A recent Heritage Academy graduate is among the last group of National Merit Scholarship winners named in 2009.
Mary Margaret Alexander, who plans to study art, won a National Merit Scholarship to Mississippi State University.
“Mary Margaret was an outstanding student and even a better person,” said Heritage Headmaster Tommy C. Gunn. “She was just as good on the inside as she was on the outside, so she”ll do well in this world, no doubt about it.”
Gunn called Alexander a “great artist, great singer” and noted she is “very talented and gifted in the heart.”
“She was a very well-rounded young lady and she will do a fantastic job in this world,” he added.
“It”s pretty exciting, I suppose,” Alexander said. “I wasn”t actually really thinking (about winning); it was just kind of a pleasant surprise to find out.”
According to information released by the National Merit Scholarship Corp., officials of each sponsor college selected their winners from among finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study at the institution financing the scholarship.
This year, 201 colleges and universities — located in 44 states and Washington, D.C., including 120 private and 81 public institutions — are sponsoring more than 4,800 Merit Scholarship winners.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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