{"id":1701,"date":"2025-04-24T12:32:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/?p=1701"},"modified":"2025-07-01T10:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:24:52","slug":"the-ws-diamond-rayford-named-recipient-of-statewide-teacher-preparation-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/support\/the-ws-diamond-rayford-named-recipient-of-statewide-teacher-preparation-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"The W\u2019s Diamond Rayford named recipient of Statewide Teacher Preparation Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Diamond Rayford, a student at Mississippi University for Women, received the prestigious Linda Anglin Teacher Preparation Scholarship, awarded by Mississippi Professional Educators at the 2025 Best Practices Symposium in Jackson on April 5.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cDiamond is the kind of student every campus hopes for\u2014an outstanding scholar, athlete and ambassador for The W,\u201d said Dr. Marty Hatton, dean of the School of Education. \u201cWe\u2019re proud of all she\u2019s achieved and all that\u2019s still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rayford, a double major in elementary education and legal studies of Kosciusko, is a senior at The W known for her academic excellence, leadership and commitment to service. The $500 scholarship is awarded annually to student members of MPE who demonstrate outstanding potential as future educators. As part of the award, Rayford will also receive a complimentary professional membership to MPE during her first year of teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her achievements span across academics, athletics and community leadership. She is a student-athlete on both the Owls basketball and track and field teams. In addition to her involvement on campus, Rayford works as a student-teacher assistant at The W\u2019s Child & Parent Development Center (CPDC) and as a counselor at the Columbus YMCA, where she also leads the Girls\u2019 Basketball League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiamond is an exceptional student leader and future educator,\u201d said Rose Ford, assistant professor of education and MPE student chapter adviser at The W. \u201cShe brings dedication, compassion and professionalism to everything she does. We are incredibly proud to see her honored with this statewide recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second-generation educator, Rayford was inspired by the example set by her parents\u2014both Mississippi teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to be the kind of teacher who creates a safe, inclusive classroom where every child feels seen, heard and supported,\u201d said Rayford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rayford plans to continue her education through graduate study after completing her bachelor\u2019s degree and hopes to make a lasting impact in Mississippi schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About The W\u2019s School of Education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mississippi University for Women\u2019s School of Education has led lifelong learning for over 140 years. Dedicated to education from early childhood through post-graduation, The W\u2019s School of Education inspires excellence through teacher preparation, professional development and community enrichment. The programs empower educators and learners to grow, lead and make a lasting impact across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About The W<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Located in historic Columbus, Mississippi, The W was founded in 1884 as the first state-supported college for women in the United States. Today, the university is home to 2,193 students in more than 70 majors and concentrations and has educated men for 40 years. The university is nationally recognized for low student debt, community and social mobility which empowers students to BE BOLD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be Bold. Tower with Blue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diamond Rayford, a student at Mississippi University for Women, received the prestigious Linda Anglin Teacher Preparation Scholarship, awarded by Mississippi Professional Educators at the 2025 Best Practices Symposium in Jackson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,24,5,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","category-updates","category-support","category-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1701"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1742,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions\/1742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.muw.edu\/education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}