PRVEPA awards 28 JC students Round Up for Education Scholarships
ELLISVILLE – More than 2,500 students have been helped with their college education over the last 13 years with Pearl River Valley Electric’s Round Up for Education Scholarship program. This year, 28 Â鶹ֱ˛Ą students are amongst the 178 students who will each receive a total of $800 in scholarship funds, distributed in two installments, $400 for the fall semester and $400 for the spring semester, thanks to the generosity of PRVEPA members.
“Our members make this program possible,” said CEO/General Manager Matthew Ware. “By coming together and giving just a little each month, they are opening doors of opportunity for students who might not otherwise have this kind of support.”
In the program’s history, 2,532 students have received scholarships because of the Pearl River Valley Electric’s members who voluntarily round their bills up to the nearest dollar each month. Scholarships are available to PRVEPA members in its 12-county service area who participate in the program, as well as their spouses or dependent children who are enrolled as freshmen this fall. Students receive scholarships to help them begin the first year of their college journey. JC freshmen, Seth Mastin and Donald Parhm Jr., both of Hattiesburg said this scholarship is especially helpful.
“Every little bit helps because this is the only scholarship I know I am receiving,” said both Mastin and Parhm Jr.
Scholarship recipients this year include 102 students attending Pearl River Community College, 34 students at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, 28 at Â鶹ֱ˛Ą, and 14 students enrolled at four other state community colleges. Overall, students came from 24 different high schools and home school programs.
“It’s amazing to see how spare change can create such a powerful impact,” Ware added. “When thousands of members work together, their generosity not only changes individual lives but also strengthens the entire community. That spirit of cooperation is what makes this program so special.”
Pearl River Valley Electric is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative that distributes electricity to more than 53,000 members in 12-counties in central and south Mississippi. It is headquartered in Columbia and has offices in Hattiesburg, Purvis, and Wiggins. JC scholarship recipients like Rae Grantham of Sumrall are grateful for the assistance.
“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed their change for the extra help in our journeys to earn an education and be successful in the community,” said Grantham whose brother Joshua is also receiving a scholarship and is taking classes at Â鶹ֱ˛Ą. “Every little bit helps our family and us, reach our educational goals.”
Round Up for Education funds collected after August 1 go toward next year’s scholarships. Applications for 2026 scholarships will be available beginning this month.
Â鶹ֱ˛Ąâ€™s Annah Bryce-Clark crowned “Most Beautiful”
ELLISVILLE – Â鶹ֱ˛Ą freshman from Sand Hill, Annah Bryce-Clark was crowned Most Beautiful at the Â鶹ֱ˛Ą Most Beautiful Pageant held November 7, in the M.P. Bush Fine Arts Auditorium. Thirty-eight contestants vied for the title this year.
The Top Five winners included Harleigh Fortenberry of Moselle, Mallory Matthews of Raleigh, Annah Bryce-Clark of Sand Hill, Abby Trejo of Moselle, and Alli Morgan of Seminary.
The ladies making up the group of Top Ten winners were Johnna Jones of Mt. Olive, Samantha Mosley of Laurel, Saylor Sullivan of Taylorsville, Harleigh Fortenberry of Moselle, Mallory Matthews of Raleigh, Annah Bryce-Clark of Sand Hill, Abby Trejo of Moselle, Alli Morgan of Seminary, Andrea Castro of Moselle, and Elisa Cook of Meridian. Additionally, Moselle’s Haley Fortenberry won the Most Photogenic award, and Ragen Smith, also of Moselle won the People’s Choice award.
The Most Beautiful pageant is sponsored by the Office of Student Affairs with the Jones OnStage show choir providing entertainment for the evening.
Â鶹ֱ˛Ą honors Beverly Young-Langford Ph.D. with “Distinguished Service Award” during Homecoming 2025
ELLISVILLE – Of the seven alumni recognized during Â鶹ֱ˛Ąâ€™s Alumni Recognition Program held during Homecoming celebrations, Beverly Young-Langford Ph.D. of Ellisville, and the current resident of both Atlanta and Oxford, MS, was honored with the “Distinguished Service Award.” During the Homecoming Alumni Luncheon, Â鶹ֱ˛Ą President, Dr. Jesse Smith explained this year’s recipient grew up on the Â鶹ֱ˛Ą campus. Her father, James Bonard Young, was the president of the college after President M.P. Bush retired in 1940. Her mother, Patty. Callaway was a music instructor and wife of the second president of Jones Junior College. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Young-Langford as a friend of the college who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to Â鶹ֱ˛Ąâ€™s values and community.
