Celebrating Valedictorian Kylen Aycock and the Class of 2024

The Psychology Department Graduating class of 2023-2024 is comprised of 212 Bachelors Degree recipients, 66 M.Ed. Recipients, and 24 Doctoral Graduates coming to a grand total of 302 graduating students. The largest number we have had in our department’s history!

It is exciting to see our department community grow to new heights as we grow our number of students each year. The sheer size of our graduating class reflects the growing interest in and importance of psychology in today's world. We look forward to seeing the incredible accomplishments each of our graduates make in their professional careers and beyond. 

This year many of our students span across the state earning their degree through either our Online Undergraduate Program or our statewide M.Ed. program. These programs provide increased accessibility and flexibility to non-traditional students striving to further their education. This year’s valedictorian is one of our many statewide students, Kylen Aycock. He is an outstanding student who “before I got the email telling me that I had been nominated as valedictorian, the possibility of receiving the position had never crossed my mind.  I am grateful that my work during these years has been recognized, and I am able to show my children that, with hard work and commitment, they can achieve whatever goals they set for themselves.”

Kylen Aycock comes from a long line of USU Alumni and was drawn to the program because of the family ties, “another major reason as to why I chose it was due to the convenience of the USU extension near my home” Aycock explains. “Due to my work and family commitments, I knew that I would have to take classes online, but I was able to access resources to help me in my education by having the extension nearby.”

Aycock plans to pursue graduate school in the coming years so that he can enter the mental health field and continue to help others through work that he is passionate about and helps him support his family.

“It is hard to pinpoint one thing as the most important out of all that I have learned during my time at USU.” Says Aycock. “There has been a great deal that I have learned throughout all the classes I have taken, not only the information contained within the courses but new things about myself as well.  Perhaps the most important thing is that I have learned to better keep an open mind and consider opinions and viewpoints that I may not have before.”

Congratulations to the Class of 2024!