Education Notebook for May 15
MGCCC student receives $10,000 Google scholarship
Hameed Abdul, a student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jefferson Davis campus, has been awarded The Generation Google Scholarship for 2017. Abdul, of Gulfport, is in the computer science program, but also takes classes at the University of Southern Mississippi.
He plans to use the $10,000 scholarship to help pay for his graduate work in Seoul, South Korea, after he graduates from USM. His undergraduate education is already paid for through various scholarships and grants. In planning for his trip to Korea in either 2019 or 2020, Abdul has been attending a Korean church and immersing himself in the culture. He also has been working toward his black belt in Taekwondo, a Korean martial art.
The Generation Google Scholarship was established to help aspiring computer scientists excel in technology and become leaders in the field. As part of the application process, students must list accomplishments and activities they have completed in their field of study.
Last summer, Abdul interned at Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, working in the rocket propulsion area. During his 10-week internship he reviewed the RPT Program office’s website and suggesting updates. He also taught Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes at USM, teaching technology-based courses to adult learners. Additionally, he has attended a variety of conferences this year including the Global Hack 6, LSU Global Game Jam, San Francisco Game Developers Conference & Expo and Hackathon RSI 2017.
As a scholarship recipient, Abdul is invited to attend the Google Scholars’ Retreat, June 18-21 at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California. Attendees will learn more about Google products, technologies and roles; get exposure to Google engineers; participate in a number of development workshops; and be exposed to professional development and community outreach opportunities that will continue to be offered after the retreat.
Popp’s Ferry student places first in art contest
Students at Popp’s Ferry Elementary in Biloxi participated in the Mississippi Bar Association Law Day Art Contest, and one third-grader earning first place statewide.
Eden Isbell’s artwork was displayed at the state Capitol in Jackson and will be featured in the Mississippi Lawyer Magazine spring issue.
Other students who participated from Popp’s Ferry are Emily Ao, Cheyenne DuMond, Ava Fincher, Tre’ Patton, SJ Smith, Libby Still and Luke Trotter.
Brandi Hoxie is the school’s art instructor.
Scholarship application deadline nears
The deadline is May 30 to apply for the 2017 Garden Park Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship.
Scholarships are awarded based on need, abilities, dedication and plans. Applicants must be 18 years old, have completed at least one year of college, be studying in the field of medicine or health occupations and have not received a GPMC Auxiliary Scholarship before.
For details on what is required to apply, call Billie Hewes at 228-831-4370.
MGCCC PTK chapters win top awards
Phi Theta Kappa members from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College attended the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, in April. Students and advisers from the Jackson County, Jefferson Davis and Perkinston campuses and the George County Center attended.
The Omicron Alpha Chapter at the Jefferson Davis campus was recognized for being in the top 10 percent of the more than 1,300 chapters of the international community college honor society. The chapter also received three awards: Distinguished Chapter, Distinguished Honors in Action Project and the Distinguished Theme Awards Honors in Action. The chapter’s project involved collaborative work with the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain and the Environmental Protection Agency to restore an area at Henderson Point in Pass Christian. The restored area will be used for education about indigenous plants and animals.
The Pi Epsilon Chapter at the Jackson County campus was recognized as one of the top 100 chapters. The results are based on a summation of scores from Honors in Action and College projects. The team’s Honors in Action project, titled “The Elephant in the Room,” focused on breaking the stigmas associated with mental illnesses. The College Project focused on getting students to meet with advisers for successful planning of course selection.
MGCCC’s Gómez named 2017 Moody Institute fellow
Javier Gómez, language arts instructor at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County campus, has been named a Moody Institute fellow for 2017. He was awarded $1,000 and was honored at a recent Mississippi Community College Foundation Board meeting. Five instructors from the state’s 15 community and junior colleges were selected as fellows in 2017.
The Moody Institute Trust Fund was established in 1990 in honor of George V. Moody, the first executive director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The purpose of the Moody Institute is to fund enrichment experiences for faculty employed in Mississippi’s public community and junior colleges.
Gómez, who teaches Spanish and Japanese, will use the money to return to Japan and study the dialect and culture in the Kansai region. He lived in Tokyo (in the Kanto region) for 14 years, but said the dialects in the two regions are different. The research will allow him to teach his students about those differences, especially considering Kansai is home to Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, the country’s second most populated area outside of the greater Tokyo area.
Gómez, who was a 2016 Instructor of the Year at MGCCC, earned his Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Florida and his Master of Arts in the Teaching Languages from the University of Southern Mississippi. In 2016, he received his doctorate in Instructional Technology and Design from USM, receiving the Instructional Technology Academic Achievement, Ph.D. Program Award. In 2013, Gómez was the Humanities Teacher of the Year for the Jackson County campus.
MSU honors research symposium winners
Graduate students from South Mississippi were among those honored at the Mississippi State University’s Graduate Student Research Symposium for their work during the fall 2016 and spring 2017 semesters.
The event was co-sponsored by the MSU Graduate School and Graduate Student Association.
In oral presentations, Caitlin A. Ruby of Long Beach, a geoscience/geospatial sciences master’s student, placed first in arts and humanities. Margaret L. Bernheim of Gulfport, an educational psychology/school psychology doctoral student and summa cum laude psychology bachelor’s graduate of MSU, placed third in social and behavioral sciences.
