The eighth cohort of the Delta Scholars Program (DSP) welcomed its first annual Tom Pittman Delta Scholars.
Three of the eleven 2025 scholars were selected for this support in partnership with the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi. The Tom Pittman Delta Scholars are Kayle Amos, Spencer Lile and John Robert Walker. These students were selected because of their commitment to cultivating change and building more resilient communities in the multi-state Delta region including Mississippi along with Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and Tennessee.
The 2025 Delta Scholars cohort includes students from seven institutions representing five states, providing an excellent opportunity for them to learn, network and grow together. Scholars come from 16 majors and minors, such as chemical engineering, Southern studies, physics and English.
Pittman Delta Scholar Kayle Amos is from Brandon and is a rising junior at The University of Mississippi majoring in Public Policy Leadership with a minor in American Sign Language. Reflecting on the value of the initiative, she states, “Delta Scholars made me feel more connected to home than ever. For my Capstone, I am working with the Mississippi Delta Project at Harvard Law School, diving into food policy and the real barriers to food access in the Delta — work that felt urgent because I’ve always seen these gaps growing up. At the Delta Regional Forum, I got to sit in the same room as organizers, policy experts and community leaders who are making change happen right here in Mississippi. It showed me that the future of the Delta is being built by the people who love it most. I appreciate my amazing sponsors for believing in me and investing in my future.”
Pittman Delta Scholar Spencer Lile is a rising senior at Mississippi State University from Benton, Arkansas. He is studying Biomedical Engineering and Physics.
Pittman Delta Scholar John Robert Walker is a rising sophomore from Starkville and attends Yale University, where he is majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics and minoring in Statistics and Data Science.
The DSP is led through the Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University (MSU) in partnership with the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) and with additional partners through the Delta Directions Consortium (DDC). In June, the Scholars participated in a 12-day intensive learning experience, which included a half-day workshop in community development and guest lecturers from a range of experts to learn about public service, community development, public policy and public health.
Scholars also spent time in the Delta region learning about and interacting with those doing the on-the-ground work. This year the Delta Innovation Tour included stops in Cleveland, Mound Bayou, Jonestown, Sumner and Clarksdale. The summer program ended with the Delta Regional Forum.
The scholars engaged community and regional development practitioners working in the multistate Delta Region on issues like population health and wellbeing, economic renewal and community resilience. While the multi-state Delta region has had challenges, it has also been on the front lines of change, including community health movements and regional tourism conversations. Future leaders benefit from learning from and understanding the complexities of this special place.
The support of the Delta Scholars Program by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi through the Tom Pittman Delta Scholars enables these future leaders to pursue their goals and give back, building a better community.
To learn more, support the program, direct an applicant to apply, or join the conversation to cultivate future changemakers, email deltascholars@honors.msstate.edu.
