Students celebrated for achievements at first UMMC Honors College awards
Nearly 100 students across all six health professional schools and the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy were recognized Thursday during the inaugural University of Mississippi Medical Center Honors College awards ceremony, marking the first formal celebration of academic excellence in the program’s short history.
The students who completed the year-long program received a medallion and certificate of achievement from Dr. Scott Rodgers, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and Dr. Natalie Gaughf, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Dr. Penni Foster, director of the program, said the goal of the program is to train students to think critically and broaden their perspectives on professional and ethical issues within health care and research.
“To be selected for the honors college is significant; to complete the Honors College is a great achievement,” said Foster.
Foster said students selected for the Honors College are performing in the top 25 percent of their competitive and complex programs, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in UMMC coursework and are full-time students enrolled in eligible UMMC degree programs or the pharmacy program that are at least three years in length.
Degree programs eligible for the Honors College are Doctor of Audiology, Doctor of Health Administration, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Philosophy, Doctor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Physical Therapy.
The program is the first of its kind in the nation, and this year marked the first-time students were honored with a formal ceremony. During the event, not only were students from the 2025-2026 class celebrated, but also students from the 2024-2025 class, the inaugural members of the program.
“To me, being in that initial class, knowing that we started something and got our feet off the ground for something that is so much bigger than being in OT school, it has been great,” said Kaitlyn Quick, occupational therapy student.
The program launched in 2023 with Foster leading the initiative. Only 19 students from the 2024-2025 class completed the program. This year, 80 students from all schools and the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy completed the year-long program, marking the first-time students from every school were invited to participate.
“I remember when I was in high school, to get called into an honor roll was so special, and now to receive this at this stage in my life, I feel very blessed,” said McKing Amedari, PhD student in the School of Population Health.
Other students honored during the ceremony said the journey was long and difficult, but completely worth it in the end to be invited into one of the most prestigious colleges at UMMC.
“This was the result of dedication, determination and working hard,” said Mais Abdelhaq, PhD student in the School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences.
The event concluded with a congratulatory message from Rodgers, who also asked the award recipients a question: Why do you put so much effort and energy into a new project like this that is the first of its kind?
“We looked around at UMMC and we realized, when it comes to interprofessional training, interprofessional excellence, we had all the ingredients we needed to bake that cake,” said Rodgers. “What I want to convey to students is the importance of recognizing and respecting all the health professions, not just their own. By bringing them together as we did and creating a sense of community, I think we were able to achieve an interprofessional community.”
Rodgers said the next Honors College class is already in the works. Students eligible for invitations to the UMMC Honors College will receive more information during the summersemester.