Excellence in Education

By Staff
Meridian Community College fine arts, computer technology and occupational program students received several awards in recent state competitions.
Art students brought home eight awards from the Mississippi Community/Junior College Art Instructors competitive art exhibition at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Penny McCall won first in drawing; Maria Owzova received third place in three-dimensional design and sculpture. Honorable mentions were given to Nicholas Westbrook, painting; Casey Nelson, drawing; Grant Inman and Kenneth Deaton, two-dimensional design; Memory Goines, photography; and Casey Nelson, three-dimensional design and sculpture.
Fourteen community colleges entered the contest.
MCC's Phi Beta Lambda Computer Technology Chapter also brought home first place awards from state contest held in Jackson.
First place winners were Aaron Wilson, information management; and Greg Adams, Kathy Avera, Lakesha Beamon and Tuandelia Williams, parliamentary procedure. Robert Schambura and Kendall Brown, Matt Dearman and Shelby Proaps took second for public speaking and network design, respectively. Darrell Merritt won fourth for accounting principles.
Tuandelia Williams was tapped as state vice president. The chapter also took a first place award for its annual business report, was selected as a Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit and was named largest local chapter.
MCC Vocational and Industrial Clubs of America (VICA) students also brought home the gold from the state VICA contest held in Jackson.
Winning gold were Chad Thompson, sheet metal; and Aaron Sibley, mechatromics; taking silver were Derrick Boyd, residential plumbing; Richard Brennaman, architectural drafting; Jason Mowdy, cabinet making; and earning the bronze was Christy Breen, extemporaneous speaking.
LIVINGSTON, Ala. The University of West Alabama has received a congressionally-authorized $100,000 grant for the University's eCampus initiative. The grant was secured with the help of Sen. Jeff Sessions and UWA was notified of the grant award by the U. S. Department of Education.
The grant will be used to further enhance the university's eCampus concept and improve technology needs of students and faculty.
UWA's eCampus initiative, directed by the eCampus Task Force, is designed to ensure convenient computer access for all UWA students and to include computer technology in all aspects of campus life.
The university has a list of technology needs including hardware, software and campus electronic infrastructure.
Northwest Junior High School students competed as a Mathcounts Team in regional math competition at Meridian Community College on Feb. 23.
The team consisted of Hunter Futch, Kimberly Denton, Trey Grissett and Cary Cox. The team placed third overall and Futch placed fifth in the individual competition.
Five Northwest Junior High School students were named Students of the Month for February. They included Jessica Lucovich, Nick Norman, Daniel Johnson, Kara Harwell and Andrew Havron.
Students of the Month are selected by teachers based on citizenship and grades.