“I grew up there and it was such an important part of my life that I am delighted to feel there is still such a great connection. I started going to football games when I was about three-years old and loved the sport. I still love sports because of JCJC. I went to Ellisville High School which was located on the JCJC campus and played in the high school and college band,” said Langford-Young.
Her mother is credited with teaching the Business Communications professor important life skills that have helped her to be successful in her career.
“One of the things that my mother taught me while at Jones was that anybody you meet is an important person from whom you can learn from. Their lives have taken them in a certain direction, and I needed to listen to what they can teach me and to learn from them. She said, it doesn’t matter who they are or what they do. It’s important to know that they are important,” said Young-Langford. “I really value the people who live in Ellisville, the college and those who are a part of the school because they have made me who I am in so many ways.”
After graduating from Ellisville High School, Young-Langford earned her undergraduate degree in English from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts from the University of Memphis, and a Ph.D. from Georgia State University, where she became a faculty member in the Robinson College of Business. For more than 30 years, she taught Business Communication across undergraduate, MBA, and Executive MBA programs, while also directing the Business Communication Program and leading the Women’s Leadership Forum.
The professor has also authored two acclaimed books, The Etiquette Edge: Unspoken Rules for Business Success (2006) and The Etiquette Edge: Modern Manners for Business Success (2016). Her works are frequently quoted in national outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to her academic career, she has served in numerous civic and leadership roles in Atlanta and Mississippi. She and her husband, Charles Boyd, divide their time between Atlanta and their family farm near Oxford.
In addition to the Distinguished Service Award, two alumni, Cade Cockrell of Magee and Shivum Desai of Hattiesburg received the Rising Stars Award during Homecoming celebrations. Dr. Robert S. Billingsley of Laurel/Jackson and Dr. Kaylie B. Wilkerson of Ellisville/Hattiesburg received the Achievement and Excellence Award, Judge Stan Sorey of Raleigh was named the Outstanding Alumni of the Year, and Billy Royce Folkes of Seminary was recognized as the Legacy Award recipient.
Â鶹ֱ˛Ą alumnus, Judge Stan Sorey receives “Outstanding Alumni of the Year” during Homecoming 2025
ELLISVILLE – Of the seven alumni recognized during Â鶹ֱ˛Ąâ€™s Alumni Recognition Program held during Homecoming celebrations, Judge Stan Sorey of Raleigh was honored with the “Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award.” During the Homecoming Alumni Luncheon, Â鶹ֱ˛Ą President, Dr. Jesse Smith explained this year’s recipient carries a heavy burden in his profession as a judge, protecting our rights individually and as a country.
“The Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award recognizes the accomplishments and the service of our alumni who have exhibited exceptional service and brought honor to the college,” said Smith. “The honorable Judge Stan Sorey is a senior judge for the 13th Circuit Court District of Mississippi among the list of ways he’s served his community, successfully and honorably.”
The 1992 Â鶹ֱ˛Ą alumnus serves the counties of Covington, Jasper, Simpson, and Smith counties as the 13th Circuit Court District of Mississippi. After graduating from Mississippi College and the Mississippi College-School of Law, he served six years in the Mississippi National Guard, including active duty in Operation Desert Storm. Prior to his judicial service, Sorey practiced law privately for more than 16 years, serving as Smith County Prosecutor, municipal prosecutor for Mize and Taylorsville, and board attorney for the Smith County Board of Supervisors. Elected to the circuit bench in 2016, Judge Sorey has provided leadership in the legal profession, serving as president of the Smith County Bar Association and as a member of the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance and the Mississippi Opioid Advisory Commission. Judge Sorey and his wife, Alison, live in Smith County, and he is the proud father of one son, John Robert.
“I never would have thought that I would have been recognized in this way. It is so humbling to have this honor, and I want to thank all the faculty and staff, and everybody from the President all the way down to the guy that’s cutting the grass because it’s a team effort here. It always has been at Jones. That’s the way they take care of the students and that’s the way they take care of the alumni,” said Sorey. “I saw that when my parents, Robert Sorey and Lou Ellis Hollingsworth were honored. They got their start at Jones, and I was honored to have them lay that foundation for me, and the good reputation for me to follow in their steps here at Jones. It was a great experience for me here too.”
