Scholarships Help Mississippi College Students Pursue Healthcare Profession

Brycen Witcher of Ocean Springs, Kaylie Bradshaw of Ellisville and Weston Eldridge of Flora

Mississippi College student Weston Eldridge is thankful for a scholarship so he can pursue his dreams of becoming a healthcare professional.

The Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program recently selected Eldridge as a future recipient of the $30,000 per-year award. It will pay for him to attend the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson.

“This will make getting out of med school and starting my own career a lot smoother without the tremendous debt facing so many medical students,” Eldridge says. Receiving up to $120,000 for tuition, he says, “will cover most of medical school for me.”

A 20-year-old MC junior, Eldridge is a chemistry and biology major on the Clinton campus. The Madison Central High graduate is the son of the late Ricky Eldridge and Valerie Reynolds of Flora. He wants to work with patients in a family medicine practice in his hometown of Flora.

Created in 2007, the physician scholarship program identifies college sophomores showing the commitment and academic achievement to become competent doctors. They would work for four years in rural areas of the Magnolia State.

Support from the Legislature would enable 60 medical students to receive a total of $1.8 million this fall to attend medical school at UMMC or the College of Osteopathic Medicine at William Carey University in Hattiesburg.

The program offers two years of undergraduate academic enrichment including Medical College Admission Test preparation and a clinical experience in a rural setting.

After completing medical training, the Mississippi Rural Physician Scholars would enter a residency program in such areas as family medicine, general internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology or pediatrics.

Two other Mississippi College students were selected for the rural physician scholarships. They are: Kaylie Bradshaw of Ellisville and Brycen Witcher of Ocean Springs.

Bradshaw is the daughter of Michael and Kimberly Bradshaw. Witcher is the son of Angie Cook of Ocean Springs and John Witcher of Brandon.