NATCHEZ, Miss. — Ceairra Franklin, a 2024 graduate of Natchez High School, is the 2024 recipient of a $1,000 scholarship awarded by the Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation. The funding will go toward her education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, where she is studying to become a licensed laboratory technician.
“When I first heard that I won the scholarship, I was so ecstatic, because this was the first one that I had won, and it really made my day,” said Franklin. “It meant so much to me to win this scholarship, and I’m really grateful to have been the recipient of it.”
Franklin is the daughter of Angie Kelly and the granddaughter of Marie Love. She was recognized for her grades, her attitude, and her participation in school athletics.
Leaders of the foundation presented Franklin with a check for $1,000 during a recent ceremony on the Bluff. Franklin’s friends and family members attended the event.
Foundation President Eva Dunkley presented her with a gift bag and encouraged her to keep her faith in God. “He will never leave you nor forsake you,” Dunkley said. “You keep that in your heart, baby, and he’ll take care of you. We’re going to be praying for you. God bless you.”
Franklin teared up as she thanked everyone for their support.
Ceairra Franklin is the 2024 recipient of the Hugh Green Scholarship. She was awarded $1,000 for tuition assistance at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
Laura Jackson, the foundation’s treasurer, said she was proud of Franklin.
“She was the best candidate out of the five we had to choose from,” Jackson said. “She seems to be a person who’s going to make the foundation proud, and she’s a wonderful young lady and very good student. She does not have a discipline record, and she’s from a single-parent family.”
Franklin also was one of the organizers of the high school’s first volleyball team, Jackson said. “She maintained her grade point average even while she was active playing sports, and that’s important.”
The Hugh Green Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization that presents athletic scholarships to deserving students from all local high schools who plan to attend college or university. Jackson said the foundation was created about 10 years ago by a group of local men who wanted to help students with their education. It was organized, she said, by the late George A. Dunkley.
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