Georgia Southern University has assembled its 2012 Southern’s Orientation, Advisement, and Registration (SOAR) Team to help guide incoming freshmen through orientation during summer SOAR sessions.

Michaela Lariscy, an early childhood education major from Guyton, and Yolidia Osbey, a pre-nursing major from Springfield, will join the SOAR team for the first time this summer.

Out of 137 students who applied for a SOAR position, 24 were selected based on their leadership potential, work ethic and ability to represent the university. The group has an average grade-point average of 3.5 and represents more than 40 campus organizations.
Sophomore Jimmy Rotureau, a pre-nursing major from Guyton, also has been chosen to the SOAR squad.

SOAR leaders help orient new students and their families to Georgia Southern during the summer SOAR sessions by serving as role models, helping new students register for classes, helping prepare them for college-level academics and informing parents about Georgia Southern’s student services.

Three students return for a second summer in the SOAR program. Becca Ash, a pre-nursing major from Villa Rica, Scott Markley, a geography major from Marietta, and Shannin Wright, an English major from Evans, helped select the 2012 SOAR team.

The rest of the team includes one senior, Wesley Schlomer, a sports management major. The five juniors selected are nutrition and food science major Brianna Dumas, nursing major Lindsay Higgs, accounting major Nycholas Maldonado-Taylor, child and family development major Mandy Miley and marketing major Anni Rainio.

Sophomores make up the largest portion of the SOAR leaders and include pre-business major Annalee Ashley, psychology major Keonnie Betts, music education/choral sequence major Jasmine Hines, pre-business/accounting major James Kelly, special education major Caroline McLean, Spanish and French major Amber Montrose, multimedia communication major Ticely Sanders and mechanical engineering major Andrew Smith.

The team is rounded out by six freshmen including Lariscy, Osbey, undeclared majors Briana Boyd and Alex Clement, pre-business/information systems major Demetrius Harper and physics major Calib Lanier.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers 117 degree programs serving more than 20,000 students. Through eight colleges, the university offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement.

In 2011, the university was named the fourth most popular university in the country by U.S. News & World Report and is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars. Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.