special to The Star



JACKSON – Meridian Community College sophomores Saydrianne Harris of Tylertown and Joe Otto of Lindsey, Texas, were recently named to the All-Mississippi Academic Team. Harris was named to the First Team and will receive a $1,000 scholarship and Otto was named to the Second Team.

Fifty-two members of the All-Mississippi Teams were recognized at the State Capitol by the Mississippi Legislature and honored at a luncheon. The All-Mississippi Academic Team program is coordinated by The Clarion-Ledger, Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, and the Mississippi State Board for Community and Junior Colleges.

Each college is eligible to nominate two students per campus for the Academic Team Competition. From the nominations received, 20 first, second and third team members will be selected. First Team members will each receive a $2,500 cash stipend and a commemorative obelisk from USA TODAY; will be recognized during the Phi Theta Kappa Presidents Breakfast at the AACC Convention in Washington, DC; and will be featured in USA TODAY international newspaper. Second and Third Team members will each receive an engraved medallion and will be listed in USA TODAY.

  The two students were not only state winners but also national winners. They received national finalist status in the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation Scholarship Program, which is a component of the PTK International Scholarship Program. As finalists, they each will receive a $1,000 check.

  Harris, a mathematics major, serves as secretary for the Nu Upsilon Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa; Otto, a pre-medicine major, serves as publicity chairman and webmaster of the Nu Upsilon chapter.