Two 2018 graduates of Palmer High School in Marks have been selected as Mister and Miss Coahoma Community College for the 2019-’20 school year.
Russell Furr and Jessica Haygood were selected as Mister and Miss Coahoma Community College during a ceremony held Thursday night at The Pinnacle on the college campus.
Both were members of the elite Lackey Scholars award-winning group of 21 students at Palmer High School from 2014-’18.
Furr was a two-sport star in high school in basketball and football, while Haygood made her mark as a cheerleader and member of the drill team.
“Both were strong academic students, with Jessica competing for salutatorian of her class,” said Hilliard Lackey, a professor at Jackson State University in Jackson.
“Palmer High School Lackey Scholars are students committed to excellence inside and outside the classroom,” he said. “They are committed to being ideal students on and off campus. In other words, they are committed to doing what they are supposed to do at school and in their respective communities. Their rewards are plenteous.”
Every Lackey Scholar must strive to maintain a B average and make an ACT score of 20 or more. Each student is expected to participate in pre-college programs either online, on weekends or across the summer; read books beyond requirements; tutor middle school and elementary school students; serve as hosts and hostesses for Mule Train-related activities in the community; be on call to serve as ambassadors for the school district; take a three day all-expenses paid trip to Jackson during spring break; and participate with their parents in a year-ending awards program on May 21.
“Coahoma gets a well-groomed duo to serve as symbol of its student body in Mr. Furr and Miss Haygood,” Lackey said. “They have been trained, nurtured and developed into royalty.
“There are at least a dozen other Lackey Scholars enrolled at CCC. It wouldn’t surprise me one iota if they too are selected to leadership positions. They have been groomed to be ideal students, role models inside and outside the classroom.”
There are currently 48 other students serving as Lackey Scholars at Palmer High School in grades 9-12.
