The University of Southern Mississippi President Joseph Paul awarded each senior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science a full-tuition, four-year scholarship to the university during a special assembly Wednesday at Nissan Auditorium.
Paul, who once taught leadership seminars at MSMS, said awarding the scholarships, valuing nearly $40,000 each, was an easy decision.
“As a public university in Mississippi, the USM wants to invest in Mississippi kids, and the best and the brightest are here at the Mississippi School for Math and Science,” he said.
MSMS is a residential high school for gifted juniors and seniors with 228 students, 106 of whom are seniors. It’s housed at Mississippi University for Women.
Paul congratulated the students on having the “courage, conviction and maturity” it takes to leave their homes and local schools to attend the residential high school. He said the combination of living away from home and handling a rigorous course load has already prepared the students as they plan for college.
“They’re not only academically gifted,” Paul told The Dispatch. “They’ve been prepared by an elite faculty. Because they live here, they’ve learned how to do college. They’re ready.”
MSMS Interim Executive Director Ginger Tedder called the day a “momentous occasion” with it being the first time an MSMS class has received a gift this large.
Paul said it hopefully won’t be the last time. He told The Dispatch he hopes to award the MSMS Class of 2025 with the same scholarships.
“We’re going to take a hard look at how this goes with hopes of doing it next year,” he said.
With a designation as an R1 university due to high research activities, a Carnegie community engagement classification and an honors college requiring undergraduate research, Paul told the students they would have a “tremendous leg up” if they choose to attend USM.
“What’s truly distinctive is size, scale and personal attention you’ll get as an undergraduate scholar, as a genuinely intellectually curious scholar who wants to maximize what you learn,” he said during the assembly. “Don’t ever doubt you can get anywhere in the world you want to go with a (USM) education. … So I say save your money for grad school.”
After the assembly, each student received a certificate for the full tuition scholarship. Paul told the seniors they would only need to apply to the university and be admitted to receive the award.
Awarding the scholarships at MSMS, Paul told The Dispatch, goes beyond bringing talented students to USM. He said supporting the school’s seniors was just the right thing to do.
“It’s the right thing to do for these young scholars, and it’s the right thing to do for the state of Mississippi,” he said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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