Taylor Medalist

UM-Booneville Student Earns UM Highest Academic Honor

Tishomingo’s Hannah Day Awarded 2018 UM Taylor Medal

PHOTO: University of Mississippi Chancellor Jeffery Vitter awards UM-Booneville campus student Hannah Day of Tishomingo the Elvis Taylor Memorial Medal for academic achievement during the University's 2018 Honors Convocation. The Taylor Medal is UM's highest academic award and recognizes fewer than 1 percent of the entire student body.

OXFORD, Miss. – Hannah Day of Tishomingo, a senior education major on the University of Mississippi-Booneville campus, was recently selected to receive the University’s top academic honor as a Taylor Medalist for the 2017-18 academic year.

Day was presented her award during the annual honors convocation held on the UM-Oxford campus last month.

“I was blown away when I heard that I had received the award,” Day said. “It validates all my hard work and long nights of studying. It was definitely worth it.”

Only the top one percent of University of Mississippi students can be awarded the Taylor Medal for Academic Achievement each year. Recipients must have at least a 3.90 grade-point average and recommendations from faculty members in their field.

UM instructor in the School of Education Janie Conway was one of the faculty members who recommended Day for the honor.

“I was happy we had the opportunity to recognize Hannah’s hard work as well as her servant’s heart,” Conway said.

Day graduated from Belmont High School in 2014. She attended Northeast Community College where she was involved in several organizations before transferring to UM-Booneville.

As a student teacher in a first grade classroom at Hills Chapel School this spring, Day says she has worked to form relationships with her students in order to find out more about their learning styles and how to help them be the best student that they can be.

“I have always enjoyed math, and I want to help my students understand and enjoy it as much as I do,” Day said. “Math doesn’t have to be scary if you are given the tools to understand it.”

Conway said that Hannah showed such a passion for helping others grasp the concepts discussed in class that she was often mentoring and encouraging her fellow classmates.

“Hannah was an active class participant who also supported the learning of her students and her peers,” Conway said. “I believe her high expectations for herself as an educator will help her future students become successful as well.”

Along with her own classes, Hannah serves as a youth coordinator and Sunday school teacher at Belmont United Methodist as well as a volunteer with the local food bank, Angel Tree Christmas Drive, American Red Cross, and the Salvation Army.

“I would hire Hannah without reservation as a teacher in my school,” Conway said. “I am so thankful that we have young people like Hannah to become future teachers and community leaders who truly care about their students.”