2014-2015 STENNIS, BARBOUR, COLLINS, AND ALLEN SCHOLARS
A jpg picture-perfect version of this picture is available here.
Andrew Yates (on the far left) is a freshman John C. Stennis Scholar. He is a graduate of Grace Christian School in Louisville. While in high school, Andrew was elected Student Body President in his senior year, and served as Student Council Vice President the previous year and as Student Council Representative the two preceding years. He has participated in numerous leadership programs, such as the Hugh O'Brian Leadership Conference, the EMEPA Youth Leadership Conference, and the Boy Scouts. A member of Winston County Teenage Republicans, Andrew has campaigned for Governor Phil Bryant, former governor Haley Barbour, and Congressman Gregg Harper. He also has athletic talents, lettering and serving as team captain of his school's basketball team, and being manager of its baseball team for four years. Andrew plans to attend law school and to eventually work in the Republican party.
Haley Grantham (2nd from the left) is a senior Stennis Scholar majoring in political science and minoring in religion. She is the daughter of Junior and Becky Grantham and a native of Star, MS. While at MSU, Haley has served as the Director of Freshman Forum and on the Student Association Executive Council as Executive Assistant. She is currently serving as the Vice President of the Student Body and as Roadrunner student recruiter for the Office of Admissions of Scholarships. Haley also presently represents MSU in a Mississippi Election Law Study Group, which was coordinated by the Secretary of State’s Office to look into a more effective primary system for the State of Mississippi. She is a member of Stennis-Montgomery Association, Kappa Delta Sorority, and the Shackouls Honor College. This past summer she worked in Congressman Gregg Harper’s Washington, D.C. office an intern. In the future, she hopes to attend law school and ultimately work in non-profit law, serving as in-house counsel for a charity or a state owned institution.
Rachel Melissa Weitzel (3rd from the left) is a freshman John C. Stennis Scholar. A resident of Gulfport, she is a graduate of St. Patrick Catholic High School in Biloxi. Very active in youth leadership conferences, Melissa was elected Youth Governor among other positions at Mississippi Youth Legislature and attended the YMCA Youth Governor's Conference in Washington. Melissa's diverse academic interests include her Vice Presidency of the Spanish Honor Society, and her Presidency of the National Honor Society. She is very active in volunteering for the Salvation Army and has worked as a lifeguard for the past two years. Melissa's focus after college is working in International Conflict Resolution for a Human Rights organization.
Caroline Collins (4th from the left) is a junior Stennis Scholar from Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. While in high school, Caroline was a member of Student Council each year and served as Student Body President as a senior. Caroline started her school’s recycling program, served as Varsity Tennis Captain and Varsity Cheerleading Captain, was a member of two state championship volleyball teams, and a delegate to the Mississippi Youth Legislature Conference as both a Senator and a Lobbyist. In her church community, Caroline served on the Diocese of Biloxi SEARCH retreat team, the KAIROS retreat team, and her school’s Campus Ministry. She is a four-time delegate to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. During the summer of her senior year, Caroline spent time in Washington D.C. serving Senator Thad Cochran as a United States Senate Page. Caroline has served as a district intern for United States Congressman Steven Palazzo, and last summer studied in Rome. At Mississippi State, Caroline is the Chairman of MSU College Republicans, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Lambda Sigma Honor Society, the Stennis-Montgomery Association, and Kappa Delta Sorority. During the 2012-2013 school year, Caroline served as President of the MSU Freshman Class. She has also served as Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Anthony Laudadio (4th from the right) is a sophomore Stennis Scholar from Walnut, Mississippi. He was a leader in the 4-H Program in high school, twice serving as the Alcorn County 4-H Council President, and has been a member of the State 4-H Leadership Team. He has been a delegate to both the National 4-H Congress and the National 4-H Conference. Anthony has served as a Junior Legislative Page to then Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant and has attended both teen leadership camps and a mock legislature camp. He has earned the Congressional Award Bronze Medal and has actively served his community through the Congressional Awards program. Anthony is currently a member of the Shackouls Honors College and is actively involved on campus, being a member of the Baptist Student Union, Collegiate 4-H, the Elections Committee on the Student Association, and the MSU Philharmonia. He is also engaged with the Stennis Montgomery Association and is the current secretary of MSU College Republicans. After graduation, Anthony plans to pursue a Master's degree in public policy or history and to work in a governmental or educational institution.
Jamie Aron (3rd from the right), a graduate of Jackson Preparatory School and a junior at MSU, is our new Haley Barbour Scholar. Double majoring in Political Science and Mathematics, she is also a Presidential Endowed Scholar and a member of the Shackouls Honors College. Jamie is the creator and director of WE Lead (Women Empowered Leadership Conference), and the co-founder and President of the American Association of University Women's e-affiliate branch. She has studied abroad in Spain, and studied at Oxford University in Great Britain during their Trinity Term last summer. Jamie was one of three women in the nation chosen to intern at the Andi Leadership Institute in D.C. last summer, where she discussed conflict resolution and peace negotiations with women from the Middle East, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Jamie is also active in the Student Association, where she serves as Director-elect of Community and Governmental Relations. Jamie is involved with MSU's annual Mississippi Model Security council as well.
Michael F. Burgess (2nd from the right), a graduate of Hillgrove High School in Powder Springs, Georgia and a senior at MSU, is our new Tip Allen Scholar. Double majoring in political science and history, he has been a President's List scholar every semester and a member of the Shackouls Honors College. Michael has interned in Roswell Municipal Court in Georgia, and last summer he studyied natural resource policy by interning with the National Waste and Recycling Association in Washington D.C. thru the Demmer Scholars program at Michigan State University. Michael has also participated in MSU's Alternative Spring Break by serving the people in the Mississippi Delta, and he is currently President of Mississippi State Club Soccer.
Holly Travis (on the far right) is a sophomore Stennis Scholar and graduate of Starkville High School. She is currently double majoring in Political Science and Criminology with minors in both Spanish and Pre-law. Holly is a member of the Shackouls Honors College and a Presidential Scholar (formerly known as Distinguished Scholar). As a freshman she was a member of Freshman Forum, the Mississippi State Pom Squad and a counselor for MSU’s inaugural New Maroon Camp. Holly is currently a Roadrunner, a member of Student Association’s Cabinet serving as Co-Director of Freshman Forum, and serving on New Maroon Camp’s executive staff as Co-Counselor Trainer. In addition to these involvements, she is a member of Chi Omega sorority and a mentor/tutor at Brickfire Project. This past summer Holly studied in Cusco, Peru where she also worked in an orphanage for victims of human trafficking. After graduation Holly plans to attend law school and pursue a career as a criminal defense attorney.
Cole Wood (not pictured) is a sophomore John C. Stennis Scholar from Starkville Academy. Cole served as Pledge Class Vice President and as Chapter Annotator for Sigma Chi Fraternity. As a member of the MSU Student Association Cabinet, he serves as Assistant Elections Commissioner. In high school and junior high, Cole served in student government each year, as a student council representative three times, as Student Council Vice President and then President, and as Class President on four occasions. The Vice Mayor of the Starkville Mayor's Youth Council for two years, Cole has also been a member of the Oktibbeha County Republican Party and has paged for the Mississippi House of Representatives. An Eagle Scout, he has been a mentor for many younger scouts. Cole plans to attend law school and aspires to one day run for Congress.
Stennis Scholar alumni Whitney Holliday and Shelley New enjoyed a view of Washington, D.C., while attending the inauguration of President Obama as students as part of the Stennis-Montgomery Association's annual D.C. trip. They are shown in the photo above.
Students in our department have the opportunity to meet prominent public officials, such as the governor and lieutenant governor. In the photo above, Stennis Scholar (now alumnus) and SA Vice President Lee Weiskopf met with 2-term Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck, a graduate of our department.
In the picture above, Barbour Scholars (now alumni) Jane Anna Harris and Tonya Thorton-Neaves pose with 2-term Governor Haley Barbour after a breakfast with him and the MSU President. Barbour offered the students invaluable advice about networking and job hunting in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Jane Anna served as the Staff Director for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tonya is a Research Fellow and Project Coordinator at the Social Science Research Center at MSU.
One annual conference that some of our students attend is the Southern Women in Public Service program sponsored by the Stennis Center. In the photo above, Stennis Scholar (now alumnus) Tamikia Carr met with then-Vice President Al Gore's wife, Tipper.
Our students also meet with numerous other public figures who visit our department. In the above photo, political science students (now alumni) Nikita Gandy, Ben Needham, and Ta'Shia Shannon (a Collins Scholar alumnus) are to the left of former Congressman Mike Espy. Espy was the first African-American from a rural district elected to Congress. Students Yashica Tate and Terrance James are to the right of Espy.
Our department's John C. Stennis Scholars are named in memory of MSU alumnus John C. Stennis, who served in the United States Senate from 1947 to 1988, rising to the powerful position of President Pro Tempore of the senate and fourth in line for the presidency. Senator Stennis also served as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee and previously as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He was so respected in the senate that Congress named a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after him, which was commissioned into service before the carrier honoring former president Harry Truman. Because John Stennis inspired Mississippians to be active in public affairs, we include our department's Bill Collins (the founding director of the Stennis Institute of Government) and Haley Barbour (our two-term governor and a formidable Stennis challenger in 1982) scholars on this webpage.
To learn more about Senator John Stennis, click here.
The Haley Barbour Scholars are named after a distinguished public servant and native of Yazoo City who rose to the position of Chair of the Republican National Committee. As RNC Chairman, Haley Barbour inaugurated an aggressive fundraising, public relations, and candidate assistance program that led the GOP in 1994 to majority control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. Barbour was elected Governor in the 2003 state elections, when for the first time Republicans won half of Mississippi's statewide executive offices as well as historically high percentages of state house and state senate seats. When Barbour was re-elected governor four years later, he swept his party to control of every statewide elected office with one exception.
The Bill Collins Scholar is named after a distinguished educational leader, who was the first Director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. A Bill Collins Speakership series was established in his honor in the MSU Library.