Cultivating Changemakers: Delta Scholars Program Announces New Cohort
We welcome the 2025 cohort of Delta Scholars, bringing another year of future leaders together!
Directors Dr. Kecia R. Johnson and Professor Eleanor M. Green, along with the Southern Rural Development Center Director, Dr. John J. Green, are excited to announce the 2025 DSP Cohort!
The 2025 DSP cohort is impressive. The twelve scholars were selected from a large pool of excellent applications! It is quite a distinction to be part of this initiative. The cohort includes students from eight institutions representing five states, providing an excellent opportunity for college students to learn, network, and grow together. Scholars come from sixteen different majors and minors, such as chemical engineering, southern studies, physics, and English.
Involvement in DSP includes engagement with and learning from diverse partners brought together under the umbrella known as the Delta Directions Consortium. This involves researchers from universities, outreach practitioners from nonprofit organizations and the Extension Service, leaders from philanthropic foundations, and many others. They will also build their networks to include an array of other leaders from community and regional organizations.
DSP is led through the Shackouls Honors College in collaboration with many partners. These include the Southern Rural Development Center, based at MSU; Brandeis University; the University of Mississippi; Rutgers University; and Harvard University (including Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health).
Delta Scholars is a two-part academic and community engagement program for talented and motivated college students interested in leadership and cultivating change. Scholars are selected for their academic achievements and commitment to public service and community development. The program spans eight months, beginning with pre-sessions in April and May, followed by a June Summer Research Institute and Delta Innovation Tour, and culminating in a Boston Conference in the fall.
Through the 12-day intensive learning experience known as the Summer Research Institute, scholars will be introduced to professional workshops, speakers, and research presentations. They will embark on a Delta Innovation Tour, an immersive experience for learning more about the history of the Multi-State Delta Region as a model of innovation to build skills to foster growth and change. DSP highlights issues and solutions pertinent to the region (which includes AL, AR, IL, KY, LA, MO, MS, and TN). While the region has had challenges, it has also been on the front lines of change, including community health movements and regional economic development through tourism. There is much to be learned from the Multi-State Delta Region, and future leaders benefit from learning from and understanding the complexities of this special place. These lessons can serve as models and be applied in other communities. Among other activities, this will involve the annual Delta Regional Forum, which is intended to engage community and regional development practitioners and scholars working in and with partners in the region to learn from each other in pursuit of population health and wellbeing, economic renewal, and community resilience.
DSP completed its seventh year in 2024, with a total of 110 students participating from 35 institutions since its formation. Past scholars have gone on to professional or graduate school in many disciplines, becoming Goldwater, Truman, and Fulbright Scholars, Public Policy & International Affairs Fellow, and Rhodes Scholar Finalists. Many Delta Scholar alums have also gone on to work in Mississippi and the Multi-State Delta Region. They are rising professionals continuing to give to Mississippi and beyond.
Alumni from the 2024 cohort of the program shared what the program meant to them.
“The Delta Scholars Program has allowed me to better understand what it means to serve my community. Through this program, I’ve learned how to identify challenges that a community faces and how to assist in overcoming these challenges in meaningful ways.” Payton Davis, Mississippi State University, DSP 2024
“I got into my number one graduate school choice to pursue a Master’s degree in public health, I could not have done it without you guys and this program!” Trinity Wilson, Alcorn State University, DSP 2024
“I’ve always had a passion for community engagement, and the Delta Scholars Program equipped me with the tools to create informed action. The education and support I’ve received from this program have transformed my academic trajectory.” McKenzie Cox, University of Mississippi, DSP 2024
2025 Delta Scholars Cohort
Kayle Amos, Mississippi, University of Mississippi
Anna Claire Carter, Arkansas, University of Mississippi
Madison Echols, Mississippi, Harvard College
Zayd Elhedoudy, New Jersey, Rutgers University
Rowan Feasel, Mississippi, Mississippi State University
Naiya Fort, Louisiana, Alcorn State University
William Harvey, Mississippi, Mississippi State University
Biana Hemsath, Kentucky, University of Mississippi
Saige Kenner, Louisiana, Southern University A & M College
Spencer Lile, Mississippi State University
John Robert Walker, Mississippi, Yale University
Alexandra Wall, Mississippi, Copiah-Lincoln Community College