Ellen Elizabeth Tichnell
University of Mississippi freshman Ellen Elizabeth Tichnell of Petal has been named the 2011-12 recipient of the Bill and Jean May Mississippi Sun Scholarship.
The scholarship was established in 2010 by Edwin and Becky Meek of Oxford for the benefit of full-time Mississippi students who are majoring in journalism and new media.
Tichnell has declared a double major, in journalism in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, and art in the College of Liberal Arts. She is preparing for a possible career in photojournalism.
“I really appreciate being chosen to receive the May Scholarship, and I felt especially honored when I found out that Dr. Meek had been interested in photojournalism when he was beginning his career,” Tichnell said.
A native of Charleston, Meek said the scholarship honoring the May couple recognizes the impact that W.W. “Bill” May and the late Jean May had on his own career and pays tribute to the contributions the May family made to Charleston and Tallahatchie County.
A graduate of Petal High School, Tichnell was an AP Scholar and Mississippi Scholar, and she won the local and state Business Plan Competition for High School Students. At Ole Miss, she is a Provost Scholar and recipient of an Academic Excellence Scholarship. Her parents are Del and Janet Tichnell of Petal.
For more information, visit the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.