{"id":90622,"date":"2019-07-21T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-21T17:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=90622"},"modified":"2019-07-31T08:49:13","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T13:49:13","slug":"baldwyn-veteran-completes-degree-um-booneville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/baldwyn-veteran-completes-degree-um-booneville\/","title":{"rendered":"Baldwyn Veteran Completes Degree with UM-Booneville"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Elliott Witt, of Baldwyn, celebrates his graduation from the University of Mississippi in May with his fiance, Summer Sandlin (left), and his mother, Lisa Witt. A U.S. Army veteran, Witt attended the UM-Booneville campus with plans to mentor and help students in his community. Submitted photo<\/p><\/div>\n

BOONEVILLE, Miss. \u2013 William Elliott Witt, of Baldwyn, credits his high school teachers, college professors and his mother for their influences in his life that have led him to pursue a career in educating the next generation.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn’t be as driven or goal-oriented,” Witt said. “I want to invest in the lives of others in my community, just like they did for me.”<\/p>\n

A 2006 graduate of Baldwyn High School, Witt wasn’t sure if college was for him.<\/p>\n

He worked at various jobs around Northeast Mississippi after graduation and joined the Army in 2011, working as a fire support specialist attached to infantry and cavalry units from the 2nd 114th out of Starkville.<\/p>\n

“My teachers saw the potential in me, and they invested in me. I didn’t see what they saw in me until I joined the Army. Then I realized more about myself and the potential that I had.”<\/p>\n

After two years of active duty, Witt decided to use his military tuition benefits to begin taking college courses at Mississippi State University.<\/p>\n

“I found out the Army would pay for school and realized that this would be my chance to be the first person in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree.”<\/p>\n

“I wanted to show my younger family members that you can achieve your goals when you try.”<\/p>\n

In 2015, Witt needed to move closer to home and once again delayed his dream of a college degree while he worked full time.<\/p>\n

In 2017, he found out about the University of Mississippi’s Booneville center and the opportunity to keep working while earning his degree through evening and online classes with Ole Miss.<\/p>\n

“I had a variety of credits, and the general studies degree helped me combine them into my ideal major,” Witt said.<\/p>\n

Witt says he always knew he wanted to go into the education field and earning minors in English, education and history helped him meet his goal. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in May.<\/p>\n

Alida Moore, an English instructor at UM-Booneville, said that Witt was always quick with an answer, insightful comment or story in her class.<\/p>\n

“His maturity and real-world experiences made him a bright and engaging student,” Moore said.<\/p>\n

Witt’s mother, Lisa Witt, has owned and operated the Honey Tree preschool in Baldwyn for 40 years.<\/p>\n

“My mom raised three boys as a single mother, and I saw how much she invested into my brothers and me,” he said. “I hope I make her proud by continuing her legacy.”<\/p>\n

Witt says he hopes he will be an inspiration to others, much as the mentors in his life have.<\/p>\n

“I want to give that back to a student who may be in that same situation that I was in, perhaps someone from a single family home who doesn’t have that solid figure to mentor and encourage them,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I want to be a mentor who pushes them to be the best that they can, just like my mother and my teachers did for me.”<\/p>\n

Witt’s fiance, Summer Sharplin, also has the same career goals. She is a graduate of the UM-Booneville campus and teaches second grade at Ashland Elementary School.<\/p>\n

“Summer and my mom have motivated me to help others,” Witt said. “I am happy to be in a family that is serving our community. The main reason I want to be an educator is to give back and change lives.”<\/p>\n

For more information on the UM-Booneville center, visit http:\/\/www.outreach.olemiss.edu\/booneville\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BOONEVILLE, Miss. \u2013 William Elliott Witt, of Baldwyn, credits his high school teachers, college professors and his mother for their influences in his life that have led him to pursue a career in educating the next generation. “I wouldn’t be as driven or goal-oriented,” Witt said. “I want to invest in the lives of othersRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":90868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,372,340,373],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBaldwyn Veteran Completes Degree with UM-Booneville - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/baldwyn-veteran-completes-degree-um-booneville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baldwyn Veteran Completes Degree with UM-Booneville - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BOONEVILLE, Miss. \u2013 William Elliott Witt, of Baldwyn, credits his high school teachers, college professors and his mother for their influences in his life that have led him to pursue a career in educating the next generation. “I wouldn’t be as driven or goal-oriented,” Witt said. “I want to invest in the lives of othersRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/baldwyn-veteran-completes-degree-um-booneville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-21T17:00:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-31T13:49:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/UCIMG-915a.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/baldwyn-veteran-completes-degree-um-booneville\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/UCIMG-915a.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"Elliott Witt, of Baldwyn, celebrates his graduation from the University of Mississippi in May with his fiance, Summer Sandlin (left), and his mother, Lisa Witt. 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