Student Affairs and Alumni news

Division of Student Affairs Update: upcoming events, impressive student and alumni accolades, student support services and well-being resources, and alumni updates and accomplishments.

Alumni Honeycutt and Risley receive America Cancer Society Awards

DNP graduate Dr. Lisa Honeycutt and PhD in Nursing graduate Dr. Carolann Risley were awarded honors from the American Cancer Society (ACS) during their annual volunteer and partner awards luncheon. Honeycutt, director of the oncology service line, was recognized as their Cancer Support Partner of the Year and accepted an award on behalf of the UMMC Cancer Center and Research Institute (CCRI) as a Hope Lodge and Transportation Grant partner. Among many reasons, she was noted during the luncheon for being a "volunteer for ACS for over 20 years and has been involved in many areas of our mission. ACS used to implement a children's cancer camp many years ago called Camp Rainbow, and Lisa was actively involved with the planning and implementation of that program. She has also been a supporter of Relay For Life in the early days and continued to be involved through the years as well as with various professional education opportunities."

The associate professor, Risley, was recognized as a Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Champion of the Year. An excerpt from her award read, "[Dr.] Carolann Risley is an associate professor for the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. [She] leads the Mississippi HPV Roundtable systems change workgroup and has taken on several special projects to help address the low HPV vaccination rates and high cervical cancer rates in Mississippi."

Thank you both for your work towards cancer support and research for the health of Mississippi! Dr. Sarah M. Jones was also recognized as a Quality Improvement Champion for her work toward improving the HPV vaccination rate.

Mississippi Nurses Foundation awards

Seven SON students received the 2023-2024 Mississippi Car Tag scholarships from the Mississippi Nurses Foundation (MNF). Celeste Knighton, senior Traditional BSN and student ambassador, and Allison Martin, Jackson Accelerated BSN student, from the undergraduate programs; Jayla Collins, Carley May, Lakesia Sutton and Sharron Taylor from the graduate program and Jessica Pickens representing the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. The scholarships are given through the proceeds from the Nurses Car Tag program. Congratulations to all of the car tag scholarship recipients, and thank you to MNF for supporting our students!

Kudos to Kierston Griffin for receiving the Eileen S. and Earl C. Whittmore Advanced Practice/Nursing Practitioner Scholarship from MNF. The scholarship is sponsored by the Whittemore Family and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation given to a nurse practitioner student that resides from either Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River, Stone, or George County to help them meet their educational goals.

Kajal Dhawan was awarded with the Lane-Ware Graduate Nursing Scholarship, created to recognize and support advance practice nurses who advocate for the mental health Mississippi communities. The scholarship was established from a gift from Mrs. Irma Brinkley Lane and Dr. Sarah Mazique Ware, retired nurses with over 30 years of combined experience in mental health. 

MSN student in the Family Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track Freda Kigen received the $1,000 Hiawatha and Eunice Northington Memorial Scholarship from the MNF. The scholarship was established by Dr. LaDonna Northington, former SON associate dean for academic affairs, along with her siblings Monica and Hiawatha Northington II. It honors the memory of their late parents and is designed to assist nurse or nurse practitioner students who intend to work with geriatric clients to ensure the excellence of medical care to these patients in their sunset years.

Earlier in August, PhD in Nursing student Gordon Gartrell was awarded with the 2023 MNF PhD Research Grant. The funds received will go towards his research studies during his doctoral program. Gartrell has joined past recipients Jennifer Stephen (2019-20), Jacob Crouch (2019-20), and Jennifer Brumfield (2022) over the past five years.

With the support of an initial gift from friends of Dr. Marcia Rachel, a former associate dean for academic affairs, the Dr. Marcia Rachel Excellence in Leadership Endowment Fund was established in her memory. The gift will match the first $20,000 of funds and has set a fundraising goal of $70,000. An excerpt from the press release for the fund spoke of the impact Rachel left with her passing, "[Her] laughter and memory will be forever cherished by both the Mississippi Nurses Association and the Mississippi Nurses Foundation. She devoted 13 consecutive years of service to the Foundation and led the scholarship committee with structure and a true desire to support students and served for six years on the Nightingale awards committee. She was inducted into the Mississippi Nurses Association Hall of Fame for her lifetime of leadership and excellence in nursing. Throughout her career, Marcia was a mentor to a countless number of nursing professionals and a leader of many educational initiatives. She invested in students, knowing that they are the future of the nursing profession."

Amanda McCullough, DNP student, and Sharron Taylor were awarded the Dr. Marcia Rachel Excellence in Leadership Awards.For more information about this fund or any of the scholarship opportunities, visit the Mississippi Nurses Foundation website or contact MNF at foundation@msnurses.org.

Attention Students

Students: As a reminder, please update your emergency contact information in Workday.

Service learning upcoming events/opportunities

Run the Rainbow for Children's - Saturday, March 16, Jackson

University Transplant Guild 2024 Southern Social - Friday, April 12, Jackson

Alzheimer's Association - ongoing opportunity, Ridgeland

Compassus Volunteers - ongoing opportunity, Flowood

Evers Care Monthly Food Distribution - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

Jackson Free Clinic - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

Mercy Delta - ongoing opportunity, Rolling Fork

Little Light House School - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

Love Packs - ongoing opportunity, Oxford

Mustard Seed, Inc. - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

Mississippi Blood Services - ongoing opportunity, Oxford

Volunteering at Children's Hospital - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

UMMC Volunteer Reserve Pool - ongoing opportunity, Jackson

Students, check GivePulse for more information and to sign up!

Contacting the Division of Student Affairs

Student Affairs Overview

Meet the Staff