Native Influence Highlight:
Georgia Southern College has named 5 acclaimed audio system for the College’s Spring 2025 Graduation ceremonies on Could 7, 8, 9 and 11.
Roughly 4,300 college students will graduate this semester with affiliate, baccalaureate, grasp’s, specialist and doctoral levels throughout 5 ceremonies in Statesboro and Savannah.
Tuesday, Could 13 – 10 a.m. — Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro
School of Arts and Humanities, School of Science and Arithmetic, Waters School of Well being Professions and Jiann-Ping Hsu School of Public Well being
Hemant Goel is a distinguished veteran of the well being care software program business with 4 many years of expertise.
Goel is president and CEO of FinThrive, a well being care monetary software program firm headquartered in Plano, Texas. FinThrive helps greater than 4,000 hospitals and clinics throughout the U.S., using almost 2,000 people within the U.S. and India. Over the previous decade, FinThrive has assisted hospitals in recovering greater than $12 billion from insurance coverage corporations, processing an extra of $6 billion in hospital claims yearly on behalf of the establishments it serves.
Previous to this, Goel served as CEO of Capsule Applied sciences, an organization specializing in vital care system connectivity, serving 37 international locations globally. In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Capsule Applied sciences swiftly developed ventilator surveillance software program to assist well being care professionals monitor sufferers with out coming into their rooms and supplied this expertise freed from cost to any hospital in want. This innovation garnered widespread recognition within the well being care business, incomes Hemant and his workforce the “Healthcare Heroes” award.
Born in India, Goel relocated to the U.S. six months after incomes a mechanical engineering diploma from the Indian Institute of Expertise Kanpur in 1985. He later obtained his MBA from Queens College of Charlotte in North Carolina in 1992.
Wednesday, Could 14 – 10 a.m. — Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro
Parker School of Enterprise and School of Training
Georgia Southern alumnus Younghoe Koo (’17) is the placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons, a place he’s held since 2019 that’s introduced him recognition as some of the prolific scorers within the NFL.
He turned the primary Eagle soccer participant to be named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, yearly offered to the highest U.S. faculty soccer placekickers. He was this system’s first Soccer Bowl Subdivision All-American and set a profession report for profession subject purpose proportion.
Koo is sixth on the NFL’s all-time leaderboard in subject purpose proportion and is without doubt one of the most correct kickers in NFL historical past. He’s a record-setting participant, identified for probably the most made subject objectives in a single season with 37, and is the primary participant in franchise historical past to make at the very least eight subject objectives of at the very least 50 yards with out a miss.
He was named to the Professional Bowl in 2020 after main the league in scoring that 12 months. He continues to be one of many Falcons’ most proficient scoring gamers and has been named Nationwide Soccer Convention Particular Groups Participant of the Week and Month on a number of events.
Koo has a ardour for giving again to each the Korean and American communities and hosts an annual youth soccer camp. He additionally serves because the face of Constructive Athlete Georgia, a corporation that acknowledges highschool athletes who serve their communities in probably the most optimistic methods.
Thursday, Could 15 – 10 a.m. — Allen E. Paulson Stadium in Statesboro
School of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Allen E. Paulson School of Engineering and Computing
Retired Brig. Gen. Vincent E. Buggs (‘90) is the founder and CEO of Embrace the Energy and Energy Pony Categorical Sports activities LLC, the place he works to mentor and practice people to realize their private {and professional} objectives. He has acquired quite a few awards over his 30-year navy profession, together with the Legion of Advantage, Joint Service Awards, Distinguished Star from El Salvador and the Polish Bronze Medal.
Buggs holds a grasp’s diploma in international historical past from the American Army College and a grasp’s in strategic research from the U.S. Air Battle School. He earned a bachelor’s diploma in historical past with a minor in German from Georgia Southern.
Saturday, Could 17 – 10 a.m. — Enmarket Area in Savannah
School of Arts and Humanities, School of Training, School of Science and Arithmetic
School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Parker School of Enterprise and Allen E. Paulson School of Engineering and Computing
Cecilia Tran Arango (‘02) is the principal advertising and marketing director at Thomas & Hutton, the place she leads the engineering agency’s advertising and marketing, communications, group relations and culture-building efforts throughout Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama.
Deeply dedicated to group service, Arango lends her experience to quite a few boards and organizations, together with the Savannah Sports activities Council, Savannah Ebook Pageant, TEDxSavannah, Society of Advertising Skilled Providers, Management Southeast Georgia, United Manner of the Coastal Empire, Georgia Financial Builders Affiliation, and the American Council of Engineering Corporations of Georgia.
Arango’s management and contributions have earned her recognition as considered one of Georgia Development’s 40 Underneath 40 and Engineering Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Girls in Engineering. In 2024, she was named the Society for Advertising Skilled Providers Atlanta’s Marketer of the 12 months, a testomony to her affect and management within the structure, engineering and development business.
An avid runner, Arango can be the founding father of Learn, Run & Rant Ebook Membership, which has been featured in Form Journal. A proud alumna of Management Georgia, Management Southeast Georgia and Management Savannah, she embraces lifelong studying and mentorship.
Arango graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in English communications from Armstrong Atlantic State College, now Georgia Southern College.
Saturday, Could 17 – 3 p.m. — Enmarket Area in Savannah
Waters School of Well being Professions and Jiann-Ping Hsu School of Public Well being
Don L. Waters (’75) is the CEO of Waters Capital Companions LLC, a household funding workplace. From 1993 by way of 2016, he was the chairman, president and chief govt officer of Brasseler USA Inc., a world producer of dental and medical surgical instrumentation.
Previous to his enterprise profession, Waters practiced as a CPA for 20 years as a associate with Value, Waterhouse & Co., and as an lawyer and a associate with regulation agency HunterMaclean. Waters graduated from Armstrong State School with a Bachelor of Enterprise Administration and from the College of Georgia College of Legislation. He was appointed by former Gov. Nathan Deal to the Board of Regents (BOR) of the College System of Georgia in 2013 and served by way of 2022. He served a full time period as vice chairman after which as chairman of the BOR.
A local of Savannah, Waters serves on the board of administrators of Abrasive Expertise, Inc., and the board of trustees of the Chatham County Hospital Authority, the Chatham County Hospital Authority Belief, the Wormsloe Basis and the Rourke Basis. He has served on the board of curators of the Georgia Historic Society, the board of trustees of the College of Georgia Basis, and the board of administrators of the Georgia REACH Basis and the College System of Georgia Basis.
Waters has devoted his civic and charitable actions primarily to training and well being care, together with efforts to protect well being providers for the indigent poor. He’s a founding father of the Savannah Classical Academy, a Ok-12 public constitution faculty, serving college students chosen by a blind lottery, with greater than 75% being Title I-qualified.
Recognized for his commitments to state and group advocacy, his service has earned commendations from Gov. Brian Kemp and the BOR (2023), the Southeast Georgia Management Discussion board’s Management Legacy Award (2023), and the College of Georgia’s Blue Key Service Award (2019), amongst different honors together with the Savannah State College Group Management Award (2018) and the NAACP Savannah Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award (2017).His household has endowed the Waters School of Well being Professions of Georgia Southern.
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