Ten Meridian High School students were recognized as recipients of Meridian Housing Authority scholarships totaling $140,000 during the recent senior awards night at the high school.

Alexia Mosley and Jamire Clayton were selected to receive 2023 Jeanell E. Kidd HOPE VI Endowment Scholarships totaling $65,000 each, according to a MHA news release announcing the scholarships. Members of the Kidd family were in attendance at the MHS event to present the award to the students.

Kidd, a registered nurse and the first African American female family nurse practitioner in the state, also was the first African American school nurse hired in the Meridian Public School District in 1989. She served at Kate Griffin Junior High and Meridian High School until 2005. She is in the Mississippi School Nurse Association Hall of Fame.

While serving as a Meridian Housing Authority Commissioner, the Jeanell Kidd HOPE VI Endowment Scholarship was approved in her honor by the MHA Board of Commissioners in August 2004. MHA partnered with the Community Foundation of East Mississippi in 2009 to manage the scholarship fund.

Since its inception, the Jeanell K. Kidd scholarship has awarded about $1 million to deserving seniors, according to the MHA website.

Eight other MHS students received scholarships from the Meridian Housing Authority during the awards program. They were Octavia Burton, Taylor Darden, Camron Colton, Janiya Henderson, Kendis Irving, Zykeevian King, Jakaylah Malone and Shanya Price.

The purpose of the MHA scholarship program is to recognize and encourage deserving public housing residents on their decision to continue their educational endeavors.

“Investing in families residing in MHA’s 10 affordable housing communities guarantees a brighter future for themselves and their families,” said MHA Executive Director Ron Turner Sr.