Early November brought a positive change of direction for one deserving Delta State University student.<\/p>\n
Derrick Bean, a senior biology major from Tupelo, was shocked with good fortune when he learned about his recognition as the inaugural Kent & Janice Wyatt Retention Scholarship recipient.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the first email from Dr. Blansett telling me I was being awarded a scholarship, and I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d said Bean. \u201cI was so surprised and couldn\u2019t stop laughing. I immediately called my mom to tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hard working student, focusing on occupational therapy, said the $3,000 award would go a long way in helping afford his final semester at Delta State.<\/p>\n
Just a week after learning about the recognition, Bean was given a front row seat at a celebration for President Emeritus Dr. Kent Wyatt and former First Lady Janice Wyatt, honoring their 50 years of service to the university. Bean also spoke to the crowd and expressed his gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is full of unknowns, but this scholarship has definitely brought me some certainty about finishing my education at Delta State,\u201d said Bean. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful to everyone, but especially the Wyatts for thinking about the students who come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Retention has been at the forefront of President William N. LaForge\u2019s agenda, the administration and the Wyatts. The scholarship was formed earlier this year for students who are near the completion of their degree requirements and are at risk of dropping out if not provided some level of additional funding.<\/p>\n
LaForge and the First Lady, Nancy, made a $10,000 contribution to the scholarship fund earlier this year in honor of the Wyatts\u2019 50 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wyatts have decided they would like for this money to be used to support students who have demonstrated success and commitment in their coursework, and who would otherwise be unable to complete their education within a reasonable time to graduate,\u201d said LaForge. \u201cThis is the first scholarship established for the retention of students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bean said he was having a difficult time getting a loan for next semester, a big concern of his due to his aspirations to attend University of Mississippi Medical Center following his Delta State graduation in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is such a relief,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how I was going to get the money to cover costs. My mom is not working and couldn\u2019t co-sign a loan. My brother couldn\u2019t sign and my cousin couldn\u2019t sign. It was like we were making headway, and then something would come up and knock me back five or six steps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being able to afford tuition and books next semester has brought the most relief to Bean.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t really find all the words to express my thanks. It\u2019s a blessing,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is going to help me stay on campus and not be purged \u2014 which every student hates.\u201d<\/p>\n
To learn more about the Kent & Janice Wyatt Retention Scholarship Fund, visit http:\/\/www.deltastategiving.org\/giving\/scholarships\/kentandjanicewyattretentionscholarshipfund<\/a>. Those interested in making contributions can also contact the Delta State University Foundation office at 662-846-4704 or foundation@deltastate.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Early November brought a positive change of direction for one deserving Delta State University student. Derrick Bean, a senior biology major from Tupelo, was shocked with good fortune when he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":62243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9,108,246],"tags":[995,994,27,464],"class_list":["post-62241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-academics","category-alumni","category-president","category-students","tag-kent-janice-wyatt-retention-scholarship","tag-retention","tag-scholarship","tag-students-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62241"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62254,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62241\/revisions\/62254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}