Bowie State University senior overcame financial hardship to graduate with a perfect 4.0 grade point average (GPA) in the 2013 Spring Commencement on Friday, May 17.
Audrey Marie Lugmayer, a business administration major from Bowie, Md., took a year off after graduating high school to work full-time to pay for a college education, not wanting to place any further financial burdens on her father who is in ill health and a single parent. Based on her excellent high school transcript, she was accepted into the Bowie State University Honors Program and received a university scholarship that covered all of her school-related expenses.
Despite working throughout college and taking a full-time course load, Lugmayer maintained a 4.0 GPA and made the Dean’s List every year. “I wouldn't be in school without the Bowie State Honors Program,” said Lugmayer. “The accounting program is amazing here at Bowie State.”
Originally an elementary education major, Lugmayer shifted her focus to business administration and discovered her passion in an accounting concentration. “I realized I loved accounting – as much as you can love accounting,” she said. “I really do like the accounting work, the analysis, and everything that goes into it.”
Lugmayer thrived at Bowie State University because her professors took the time to get to know her and pushed her to excel in her studies, developing her skills in critical thinking and time management. “The accounting and economics professors are great people, and they really care about their students… They will help you become a better person,” she said.
She serves as president of the Bowie State University chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an economics honors society, and has worked as an accounting policy intern at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) since May 2011. Upon graduation, her FDIC intern position will be converted to a full-time job.
“I’m really, really glad I came here… I will definitely give back (to the university), especially to the accounting and economics programs, because they are doing a good job,” she said.
Lugmayer will be among approximately 600 Bowie State University graduates at the 2013 Spring Commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. May 17 at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. First Lady Michelle Obama will be the commencement speaker and receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
BSU President Mickey L. Burnim will also confer honorary degrees on music icons Nickolas Ashford (posthumously) and Valerie Simpson and award the President’s Medal of Excellence to Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
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ABOUT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The University places special emphasis on the science, technology, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit the website at
www.bowiestate.edu.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Monday, May 13th 2013 at 4:25PM
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