Contact: Maridith Geuder
Eight aspiring high school writers from around the state are winners in a new literary invitational sponsored by the Mississippi State University Honors Program.
The student-governed Honors Council this year launched the Jack H. White Literary Competition as a tribute to the program's longtime director and veteran English department faculty member. The 1999 inaugural winners attend schools in Clay, Copiah, DeSoto, Forrest, Jackson, Leflore, and Lowndes counties. They are Shahira Ali of Hattiesburg, Molly Davis of Columbus, Whit Griffin of Olive Branch, Mandy Hall of Wesson, Mary Margaret Miller of Greenwood, Veronika Viner of Gautier, and Velimir Vuk of West Point.
"We wanted to reach out to high school students and create opportunities for recognition," said junior political science major Jenny M. Reeves of Oxford. The council's vice chair for administration, she is an Ottilie Schillig Scholar, the university's top academic group.
Reeves said letters were mailed to all Mississippi high schools inviting submissions of one entry each in the categories of poetry and fiction. More than 75 entries were received, most focusing on personal or familiar experiences, she added.
After Honors Council members provided an initial screening, the entries were forwarded to the English department to make a final selection of winners.
Established in 1968, the University Honors Program is a founding member of the Southern Regional Honors Councils. Currently enrolling more than 1,300 students, it is one of the largest such programs in the region. All 14 of MSU's national Truman Scholars have been participants.
Each first place winner in the Jack H. White Literary Competition received $75 and a plaque. Second place winners earned a plaque and honorable mention winners were presented certificates.