On April 14, one Ole Miss student spent her day driving to Jackson, Mississippi where she was one of four students across the state to receive the honor of accepting the Lawrence F. Boland Memorial Scholarship.

“This award has been given to students in the geosciences since about 1980. Mr. Boland was a geologist in Jackson in oil and gas. He established this [scholarship] for college students in the state of Mississippi,” said Cathy Grace, a geology professor at Ole Miss.

Elizabeth Russell, a senior geological engineer student, represented Ole Miss as the recipient of the prestigious scholarship. The Mississippi Geological Society along with members of the Boland family honored Russell along with a student from Mississippi State, The University Southern Mississippi and Millsaps College with the award and scholarship yesterday in Jackson.

“She is very deserving. I’m thrilled for her. We have a lot of good students in our department and Elizabeth is definitely one of the best,” Grace said.

Russell was selected from a competitive group of students in the geology and geological engineer departments. The selection committee first looked at students’ resumes; Russell, along with five other Ole Miss students, was selected to be interviewed. From here the selection committee chose one recipient.

“First and foremost I’m honored to receive this scholarship,” said Elizabeth Russell, 2016 Boland Scholarship Recipient. “I am very thankful for the award and the opportunity to meet some of Mr. Boland’s family.”

Russell has been very involved in the engineering student body. She has served as multiple officers in Engineers Without Borders, and she is a member Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologist.

“It has been a pleasure to see her develop professionally over the last four years. She is going to be successful where ever she ends up,” Grace said. “It is a monetary award that comes at a time when students, seniors especially, are in need of extra money to move and start a job or move to begin graduate work.”

Russell will graduate in May from Ole Miss with a major in Geological Engineering. She has been accepted into several graduate programs. Russell will be attending Montana Tech or Colorado School of Mines next fall. She will pursue a Master of Science degree in Geological Engineering.

The Boland Family will be honored, as Russell will use the scholarship money to further her education.

“It’s a blessing for me and generous of the Boland Family to give this scholarship and this award to geology and geological engineer students who stand out in Mississippi,” Russell said.