Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--For the fifth year in a row, a Mississippi State student is the top banking and finance major in Mississippi higher education.
William J. "Will" Robbins, a senior finance major from Pontotoc, is the 2012 Orrin H. Swayze Jr. Scholar of the Mississippi Young Bankers Association. He is the son of Jerry and Julie Robbins.
The annual recognition program is the association's tribute to the former senior officer at Jackson-based Trustmark Bank (then First National Bank of Jackson) who earlier led Louisiana State University's highly regarded Graduate School of Banking. It also is designed to encourage university and college graduates to pursue in-state banking careers.
The award was presented during the organization's recent conference at Point Clear, Ala., where Robbins accepted the $2,500 award and a medallion to wear with his cap and gown May 12 during MSU spring commencement.
Of five Swayze finalists this year, three are MSU students, along with one each from the universities of Mississippi and Southern Mississippi. The four other finalists each received a $1,000 award.
"This is a prestigious award, and we are very proud that several of our students have been selected as Swayze Scholars and finalists over the years," said Michael J. Highfield, head of the finance and economics department in MSU's College of Business.
"Will's selection as this year's Swayze Scholar certainly speaks to his accomplishment as a student with a very promising career ahead," Highfield said. "It also is a feather in our cap because he is the fifth consecutive MSU student to achieve this distinction. This is a true testament to the quality of our finance faculty and our students at Mississippi State University."
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu.