Karlen Marshall, a computer science major at North Carolina A&T State University, has been named the university's highest ranking student. Marshall earned a perfect grade point average and was recognized at N.C. A&T's 2008 Fall Commencement Dec. 13, at the Greensboro Coliseum.

A native of Portsmouth, Va., Marshall began focusing on earning all A's after her first semester at the institution. "I made a 4.0 during the first semester of my freshman year. After viewing my grades, I was very surprised," she said. "I felt like I had to keep working hard to make the same grades every semester. If I would’ve gotten a 3.0, I think I would have settled. When I got all A’s, I felt motivated to keep my grades and continue striving for success."

"God is so good," said Dr. Vernon Dozier, chairperson of the computer science department. "Karlen has truly been a blessing to our department. She has worked extremely hard over her academic career here at A&T. We, in the computer science department, are proud of her accomplishments and praise God that she will become a part of our graduate program in the spring."

Marshall has a wide range of accomplishments. After completing rigorous courses in her major, she aided in a project to enhance the text messaging system with Java using engineering software.

The 21-year-old also interned with the North America Space Agency for two consecutive summers in Virginia. There she worked within the Langley Research Center and had responsibilities ranging from programming a graphical user interface to researching the effects of space weather on aviation communication.

As a student, she was a member of the Computer Science Honor Society, Upsilon Pi Epsilon. She belonged to the university organizations Aggies Elite, Association of Computing Machinery and the National Society of Black Engineers. Marshall also gave back to the Aggie community by being a Student Success Coach and a Peer Advisory Leader (PAL).

Although she was heavily involved within the university, Marshall still found time to concentrate on her studies. "Honestly, it was not hard for me to balance everything," she said. "I don’t know why it wasn’t hard, but it wasn’t."

Marshall, as she reflects on her years as a student, is proud of her accomplishments and basks in her success. She offers words of advice for students who have the potential to reach the highest level of academic success as she did.

"Remember that someone is paying for you to be in school. Though it is fun to party, you must remember why you are here. Work hard now, because before you know it, your four years in college will be over."

According to Webster's Dictionary, a scholar is defined as "a learned or erudite person, especially one who has profound knowledge of a particular subject." Marshall exemplifies all of these qualities and so much more.

Marshall is the daughter of Regina Davis and Lee McGill.