Georgia House Leader To Keynote GGC Graduation

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — The top Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives will be the keynote speaker at Georgia Gwinnett College's spring commencement ceremony.

House Minority Leader Stacey Y. Abrams, of Atlanta, will deliver the address to more than 500 students receiving their bachelor's degrees on the college's main lawn.

The ceremony is set for May 18 at 9 a.m.

A graduate of Yale Law School, Abrams is the first woman to lead either party in a chamber of the Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American selected to lead a party in the House of Representatives.

She has received the prestigious John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award and was named one of the nation's "Rising Legislators to Watch" by Governing magazine. She was named one of the "100 Most Influential Georgians" by Georgia Trend magazine in 2012 and 2013 and was named Public Servant of the Year by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

In her private life, Abrams is the award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels released under the pen name Selena Montgomery.

The commencement ceremony will include recognition of three U.S. Army ROTC cadets who will be commissioned earlier that morning.

Photo courtesy Georgia Gwinnett College