MCCers recognized for PTK academic, workforce honors
Four Meridian Community College students, Reine Akombo, Daylon Horton, Reagan Dyess, and Josie Reid, earned Phi Theta Kappa All-Mississippi Academic and Workforce Teams for 2025–26 recognition, bringing attention to both the college’s transfer and workforce pathways.
The All-USA Academic Team recognizes high-achieving college students who demonstrate academic excellence and intellectual rigor combined with leadership and service that extends their education beyond the classroom to benefit society. The scholarship is for transfer and workforce students and is by college nomination only.
Akombo and Horton were named to the second team for the All-USA Transfer Pathway. Cochran and Reid were recognized in the All-USA Workforce Pathway. Cochran was also named a second-team member, while Reid was selected as a first-team member and a New Century Workforce Scholar.
Akombo, from Yaoundé, Cameroon, is a University Transfer student majoring in civil engineering and holds a 4.0 grade
point average (based on a 4.0 scale). At MCC, she has served as an Ivy League recruiter,
earned the Ruth Van Dyke Nelson Memorial Scholarship, and is also a member of Phi
Theta Kappa. She also plays No. 1 singles and doubles on the Lady Eagles’ tennis team.
Her service work has included community events, church activities, job fairs, and
volunteer work in tennis. She plans to transfer to a university with a strong engineering
program and tennis team, then use her education to help build safer and more sustainable
infrastructure in Africa.
Horton, from Meridian, is an elementary education major with a 3.96 gpa. He is a Kids First Scholarship recipient, a member of the Phil Hardin Foundation Honors College, and a PTK officer serving as vice president of scholarship. He’s also an Ivy League recruiter. Away from campus, Horton serves in the children’s ministry at Fellowship Baptist Church and works as a second-grade assistant at Northeast Elementary School. He plans to transfer to Mississippi State University-Meridian through the Professional Advancement Network for Teachers and Administrators program, earn a master’s degree, and teach in Lauderdale County.
Dyess, from Enterprise, is a Dental Hygiene student with a 4.0 gpa. She serves as president of the 2026 Dental Hygiene class of 2026 and was named the Mississippi Dental Hygiene Association’s 2026 Hygiene Student of the Year. She is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the National Technical Honor Society. Her outreach work has included visits to schools in Lauderdale and Clarke counties to teach children about oral health, as well as sponsoring an oral health awareness table on campus. She plans to continue her education in hygiene and health administration while building a career focused on prevention, education, and patient care.
Reid, from Collinsville, is a Radiologic Technology Program student with a 4.0 gpa, and holds an associate of arts degree from MCC. She has participated in community events, including MCC’s Candy Cruise, breast cancer walk, and local and community events. She works at a local hospital while balancing a full academic load. She plans to specialize in mammography.
“Reine, Daylon, Reagan, and Josie have each earned this recognition through work in the classroom and service beyond it,” said Phyllis Holladay, Eagle Scholars Program coordinator. “Their success reflects the strength of their goals, their commitment to excellence, and the impact they are already making at Meridian Community College.”
For more information, visit meridiancc.edu/ptk.