Savannah Leigh Brown, a nursing major from Wray, received the prestigious George P. Donaldson Award at the spring commencement ceremony Thursday at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. 

"The family-like atmosphere at ABAC has never ceased to amaze me," Brown said in her Donaldson Award application. "When I first stepped foot on this campus, I was greeted with opens arms, friendly

Savannan Brown receives the Donaldson Award at graduation from ABAC President David Bridges, left, and Alumni Association President Keith Rucker.

Named to both the President's List and the Dean's List, Brown earned distinguished, superior and honor student status during her ABAC career. The nursing degree she received at Thursday's ceremony was actually her second diploma from ABAC. She graduated with honors from ABAC in 2012 with her associate degree in speech communications.   

Besides her academic achievements in the classroom, Brown excelled in extracurricular activities including four years of service as an ABAC Ambassador, where she represented the college at civic club speaking engagements, at high school recruiting events, at the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition and at a visit by Gov. Sonny Perdue. She was also selected by the college administration for the 2010 Georgia Women's Leadership in Public Service Institute.

Brown was crowned Ms. ABAC in 2010, opening the door for a WALB-TV interview and a front cover photo on "TiftonScene" magazine. Active in the Phi Theta Kappa honor society and the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Brown expanded her leadership skills this year by being selected as president of the ABAC chapter of the Georgia Association of Nursing Students.

The graduation guest speaker was Coleman Ruiz, a former Navy SEAL who encouraged the students to challenge themselves in several areas including functional excellence, physical and mental toughness, and teamwork and leadership.

"You must ask yourself are you just doing things or are you doing the things that help you achieve what you really want out of life," Ruiz said. "I want you to be among the elite but not an elitist."

A total of 319 students completed their requirements for ABAC degrees this semester. Sixty-five students received bachelor's degrees.