Articles in "Hometown News"

No need to ask University of Southern Mississippi junior Brandon Hersey if he believes dreams will come true. The Hattiesburg native is living one now as a winner of the prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Hersey is the University’s third Truman Scholar and the first African American student at Southern Miss to receive the coveted prize. Marie Holowach Federer won in 2011 and Lance Brown, competing in his home state of Alabama, was the first recipient in 1999. Hersey is one of only 62 national finalists chosen for the award and the lone student representing a Mississippi university.

University of Southern Mississippi students Michael Sims of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Hannah Roberts of Mount Olive, Miss., have been awarded prestigious Goldwater Scholarships which recognize the nation’s next generation of top research scientists.

Sims is a junior majoring in polymer science and chemistry, while Roberts is a sophomore chemistry major. Southern Miss accounts for two of the four Goldwater Scholarships awarded this year to students in Mississippi.

More than 600 University of Southern Mississippi students fanned out across Hattiesburg last Saturday morning to assist with cleaning, painting, landscaping and other tasks as part of the Fourth Annual Big Event community service project.

The students spent half a day performing various assignments at nine different locations in the Hattiesburg area. The Big Event is sponsored by the Student Government Association at Southern Miss.

Hattiesburg native and University of Southern Mississippi junior Brandon Hersey has been named a finalist for the prestigious Truman Scholarship.

Hersey, a political science/communications studies major, is the lone Southern Miss student selected and one of only four students from the state of Mississippi chosen as Truman finalists.

University of Southern Mississippi marketing seniors Chelsea Thomas and Mikel Mangipano were part of a team that captured first place honors in the 2^nd Annual Startup Weekend competition held Jan. 18-20 in Jackson, Miss.

A faculty member with an exemplary record of research and service in public health and an Honors College student heading to medical school are The University of Southern Mississippi’s recipients of the annual Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) award.

The National Commission for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has awarded The University of Southern Mississippi continued accreditation, affirming its teacher education programs meet the organization’s rigorous standards for excellence.

Nabanita Mukherjee, a second year masters student at The University of Southern Mississippi, won a second place award for Best Poster in Medical, Urban, & Veterinary Entomology Section of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) 2012 annual meeting last month in Knoxville, Tenn.

Dr. Richard W. Meiring, assistant dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University recently visited The University of Southern Mississippi campus to speak with healthcare preprofessional students interested in veterinary medicine.

Nothing conveys the holiday spirit more than the festive “Lighting the Way for the Holidays” and “Songfest” events held annually at The University of Southern Mississippi. The public is invited to attend this year’s free festivities, set for Thursday, Nov. 29 at the Hattiesburg campus.

Activities for the 6^th Annual “Lighting the Way” program begin at 5 p.m. with performances set to commence at 5:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA) at Southern Miss. The 61^st Annual Chi Omega Songfest will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Reed Green Coliseum.