Deidra Bohannon

Classroom

Outside hitter Deidra Bohannon is one of only two student-athletes at Georgia State to ever go through the Respiratory Therapy program. She has had to balance clinicals (which includes driving in Atlanta traffic to local hospitals) with practice yet has still managed to earn a 3.59 grade-point average through her junior year. In addition, Bohannon has been named to the Dean’s List twice, President’s List once and A.D. Honor Roll once. Bohannon was also named to the Sun Belt Commissioner’s List in 2013-14. As a senior, she was chosen to serve as a mentor for first-year respiratory therapy students. She was nominated by her academic adviser for the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award in 2014-15. She is considering a masters in respiratory therapy at Georgia State following her undergraduate career.

Character

Bohannon displays strong values and is looked up to by her fellow GSU students as well as other student-athletes. She serves on the leadership team for GSU’s Athletes in Action group and attended the Ultimate Training Camp in Colorado over the summer. Head Coach Sally Polhamus named Bohannon a floor captain for the Panthers in 2014 and again this season. As part of her Respiratory Therapy outreach, Bohannon started a petition to encourage smoke cessation on GSU’s campus and gathered more than 200 student’s signatures in just 24 hours. Bohannon dealt with the passing of her mother just before the fall semester and exhibited great strength and courage to her teammates, coaches and professors to continue pursuing excellence both on and off the court.

Community

Bohannon has volunteered throughout the Atlanta metro area for numerous non-profit agencies including the Salvation Army. Bohannon has also teamed with other GSU student-athletes to feed the homeless around downtown Atlanta. Through the Respiratory Therapy Club, Bohannon participates in many outreach programs in the community that educates college students and other citizens about the importance of respiratory health and the benefits of smoke cessation.

Competition

A starter since her freshman year, Bohannon has been a leader on GSU’s team since her first days on campus. She is the school’s career kills leader since 2008 and was named All-Sun Belt in both 2013 and 2014. She finished third in the Sun Belt last season with 432 kills and was second on GSU’s roster with 303 digs. She finished last season with 14 double-doubles while earning double-digit kills in 23 of 30 matches. Bohannon reached the 1,000-kill mark in just three seasons. She has led the team in kills the past two seasons and was second on the squad her freshman year.