Terwilliger earns top MCEF honors
Tyler Terwilliger, a welding student at Hancock County Career and Technical Center, was honored as the Mississippi Construction Education Foundation’s Southern District’s Student of the Year at a recent awards ceremony.
Terwilliger was awarded a $500 scholarship given to students who are on track to enroll and be accepted in construction- or manufacturing-related degree programs after graduating from high school. Recipients also must meet academic requirements and be recommended by their instructors and career-center directors.
Student of the year winners were selected from a field of 28 students of the month for 2016-17.
Terwilliger is a member of SkillsUSA, in which he has competed in welding fabrication and welding sculpture at the district and state levels, respectively.
MCEF is a nonprofit educational foundation that provides craft training and credentialing in more than 100 career and technical programs across the state. The foundation’s mission is to train people for the construction and manufacturing industries in Mississippi. Details: mcef.net.
USM students present research at US Capitol
Two University of Southern Mississippi Honors College students participated in Posters on the Hill, an event in which 60 undergraduates from nearly every state in the nation shared their research with legislators and administration officials in the U.S. Capitol.
Maya Rex of Ocean Springs, a junior majoring in psychology, and Britton Strickland, a senior from Hattiesburg majoring in biological sciences, were chosen to take part in the event coordinated by The Council of Undergraduate Research, which selects less than 10 percent of applicants to participate. USM was the only institution in the nation to have two students accepted for the program.
Rex’s project examines the role of facial features and skin color in determining racial bias in school children. Rex’s work won an award at the 2016 Southern Miss Undergraduate Symposium for Research and Creative Activity, and was recently presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Memphis. After graduation, she plans to become a lawyer, specializing in social justice issues.
Strickland’s research identifies structural elements called mirtrons that guide production of small regulatory DNA. He plans to attend graduate school after finishing his degree.
Templeton selected for STEM research program
Savannah Templeton, a freshman at Gulfport High School, was selected to participate in the Joint Science and Technology Institute for Students in Aberdeen, Maryland. JSTI is a two-week, fully funded, residential research program for high school students in the United States and Department of Defense schools around the world.
JSTI students will participate in research projects mentored by DoD research scientists and other subject-matter experts. The purpose is to inspire and encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, increase STEM literacy and emphasize the importance of STEM through relevant research.
Fewer than 60 high school students worldwide were accepted into the 2017 program.
PRCC awards medallions to Honors Institute graduates
Honors Institute students at Pearl River Community College received medallions to mark their completion of the elite academic program.
The graduates from South Mississippi:
▪ Alexandria Cumbest of Hurley. She plans to study chemical engineering at MSU and has received $8,500 in scholarships.
▪ Belle Failla of Picayune. She will go to MSU to major in mechanical engineering and has received $19,000 in scholarships.
▪ Alyssa Fuller of Carriere. She will study biomedical engineering at MSU and has received $19,000 in scholarships.
▪ Jenna Lee of Picayune. She is majoring in biological sciences.
▪ Reagan Norwood of Biloxi. She will study speech pathology at the University of Southern Mississippi.
▪ Sarah Spence of Carriere. She will major in microbiology at USM and has received $4,000 in scholarships.
▪ Madden Stockstill of Picayune. She will work in the Disney College Program before studying pre-pharmacy at Ole Miss. She has received $16,000 in scholarships.
▪ Skylar Taggart of Carriere. He will major in aerospace engineering at MSU and received All-USA Academic and STEM Club scholarships.
▪ Raechel Zimmerman of Lumberton. She will major in English and education at MSU and has received $16,000 in scholarships.
St. Patrick Student Council honored
The St. Patrick Catholic High School Student Council has been awarded a 2017 National Gold Council of Excellence Award by the National Association of Student Councils.
Amber Buckley is sponsor of the St. Patrick Student Council.
For the honor, a council must meet a variety of criteria. In addition to basic requirements such as a written constitution, regular meetings, a democratic election process and membership in NASC, councils demonstrate leadership training for council members, teacher/staff appreciation activities, student recognition programs, school and community service projects, spirit activities, goal setting, financial planning, and active participation in state and national student council associations. Those councils awarded the gold level have demonstrated the highest levels of leadership.
PRCC Bridge to College program taking applications
Applications are being accepted at Pearl River Community College for the 12th annual Summer Bridge to College Program, also known as START. The program will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 5-27 on the Poplarville campus.
Eligible students will earn up to nine college credits while learning skills to help them be successful in the community college setting.
The primary criteria for Student Support Services participation is the need for academic support, based on ACT scores, grade-point average in high school, graduation from a GED program, or being a non-traditional student who has been out of school for more than five years. Participants also must meet at least one of the following criteria: low-income, neither parent has graduated from a four-year college with a degree, or diagnosed with a disability.
Students accepted for the START program pay no tuition but are required to apply for a federal Pell Grant to possibly cover the cost of books, fees, dormitory room, etc.
Students must complete a two-step process:
▪ Submit a signed admissions application to the PRCC admissions office that includes an official high school transcript or GED test scores, along with ACT scores. (Students must be accepted as a PRCC student.)
▪ Mail a completed Summer Bridge Program (START) application to Georgia Field, Student Support Services, P.O. Box 5118, Poplarville MS 39470 or fax the application to 601-403-1042.
Application deadline is June 16. To request a Summer Bridge Program (START) application, call Georgia Field at 601-403-1469 or Lauren Baker at 601-403-1043.
This story was originally published May 23, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Education Notebook for May 15."