Contact: Bill Wagnon
A Forrest County teenager who died last fall is being remembered by his family with a scholarship at Mississippi State University.
The M. Ashley DuBoise Endowed Photography Scholarship will support MSU students enrolled in the photography emphasis of the art department. The first $750 award will be presented in the 1998 fall semester.
DuBoise, who died Sept. 8 at age 18 while awaiting a heart transplant, was a Hattiesburg resident, Forrest County Agricultural High School senior and dedicated photographer.
"Ashley was a kind, generous and very courageous young man who always looked for opportunities to help others," said his mother Kim, who along with husband Mike provided the initial $15,000 endowment. "He also was an avid fan and supporter of Mississippi State and of photography."
Ashley DuBoise was a member of the high school's marching and concert bands. He also was active in the Youth-to-Youth anti-drug peer mentoring group and Future Business Leaders of America, and occasionally filled the costume of the school's bulldog mascot.
He was an avid outdoorsman, as well as a member of Seibukan Karate, Boy Scouts of America and the Trinity Episcopal Church of Hattiesburg. DuBoise also was an organ donor.
His mother is owner of PhotoArts Studio and an adjunct photography instructor at the University of Southern Mississippi. His father, Sgt. 1st Class Mike DuBoise, is a senior instructor with the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion Non-Commissioned Officers Academy at Camp Shelby. His brother, Timothy, is an MSU sophomore majoring in architecture and art/photography.