Eight Sunflower County students will be saluted on Delta Council Day as Delta Honor Graduates.
According to a release from the Delta Council this week, Mykala Barnes (Ruleville Central High), Jack Dodd (Indianola Academy), Kaitlyn Jones (Gentry High), Arin McIntyre (North Sunflower Academy), Clarissa Prince (Gentry High), Taylor Reed (Indianola Academy) and Mary Stafford Shurden (North Sunflower Academy) will be honored on June 1.
Delta Council will hold its 15th Annual Salute to Delta Honor Graduates Event during the 83rd Annual Meeting of the regional organization at Delta State University.
The Honor Graduate event is slated for 9:00 a.m. on the lawn under the trees outside of the Bologna Performing Arts Center. Alcorn State University President and incoming Commissioner of Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL), Dr. Alfred Rankins, Jr., will be the keynote speaker for the event, and State Senator Briggs Hopson of Vicksburg, Vice-Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a member of the Universities and Colleges Committee, will serve as co-host.
"We are pleased that two exceptional Mississippi leaders - Dr. Rankins and Senator Hopson - will be there to underscore the importance of continuing their educational and professional pursuits to these top young men and women of the Delta," said Delta Council Educational Policy Chairman Cass Pennington of Indianola. “The Delta Honor Graduate event is designed to raise the level of awareness of parents, teachers, and our local communities of the importance of bringing these bright young minds back to the Delta after they have completed their formal and advanced education."
Dr. Alfred Rankins is the 19th president of Alcorn State University, where he serves as the chief executive officer of the Nation’s oldest public land-grant HBCU. He previously served as deputy commissioner for the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, where he served as the
IHL system’s chief academic and student affairs officer. While serving as deputy
commissioner, Dr. Rankins also served as acting president of Mississippi Valley
State University. He is currently the commissioner-elect for IHL.
A native of Greenville, Mississippi, Dr. Rankins received a Bachelor of Science degree from Alcorn State University and both Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Mississippi State University. He is married to Juandalyn Rankins.
Co-hosting the event will be Mississippi State Senator Briggs Hopson. Senator Hopson is currently the Chair of the Judiciary, Division A, Committee and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee. Other committees Senator Hopson serves on include Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency; Education; Energy; Environment Protection; Conservation and Water Resources; Judiciary, Division B; Public Health and Welfare; Tourism; and Universities and Colleges.
Senator Hopson is an attorney by occupation and adjunct professor at Mississippi College Law School. He resides in Vicksburg and is married to the former Alison Quaid.
The Honor Graduate Event is designed to bestow special honor upon two exemplary students from each of the high schools throughout the Mississippi Delta Region, including public, parochial and private schools.
Students are selected as a Delta Honor Graduate by school administrators based on grade point average, extracurricular activities, and community service.
In addition, a $2,500 scholarship will be awarded to the top Delta Honor Graduate as selected by higher education officials in the Delta, to help defray tuition and expenses as the student’s college of choice sees fit.
The top Delta Honor Graduate will be recognized from the stage of the Annual Meeting during the Business Session, which begins at 10:30 a.m.
