in this issue: Starnes scholar sees political office as a way to improve Mississippi Ole Miss First is keeping the MomentUM going The power, contribution of mentors invaluable as part of scholarship program Chancellor helps family surprise alum with scholarship named in his honor Ole Miss First scholarship roster Check out the new and improved Ole Miss First Web site. Log on to www.olemissfirst.com to learn more about the Ole Miss First scholarship program. Read about the scholars or make a gift. |
The power, contribution of mentors
invaluable as part of scholarship program by Sonia Thompson
“The most powerful aspect of the Ole Miss First scholarship program is the mentoring component,” said Maureen Liberto, coordinator of the program. “Each scholar enjoys a meaningful relationship with an involved adult. This means someone is there to encourage each scholar to take chances, to explore opportunities and to make a difference, both at Ole Miss and in the world.” Maralyn Howell Bullion (BA 44) is part of that village. For more than a year she has volunteered with the program, giving the gift of time to Ole Miss First scholars. The student she currently mentors, Megan Kinsey, is the Dr. Doris Dunn Phillips Scholar. “I think Ole Miss First is a wonderful program,” Bullion said. “It opens so many doors for young people. I’m glad to be able to help out in this way. Megan and I have gotten together several times for lunch. We e-mail quite a bit. I let her know I’m available if she needs anything. Mostly, I talk with her and encourage her.” Kinsey, an Abbeville native, was raised by her grandparents and now has her sights set on medical school and dreams of a career in rheumatology. She said she appreciates all that Bullion has done for her. “Miss Maralyn is amazing,” said Kinsey, a biology and psychology double major. “She does so much and keeps up with everything I do. We stay in close contact. I know that if I needed anything on campus she would be able to help me or tell me who to talk to. We get along really well because we’re both always on the move. ” Bullion has strong ties to both Mississippi and Ole Miss. She’s an Oxford native, and her mother and father both grew up in Lafayette County and attended Ole Miss. As a student at Ole Miss in the ’40s, Bullion was a member of Phi Mu sorority and was also the first woman elected president of the Associated Student Body. After graduation she worked as a copywriter at Plough, Inc., in Memphis, Tenn. Later she served in public information with the American Red Cross in Atlanta during Word War II. She and her husband, an Army officer, later moved to Washington, D.C., where Bullion worked part time as an English teacher. She is the mother of six children, one of whom, Stuart Bullion, served as chair of the UM journalism department from 1997 until his death in 2004. These days, besides mentoring Ole Miss First scholars, you can find Bullion volunteering at the Oxford-Lafayette County Heritage Foundation, the Cosmopolitan Club, the Skipwith Society and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. “We are so grateful to Maralyn and our other volunteers for mentoring our scholars,” Liberto said. “There really is no gift more meaningful than sharing knowledge and experience to help guide young people’s lives.” • |
It takes a village to raise a child, as the saying goes, and that need for more than one guiding hand doesn’t stop when children become young adults. That’s why mentors in the Ole Miss First program play such an important role with scholarship recipients.