Lander's top academic honor for spring 2011 graduates went to Amber Nicole Scates, of Greenwood, who received the Thayer Award. The award is presented on behalf of the family of Dr. Henry K. Thayer to the graduating senior achieving the highest scholastic average, provided that the student has earned at least 60 credit hours in residence at Lander and that the student's grade point average is at least 3.75. An elementary education major, Scates graduated summa cum laude and received a Golden L Award, which is given to students who have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 in the last 60 hours of instruction through Lander University. Scates completed her student teaching at W.E. Parker Elementary School in Edgefield and is now working on her master's degree at Furman University.