Matthew Mungas, a fourth-grader at West Lauderdale Elementary School, is among semifinalists who will compete in the 2018 Mississippi National Geographic State Bee. The contest will be held Friday at the University of Mississippi.

Matthew is the son of Nick and Jenny Mungas.

This is the second level of the National Geographic Bee competition, which is now in its 30th year. School Bees were held in schools with fourth- through eighth-grade students throughout the state to determine each school champion. School champions then took a qualifying test, which they submitted to the National Geographic Society. The National Geographic Society has invited up to 100 of the top-scoring students in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Dependents Schools and U.S. territories to compete in the State Bees.

To celebrate the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, the cash prize for the top three students in each state has doubled. Each state champion will receive $200, the National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World, 2nd Edition and a trip to Washington, D.C., to represent their state in the National Geographic Bee Championship to be held at National Geographic Society headquarters, May 20-23. Students that come in second place will receive $150 and those that come in third will receive $100. The first-place national champion will receive a $50,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, including a subscription to National Geographic magazine, and an all-expenses-paid Lindblad expedition to the Galápagos Islands aboard the new National Geographic Endeavour ll. Travel for the trip is provided by Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic. Second- and third-place finishers will receive $25,000 and $10,000 college scholarships, respectively. Visit www.natgeobee.org for more information on the National Geographic Bee.

National Geographic will stream the final round of the National Geographic Bee Championship starting May 24, at www.natgeobee.org.

• Nydia Thames is the recipient of the Richard and Faye Hollingsworth Nursing Scholarship. 

This $500 award is funded through the MCC Foundation by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hollingsworth who are passionate supporters of MCC’s nursing program. The candidate must be a full-time student enrolled in the Associate Degree Nursing Program and is carefully chosen on the basis of scholastic ability, leadership ability, leadership potential and financial need. 

Thames, a 2014 honors graduate of Louisville High School, is in the Associate Degree Nursing Program at MCC. She is a member of the Organization of Student Nurses and the Mississippi Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. 

After graduation, Thames plans to receive her bachelor’s degree from MUW or USM. Her goal for the future is to become a traveling nurse and eventually become a nurse practitioner. 

• Breanna Cunningham has been selected to receive the Alexander Ott/The Crossing Memorial Scholarship at Meridian Community College. 

This $1,000 award is funded through the MCC Foundation by employees of The Crossings. 

Cunningham, a 2015 graduate of Enterprise High School, is in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at MCC. A Dean’s List Scholar, Cunningham is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Phi Theta Kappa. 

Cunningham is scheduled to graduate from the PTA program in May.

• COLUMBUS — Chelsey Collins of Meridian, Mississippi, was among members of the Gordy Honors College at Mississippi University for Women who presented their research at the Mississippi Honors Conference at Jackson State University.

Collins, a senior history major, presented “Sexual Codes in Early Medieval Ireland”

• CLINTON —The following residents were named to the President’s List at Mississippi College for Fall 2017: Charles Coleman, Kiana Grant, Noah Mathis, Benjamin Thompson and Ava Youngblood, all of Meridian; Carolyn Rutledge, Jamie Shelby, Meagan Stewart and Hannah Whatley, all of Collinsville; Emily Cloys of Philadelphia; Taylor Hathorn and Christopher King, both of Waynesboro; and Keelea Wood of Macon.

To be eligible for the President’s List, a student must maintain a 4.0 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average

• CLINTON — The following residents were named to the Dean’s List at Mississippi College for Fall 2017: James Gibson III, Joya Johnson, Kaitlyn Knuth, Amanda Price, Haylee Riley and Julianna Stephens, all of Meridian; Christy Bryan and Ali Pike, both of Philadelphia; Adonia Ross of Toomsuba; Muriel Collins of Union; Anastasia Crout of Lake; John Edwards; and Dalton Outz of Macon.

To be eligible for the Dean’s List, a student must maintain a 3.5 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average.

• TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Mackenzie Ross of Meridian, Mississippi, a graduate student at The University of Alabama, was named the recipient of the 2018 Bruce K. Berger Graduate Student Leadership Award.

The department of advertising and public relations at UA established this award in 2013 to honor one graduate student in the advertising and public relations Master of Arts program for exemplary leadership. The students in the M.A. program vote and select the student who best demonstrates passion for work and the public relations profession, exemplifies a strong ethical orientation and employs an inclusive style of leadership.

Ross currently serves as the graduate assistant for The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and as a graduate teaching assistant for the Department of Communication Studies, teaching Public Speaking labs. She graduated summa cum laude from UA last May with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Information Sciences.

During her time as an undergraduate student, Ross received the Susan Colvin Prize, honoring the top student in the College of Communication and Information Sciences; the William P. Bloom Premier Award, recognizing one student for outstanding service and collaboration; and The University of Alabama Outstanding Senior Award.

• TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Caroline Wigley of Gilbertown recently was selected for the Capstone Men and Women group at The University of Alabama.

Capstone Men and Women serve as official ambassadors of UA. They assist the University president’s office, admissions and alumni during functions held on campus and in other locations, as well as host daily tours of the campus for prospective students and other visitors.

• JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Iasiah Adams and Kyndal Long, both of Butler, Jakayla Coleman of Lisman and Waddie McGrew of Gilbertown were among more than 2,600 students welcomed into the 2018 Freshman Class at Jacksonville State University.