In addition to the Outstanding Alumni of the Year, two alumni, Cade Cockrell of Magee and Shivum Desai of Hattiesburg received the Rising Stars Award during Homecoming celebrations. Dr. Robert S. Billingsley of Laurel/Jackson and Dr. Kaylie B. Wilkerson of Ellisville/Hattiesburg received the Achievement and Excellence Award, while Ellisville native, and current Oxford, Mississippi and Atlanta, Georgia resident, Beverly Young Langford, Ph.D. was bestowed with the Distinguished Service Award and Billy Royce Folkes of Seminary was recognized as the “Legacy Award” recipient.
Two Â鶹ֱ˛Ą alumni received “Achievement & Excellence Awards” during Homecoming 2025
ELLISVILLE – Of the seven alumni recognized during Â鶹ֱ˛Ąâ€™s Alumni Recognition Program held during Homecoming celebrations, two alumni were honored with the “Achievement & Excellence Award.” Dr. Robert S. Billingsley of Laurel and Dr. Kaylie B. Wilkerson of Ellisville were each recognized during the Homecoming Alumni Luncheon.
“These alumni have demonstrated outstanding success in their chosen fields, and they serve as role models of leadership, dedication and integrity. Also, their accomplishments bring honor within their field, and honor upon the college, and they inspire future generations,” Â鶹ֱ˛Ą President, Dr. Jesse Smith said of Billingsley and Wilkerson at the Homecoming Alumni Luncheon.up
Laurel native and current resident of Jackson, Dr. Robert Stevens Billingsley, is in his second year of fellowship training in cardiovascular disease at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The former Â鶹ֱ˛Ą baseball player went on to graduate with honors in Biological Sciences from Mississippi State University and earned his medical degree from UMMC, where he received academic scholarships and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Billingsley acknowledged the variety of experiences he gained as a baseball player under Coach Christian Ostrander still influences his life to this day. In addition, former biology instructor, Austin Smith, is credited for his success in medicine as well.
“From a baseball standpoint, I learned three times more about life than just having a good work ethic and how to take each day, head on and work through various trials. To make decisions today, I have drawn on all of my experiences at Jones,” said Billingsley. “Austin Smith was probably one of my biggest influences at JC. He was very personable, and a guy that I felt like I could talk to directly because I had his phone number. He was the one, when I had doubts about my career path, questioning if I was good enough to go into the competitive field of medicine, he was always that voice of reassurance, that voice of positivity and he taught me quite a lot that that just helped me personally. Miss Rhonda Robertson, my chemistry instructor, definitely laid the foundation to pass the MCAT.”
The West Jones High School and 2014 JC graduate completed his residency in Internal Medicine at UMMC, where he distinguished himself as Chief Resident. Alongside his clinical practice, Billingsley has presented original research, led quality improvement initiatives, and volunteered at free clinics. He is the son of “Pic” and Nancy Billingsley and is married to his high school sweetheart, Kelsey and they have one daughter.
Also achieving greatness in medicine is Dr. Kaylie Bradshaw Wilkerson who earned her Associate of Arts degree in 2014 before continuing her studies at Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She received her Doctor of Medicine in 2021 before completing her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMMC in June 2025 and began practicing at Hattiesburg Clinic. Â鶹ֱ˛Ą helped give her a foundation she explained, to help her be successful in her career.
“I was a member of both Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Bobcat Brigade, student ambassadors. I think both of these groups were fantastic organizations for me to have been a part of because they gave me the opportunity to work with other people who actually became healthcare professionals as well. And so, looking back, you know, the friendships and the connections that we made through working at events, but also the volunteering for different projects, I’ve made a lifetime of connections with people that helped cultivate an environment that was fun for learning, but they also taught me some life lessons and how to be a lifelong learner,” shared Wilkinson. “This place is where I also made lifelong connections academically with my instructors and classmates. I really do feel like Jones gave me a fabulous foundation as far as learning and Jones did a really great job preparing me for the next step.”
During her training, Wilkerson received numerous honors, including the Bryan D. Cowan, MD Research Award, the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Award, and the Joey Purvis Memorial Fund Award. Additionally, she was awarded the Society of OB/GYN Hospitalists Resident of the Year, and she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Beyond medicine, Wilkerson is actively engaged in her church and community, mentoring youth and supporting outreach programs.
In addition to the Achievement and Excellence Award recipients, two alumni, Cade Cockrell of Magee and Shivum Desai of Hattiesburg received the Rising Stars Award during Homecoming celebrations. In addition, Judge Stan Sorey of Raleigh was honored as “Outstanding Alumni of the Year,” while Ellisville native, and current Oxford, Mississippi and Atlanta, Georgia resident, Beverly Young Langford, Ph.D. was bestowed with the Distinguished Service Award and Billy Royce Folkes of Seminary was recognized as the “Legacy Award” recipient.