Bishop State Grads Include Baseball Player Who Earned College's Top Student Honor

May 13th, 2009 – Peter "Trey" Rose III was coaching baseball at a northwest Florida high school three years ago when a pitching coach from Bishop State Community College came to his school to recruit players.

Rose always wanted to play baseball in college, but after high school, he became a youth minister instead. Hoping for another chance, Rose asked the Bishop State coach to let him throw from a mound.

As a result of that pitch, Rose landed a baseball scholarship to play at the Mobile school.

On Tuesday night, Bishop State's 26-year-old pitcher was one of the 331 students who received associate degrees or certificates from President James Lowe during the school's spring commencement ceremony at the Mobile Civic Center. Rose, a general education major, also received the James B. Allen Award, the college's highest honor given to a student.

"I felt like God was calling me back to school one day," Rose said. He maintained a 3.57 grade point average while commuting from Pensacola to Mobile, pitching for the baseball team and serving on the Student Government Association.

"It was almost like a full-time job," Rose said. "But when you feel like you are doing the right thing and the will of God, it feels good."

For Rose, graduation was "just another reward and stepping stone in life."

Rose said he plans on furthering his education by going to Northwest Florida State University to earn a degree in management.

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