faculty mentors supported these projects with an eye toward fostering scientific and creative inquiry among their students. Individual and group winners were announced in 11 categories in 2024.

Shenandoah University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced that 349 student-athletes earned a spot on the Athletic Director's List for the Spring 2023 semester. To qualify for this honor, student-athletes must have a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher.