Five Oxford High School Graduates Receive UM’s Highest Academic Award

OXFORD, Miss. – Five Oxford residents are among 59 University of Mississippi students to receive a 2013 Taylor Medal, the university’s highest academic award. The outstanding students were recognized recently during the 70th annual Honors Convocation at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

They are seniors Jacqueline Grace Boyce, Samuel Liyang Di, Laura Jansen, Elyse Cosette Jensen and Alexandria Nicole Tidwell. Boyce, Jensen and Tidwell are slated for graduation May 11. Di and Jansen are scheduled to complete their degrees in May 2014.

Boyce is a senior international studies and German major in the College of Liberal Arts. She is a member of UM’s Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and Croft Institute for International Studies. Her other honors include membership in Phi Beta Kappa, UM’s highest academic honor in the liberal arts. She is a Croft Scholar and recipient of the Milden Language Award.

Di is a senior electrical engineering major in the School of Engineering. A member of the Honors College, he received the Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Junior Engineer Award.

Jansen received the Taylor Medal as a senior hospitality management major in the School of Applied Sciences. She is also majoring in art in the College of Liberal Arts. Her other honors include listing on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll and receiving the Student Art Association Award.

Jensen is a senior physics major in the pre-med curriculum. A member of the Honors College, she is listed on the Chancellor’s Honor Roll. Her other honors include membership in Phi Beta Kappa and in Phi Kappa Phi, UM’s highest academic honor across all disciplines. She is a certified veterinary assistant.

Tidwell is a senior English major in the College of Liberal Arts. Her other honors include the W. Alton Bryant Award and AAUW Sarah Robinson Scholarship.

Taylor Medals recognize no more than 0.45 percent of undergraduates for meritorious scholarship and deportment. Recipients of the award must have at least a 3.90 grade-point average. The award was established at Ole Miss in 1904 by Dr. William A. Taylor of Booneville in memory of his son, an honored 1871 alumnus of the university.