09/21/2007
OXFORD, Miss. – Cellular South, one of Mississippi’s
largest companies, continues its legacy of giving with a
$30,000 contribution to the University of Mississippi
School of Business Administration.
The gift is part of the Jackson-based wireless
communications company’s commitment to providing annual
scholarships to all public universities.
Half the $30,000 goes toward the Cellular South endowment
at UM to fund future scholarships. The other half provided
scholarships to five students pursuing business degrees:
John Graham Doty of Oxford, W.C. Lee’Allen Keys of Ecru,
Michael Allen Reid of Southaven, Lee Hubert Thompson III of
Marks and Shanika Starr Young of Horn Lake.
To receive the $3,000 award each academic year for four
years, the students must demonstrate good campus
citizenship by being involved in community service or
extracurricular activities. Recipients are Mississippi
residents with a minimum ACT score of 28 and at least a 3.0
GPA.
“The Cellular South scholars are all well-rounded students
who have excelled in the classroom, in school leadership
positions and in community service projects,” said Brian
Reithel, dean of the business school. “It’s gratifying to
see that these students share an excitement about pursuing
a business degree and a belief that Ole Miss can offer them
the skills they will need to be successful.”
Doty is majoring in marketing communications. He was
selected by his peers to serve on the student recruitment
team for the business school and is on the Chancellor’s
Honor Roll. He graduated from Oxford High School.
Keys is a business major who describes himself as a
“disciplined student and one who works hard to achieve the
greatest grades possible.” He graduated from Ingomar
Attendance Center.
Reid is majoring in management. He is a member of the
National Honor Society and received the Desoto Central High
School Leadership Award. He graduated 11th in his class at
Desoto Central.
Thompson is majoring in banking and finance. He graduated
first in his class at Delta Academy and was the recipient
of the President’s Award for Academic Excellence.
Young, a member of the Chancellor’s Leadership class, is
the first member of her family to attend college, which she
says provides her the incentive to excel academically. She
graduated ninth in her class at Horn Lake High School.
Cellular South places an emphasis not only on funding these
scholarships but also on its relationship with the
recipients, who are eligible to participate in a summer
internship with the company to gain firsthand knowledge
about the wireless industry and the business world.
“At Cellular South we look at our educational initiatives
and monetary awards as more than just funding
scholarships,” said Amy Nash, the company’s public
relations specialist. “Helping someone achieve a college
degree is a gift that keeps giving not only to the
scholarship recipient but to the community, the state and
the nation in which that person resides.”
Founded by a UM graduate, Cellular South is a leader in
wireless voice, data and mobile commerce products and
employs approximately 900 people in the metro-Jackson
area.
For more information on giving to scholarship programs at
UM, go to