Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship program accepts six MSU students

MSU students Tyus Wilson, Caleb McCreary, Makenzie Downs, Kayla Williams, Layne Boykin and Donovan Gordon pictured outside in white lab coats — Six Mississippi ��APP students recently were accepted into the prestigious Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program. They include (front row, l-r) Tyus Wilson of Bay Springs, Caleb McCreary of Brookhaven, Makenzie Downs of Puckett; (back row, l-r) Kayla Williams of Greenville, Layne Boykin of Waynesboro and Donovan Gordon of Olive Branch. (Photo submitted)

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Six current Mississippi ��APP students recently learned they will receive $30,000 per year to attend medical school as part of the prestigious Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program.

MRPSP scholarships are awarded each year after the students complete the pre-matriculation portion of the program, created in 2007 by the Mississippi Legislature. Awards are based on available funding.

Scholars selected from MSU include (by hometown):

BAY SPRINGS—Tyus Wilson, a senior food science, nutrition and health promotion/food and nutrition major.

BROOKHAVEN—Caleb S. McCreary, a junior biological engineering/biomedical engineering major.

GREENVILLE—Kayla L. Williams, a junior biological sciences/pre-medicine major.

OLIVE BRANCH—Donovan K. Gordon, a senior biochemistry/pre-medicine major.

PUCKETT—Makenzie L. Downs, a senior biochemistry/pre-medicine major.

WAYNESBORO—Layne M. Boykin, a junior biochemistry/pre-medicine major.

In addition to undergraduate academic enrichment and support, MRPSP provides clinical experience and mentoring from practicing physicians. Students who complete all medical school requirements can be admitted to the University of Mississippi Medical Center or William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Upon completion of medical school, scholars must enter a residency program in one of five primary care specialties—family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, medicine-pediatrics, or obstetrics/gynecology. Four years of service in a clinic-based practice in a program-approved, rural Mississippi community also is required.

Consistent legislative support of MRPSP translates to 61 medical students receiving a total of $1.8 million to support their education this fall.

MSU’s Dr. A. Randle and Marilyn W. White Health Professions Resource Center guides MSU students in any academic major who aspire to gain entry into a health professional school. Located in Harned Hall, Room 116, the office is named for the Greenwood nephrologist and his wife whose support helped make it a reality in 2016. Learn more at .

For more information, visit or contact Steven Carter, MRPSP associate director, at 601-815-9022 or jscarter@umc.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at .

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