• DECATUR —The following local residents were among numerous East Central Community College students who were recipients of endowed and annual scholarships and were recognized during a reception held recently in the Brackeen-Wood Gymnasium on campus.

A record 152 scholarships valued at over $170,000 were presented during the 2018 event. Eighty-five of recipients are from within East Central’s five-county district with 102 freshman and 50 sophomore scholarships presented.

Recipients and their respective high schools and scholarships include:

Alley Bernard of Southeast Lauderdale, Dr. Beverly (Henry) Oliphant-Martin Scholarship; Ryan Ethridge, Alumni Association Lifetime Membership Scholarship; Maggie Wooldridge, Sylvia Ann Graham Haywood Memorial Scholarship; Jason Newbaker, Weems Family Scholarship — all of West Lauderdale; and Cortavius Robinson of Newton, BankPlus Scholarship.

Madelyn Edwards, AT&T Scholarship; Orissa McDonald, James M. Vance Endowed Scholarship; Ty Duran, Mississippi Land Bank Scholarship; and Jacob Robinson, W.R. Covington Scholarship — all of Noxapater.

Oree Carmichael, Clyde B. and Flossie H. Goodson Scholarship; Elaina Pearson, Dr. Conrad Barnes Math & Science Scholarship; Hollie Horn, Dr. Earl L. Laird Sr. Scholarship and Nancy Harris Nursing Scholarship; Larry Reed, Dr. Shelby L. Harris Scholarship; Zack McMullan, Elton D. Wall Scholarship; Garrett Mills, James E. Land Memorial Scholarship; Nathan Lewis, Johnson Family Engineering Scholarship; Christopher Mulford, La-Z-Boy Scholarship; Ethan McMullan, Martha Kate Tullos Hummel Scholarship; Stephen Walters, Newton Rotary Club Scholarship; Victoria Ferguson, Ona Mae Ethridge Scholarship; Laurel Shinn, Pam Harris Memorial Scholarship; Allyson Hollingsworth, Paul V. and Voncile Breazeale Scholarship; Alexis Rover, Richard L. Harris Scholarship; Sarah Wright, T.T. Beemon Scholarship; Gavin Bailey, W. Clayton Blount Scholarship; Brianna Dailey, Warrior Golf Classic Alumni Association Scholarship; Joel Hill, Warrior Golf Classic Alumni Association Scholarship; and Rebekah Smith, Weems Family Scholarship — all of Newton County High School.

Bailey McDill, BankPlus Annual Scholarship; Braxton Rose, Bobby Addy Memorial Scholarship; Bethany Wellerman, Class of 1964 Endowed Scholarship; Ciara Patterson, Donald Gray Triplett Scholarship; Zachary Finnegan, Frances Brown Crenshaw Nursing Scholarship; Gillian Hitt, Jeffrey G. and Kathy Hitt Memorial Scholarship; Niley Craven, La-Z-Boy Scholarship; Landrey Godwin, Opal McMullan Dickerson Scholarship; Savannah Baucum, Robert G. Fick Scholarship; and Matthew Moore, Aaron R. Davis Scholarship — all of Newton County Academy.

Katelyn Durant, Ben Myers Memorial Scholarship; Hannah Stokes, Ben Myers Memorial Scholarship; Elijah Griffin, Dr. Vernon Clyde and Vashti Muse Endowed Scholarship; Taylor Harrison, East Central Scholars (Alumni Assoc.) Scholarship; Taylor Adcock, East Central Scholars (Thomas) Scholarship; Caitlin Gray, East Central Scholars (Alumni) Scholarship; Dakota Bailey, Fred Preston Dallas and Maudie Threatt Dallas Memorial Scholarship; Courtney McNair, Johnson/Taylor Memorial Scholarship; Julia Rigdon, Prentice and Dorothy Copeland Scholarship; Jaiden Moore, Russell McCann Memorial Scholarship; AnneTaylor Adams, Sam Rush Memorial Scholarship; Madalyn Thompson, Sam Rush Memorial Scholarship; Morgan McPhail, Sue Gunter Memorial Scholarship; Chreshun Horne, Taylor Machine Works – Machining Scholarship; Isaiah Quick, Taylor Machine Works – Machining Scholarship; and Micah Burt, Taylor Machine Works-Welding Scholarship — all of Neshoba Central High School.

Kaehlyn Saxton, Charles and Judy Dowdle Thomas Scholarship; Chandler Posey, Jacob Stovall Memorial Scholarship; Courtney Smith, Landon Bryan Burt Memorial Scholarship; Cherish McWilliams, Nellie Neill Cross Memorial Scholarship; and Matthew Smith, Rev. John Lambert Neill Memorial Scholarship — all of Philadelphia.

Katie Wolverton, Citizens Bank of Philadelphia Scholarship; Baylee Robinson, Dr. L.B. & Dixie Adkins Scholarship; Destiny Jenkins, Jack and Mary Jo White Scholarship; Bailey Hedgepeth, Jessica Cager Memorial Scholarship; Macy Lott, Newton Rotary Club Scholarship; Samantha Bishop, Pauline Matthews Memorial Scholarship; Symone Cleveland, U.S. Electrical Motors Scholarship; Chloe Chapman, William Wade Long Memorial Scholarship; and Shania Moore, Willis “Bubba” Smith Scholarship — all of Union.

Homeschoolers Samantha McMullan, State Farm Insurance Scholarship, and Amanda Tero, Stella Weathersby Newsome Scholarship, both of Decatur.

BATON ROUGE, La. — The following local residents were recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines:

Alena Calderon, Sarah Dover, Chelsea Grissett and Charlotte Tabereaux, all of Meridian, were initiated at Mississippi State University; Dalton Williams of Collinsville was initiated at Mississippi State University; Shelby Wilkerson of Lake, Nina Nguyen of Marion, Mary Thomas and Leigh Van Devender, both of Philadelphia, were initiated at the University of Mississippi; and Jennifer Mcilwain of Butler, Alabama, was initiated at the University of South Alabama.

These residents are among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

• CLINTON — Joya Johnson of Meridian and Alanna Kron of Decatur were among 22 Mississippi College student nurses who conducted a health fair recently at the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

Mississippi College nursing students administered flu shots, checked blood pressure, and offered valuable tips on weight control. Working several hours at a health fair at the Mississippi Baptist Convention provided good practice for the School of Nursing students. The student nurses assisted pastors, their spouses, and other visitors at the 183rd convention at First Baptist Church Jackson.

The MC student nurses returned as volunteers helping the Christian university’s faculty and staff at a Nov. 13 health fair.

Mississippi College, affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, is a private, co-educational, Christian university of liberal arts and sciences serving more than 5,100 students, from 40 states and more than three dozen countries. Founded in 1826, Mississippi College is the oldest institution of higher learning in Mississippi, the largest private university in the state and America’s second oldest Baptist college.