Please Note: MSU MEMO is archived as a part of Mississippi State University's history. Articles may refer to situations which have changed or people who are no longer affiliated with the university.
 |
Sept. 20, 2004 Volume 29, Issue 8 |
Scholarship honors two student-soldiers
Two Mississippi State students are receiving some unanticipated support following their return home from active military duty overseas.
Senior Melody P. Corbitt of Calhoun City and junior Ryan Paul-Thomas Cotton of Ocean Springs recently were presented with $1,500 scholarships provided by Richard and Melanie Mullenax of Starkville.
"I can't help all of the returning soldiers, but I can help these two in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences," said Dr. Richard Mullenax. He is the retired head of the college's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
"I felt like our students went overseas and did their duty," Mullenax explained. "Now they've come home, and we wanted to give them a little gift for their services."
Corbitt served as an Army personnel services specialist in Kuwait. An agricultural information science major, she is planning a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cotton was a Marine serving in Iraq, where he worked both as a mechanic and martial arts instructor. Majoring in food, nutrition and dietetics, he seeks to work as a high school or hospital dietician.
"People rarely hear about scholarships honoring returning war veterans," said Mullenax. "Melanie and I hope that others will recognize the need for more of these gifts and follow in our footsteps. We owe our livelihood to these soldiers."
"This is a wonderful method of paying tribute to those who put their lives at risk in service to our country," said Jud Skelton, the college's development director.
Skelton said he echoed Mullenax's desire that the gift "will influence others to find similar ways of thanking veterans for their patriotism."