COMMENCEMENT PHOTO GALLERY
EUGENE, Ore. – A total of 71 current and former Beacon student-athletes walked across the stage on Saturday at the Bushnell University Spring Commencement, marking the highest number of student-athlete graduates in Bushnell history. Eight Beacons, competing at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Track & Field Championships, were able to graduate on the track in a special ceremony as well.
Among the class of 2026 are ten who have earned Master's degrees, and 39 undergraduates that have earned honors.
Current and former student-athletes earning Master's degrees included six earning an MBA in Management and Leadership. They were baseball player Dylan Carson, men's basketball player Cory Johnson, beach volleyball players Olivia Kelzenberg, , and Sydney Myhre, volleyball player Jessie Matthews, and former men's basketball player Christian Pitcher. Former Esports student-athlete Chase Dean secured his MA in Teaching, Track & Field Aniya Green earned an MA in Sports Management, former women's basketball player Liv Tjoelker earned an MA in Leadership, and former softball player Gabi Stover earned a graduate certificate in physical education.
Cum Laude honorees, who have the distinction of graduating with a GPA of 3.50-3.69 were men's basketball player Roy Bunn and Isaiah Wallace, beach volleyball player Haley Engelbrecht, women's basketball player Rose Gwillim, track & field athletes Ty Kishen and Leah Schiewe, softball player Shyla Mead, men's soccer player Emilio Alfaro, volleyball player Katie Belitz, baseball player Dylan Ha, Esports student-athlete Kyle Solomons, former baseball player Tanner Won, and former women's soccer player Dina Hayes
Earning Magna Cum Laude (3.70-3.89 GPA) were men's soccer players William Haberfield and Shane Becker, volleyball player Hailey Heider, cross country/track athlete Sayer Pescosolido, baseball players Blake Stavros and Caleb Richter, men's basketball player Turner Livingston, and women's soccer player Jasmine Seago,
Bushnell also had 17 Summa Cum Laude honorees, holding a 3.90-4.00 GPA: Women's Soccer players Ana Augusto and Lorelai Murphy, baseball players Jacob Courtney and Ty Weiskind, esports student-athlete Nathan Farris, softball players Gracie Hamilton, Montanah Love, Riley Peeler, and Brenna Wilson, beach volleyball athletes Kate Palelek and Avery Lenssen, volleyball athlete Leah Agost, men's basketball player Squeeky Johnson, women's basketball player Kenzi Pedersen, men's soccer player Caleb Premo, former softball player Emma Hitt, and former men's golfer Justin Walton.
In addition to honors, Bushnell athletes were recognized throughout multiple end-of-year awards ceremonies from the various schools and departments.
CHI ALPHA SIGMA
Awarded at the Iggy Awards on April 30, induction into Chi Alpha Sigma, the national scholar athlete honor society, is bestowed upon student-athletes who complete at least three years as a varsity athlete at Bushnell and graduate with a GPA of 3.8 or higher. Those inducted this year were Agost, Becker, Courtney, Love, Murphy, Palelek, Pescosolido, Premo, Walter Reustle, Richter, Stavros, and Weiskind.
SCHOOL OF BIBLE, THEOLOGY AND MINISTRY
Two baseball players earned special awards within the School of Bible, Theology, and Ministry. Blake Stavros was named the winner of the Siefke Potential for Preaching Scholarship while Ethan Unruh was named the winner of the Zondervan Theology Award.
SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Athletes claimed three of the four special awards from the School of Arts and Sciences. The Outstanding Speaker Award went to Ana Augusto, the Outstanding Exercise Science Graduate Award went to David Johnson, and the Outstanding Psychology Major award was given to Lorelai Murphy
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, LEADERSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY
The Beacons were also well represented at the award ceremony for the School of Business, Leadership and Technology as Logan Gant was named the Frank Paliotta Outstanding Accounting Student and Sayer Pescosolido was named the Graduate of the Year. Initiates to Sigma Beta Delta (Business Honor Society) included Justin Walton, Squeeky Johnson, Olivia Kelzenberg, Sydney Myhre, Riley Peeler, and Liv Tjoekler.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Caleb Premo was a double honoree within the School of Education, earning both the Outstanding Teacher Leadership award and the Graduate of the Year award.
PRESIDENT'S SCHOLASTIC AWARD
The President's Scholastic Award is given to the graduating senior who attained the highest cumulative GPA, with the most credits completed at Bushnell. This year's winner was baseball player Jacob Courtney with a 4.0 GPA in Biology.
