Contact: Sammy McDavid
An entering freshman from McComb is the 2002-03 Bobby Boykin Leadership Scholar at Mississippi State University.
Janet C. Watkins, a recent McComb High School graduate and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William F. Watkins, is receiving the $3,000 academic award named for the MSU alumnus, Jackson resident and long-time Entergy Corp. manager.
Boykin is a 1962 MSU graduate in mathematics. Scholarships named in his honor are designated for full-time freshmen enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students chosen for the honor must have an American College Test composite score of 25 or higher and a minimum 3.0 grade-point average, based on a 4.0 scale. The award also recognizes leadership in community service and other activities.
Watkins, who begins her MSU studies in liberal arts, was a member of McComb High's National Honor Society chapter and a selection for the school's Model Student honor program and for Who's Who Among American High School Students. She was business manager of the yearbook and a member of the tennis team, among other extracurricular activities.
In the community, she was chosen as McComb Azalea Queen, which traditionally recognizes the most outstanding senior class female. The local interdenominational care association and Camp Sunshine, a program for mentally and physically challenged youngsters, were among her volunteer activities. As part of the Educational Forum travel study program, she spent several summers overseas, visiting countries from Australia to England to Turkey.
First awarded last year, the Boykin Scholarship was established with a combined gift by Boykin, his wife Jeanne and Entergy, the New Orleans, La.-based global energy company that serves customers in 45 of Mississippi's 82 counties.
With about 3,800 students, the College of Arts and Sciences is MSU's largest academic unit. Its departments include art, biological sciences, chemistry, communication, English, foreign languages, geosciences, history, mathematics and statistics, philosophy and religion, physics and astronomy, political science, psychology, and sociology, anthropology and social work.
For more information on the Boykin award, telephone Amy Cagle of the MSU Foundation at (662) 325-1006.