Contact: Addie Mayfield

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is welcoming 42 exceptional students as its newest Presidential Scholars. Nearly twice the size of last year’s incoming class, the 2022-23 Presidential Scholars are now the largest class to be recognized with the university’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarships.

The recent growth is due in large part to a significant bequest from the late Louis A. Hurst Jr. of Houston, Texas, which continues his longtime support of scholarships at MSU. The Poplarville native died in 2020 at age 95, having enjoyed a steadfast connection with his alma mater as a loyal contributor to academics and athletics.

Presidential Scholars are known for their academic skills, creativity and desire to excel. They are among the elite students in the U.S. who enroll at MSU to further their goals as part of the prestigious Shackouls Honors College.

Earnings from endowment-level gifts for Presidential Scholarships help cover the cost of attending MSU over the course of four years. The experience provides a one-time educational enrichment scholarship for study abroad opportunities, internships or other qualified academic pursuits, an undergraduate research fellowship award and mentoring opportunities.

To qualify, applicants must have a minimum 30 ACT/1330 SAT score, as well as have graduated with a minimum core or overall 3.75 high school GPA (based on a 4.0 scale). Recipients are expected to maintain an overall 3.4 GPA while in their respective academic majors.

Presidential Scholars have opportunities to interact with members of the land-grant institution’s extensive research faculty and be part of the honors college’s summer-study program at Oxford University in England, among other enhanced learning experiences.

This year’s Presidential Scholars class includes (by hometown):

BARTLETT, Tennessee—Nyla Jones, a natural resources and environmental conservation major receiving a John Grisham Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

BILOXI—Grace Belk, a chemistry major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship; and Annalyn Fayard, a biomedical engineering major receiving a Hassell Franklin Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—Lewis Fuller, an economics major receiving a Dr. Brad Roderick Moore Memorial Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

CLINTON—Gertarryan Coleman, a biological sciences major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

COLUMBUS—Hayden Anderson, a biochemistry major receiving a Necole Moore Ray Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

CUSHING, Texas—Abby Reeves, an aerospace engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

D’IBERVILLE—Madeline Raynor, a chemical engineering major receiving a Lila and Hunter Henry Presidential Endowed Scholarship; and Hailee Sexton, a philosophy major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. S Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

ENTERPRISE—Jenna Kasselman, a computer science major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

FRENCH CAMP—Anne Phillips, an English major receiving a G. V. Sonny Montgomery Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

GREENVILLE—Rachel Guynes, a computer science major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

GREENWOOD, Indiana—Sadie Morris, a geosciences/broadcast meteorology major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

HATTIESBURG—David Anzola, a mechanical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—Christopher Martinez, a computer engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

JACKSON—William Carter, an electrical engineering major receiving a Berenice and Lamar A. Conerly Presidential Endowed Scholarship; and Logan Huff, a mechanical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

JONESBORO, Arkansas—Abby Berger, a biochemistry/pre-vet major receiving a John Grisham Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas—Claire Green, a biochemistry major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

LONG BEACH—Luke Salisbury, a mechanical engineering major receiving an Ottilie Schilling Leadership Scholarship.

MADISON—Sneha Cherukuri, a biological sciences major receiving an Ottilie Schilling Leadership Scholarship; Regan Felder, a biomedical engineering major receiving a Lila and Hunter Henry Presidential Endowed Scholarship; Shreenithi Lakshminarayanan, a chemical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship; Vineeth Vanga, a biochemistry/pre-med major receiving a Charles and Pat Lee Presidential Endowed Scholarship; and William Word, a microbiology major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

MCCALLA, Alabama—Christopher Jolivette, a psychology major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

MERIDIAN—Eli Coleman, a mechanical engineering major receiving a Mark and Cindy Jordan Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

MISSOURI CITY, Texas—Amelia Horner, a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

MOUNTAIN BROOK, Alabama—Hunter Anderson, an animal and dairy science/pre-vet major receiving a Hal and Linda Parker Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama—Chloe Puckett, a chemical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

NEW ALBANY—Caleb McConaha, a kinesiology major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

OCALA, Florida—Payton Davis, an environmental economics and sustainability major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

OLIVE BRANCH—Maya Jones, an accounting major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

PEARL—Zamiya Warner, a kinesiology major receiving a Charles and Pat Lee Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

RUSSELLVILLE, Alabama—Madelynn Green, an anthropology major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

SHANNON—Mikayla Jones, a biomedical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

STARKVILLE—April Guo-Yue, a biomedical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship; and Jaren Lee, a finance major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

STONEWALL—Kylar DeLoach, a computer engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

UNION—Rowan Feasel, an English major receiving a G. V. Sonny Montgomery Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

VOSSBURG—Jalen Nixon, a computer science major receiving a Hassell Franklin Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

WESTLAKE, Ohio—Ethan Waring, a mechanical engineering major receiving a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholarship.

Over the years, several presidential scholars have nationally competitive Goldwater, Truman and Fulbright scholarships; others have been recognized as finalists for the Rhodes and Marshall scholarships; and many have been selected for a variety of professional internships.

Learn more about the Shackouls Honors College and its Office of Prestigious External Scholarships at www.honors.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.