What a joy it was to meet Alex Gieger of Laurel and Devin Ladner of Diamondhead on Thursday. The two are the 2009 recipients of the Mary Loraine Peets Buffett Scholarship. And what a thrill, especially for a "foodie" like me, to meet Lucy Buffett the same day. Buffett is the owner of LuLu's in Gulf Shores; she's also the author of "Crazy Sista Cookin'" a wonderful cookbook and food memoir. She was on campus Thursday to autograph copies of the book, and to present the scholarship award that is named in honor of her late mother, Mary Loraine "Peets" Buffett.
Gieger plans to major in music education. She spoke during the scholarship presentation ceremony of her love of both music and children. Ladner may major in English--although she's still considering a variety of options from Public Relations to Speech Communication. We talked of using her time at Southern Miss to narrow her focus and to hone skills such as writing, speaking, and problem-solving. No matter what major they choose, I'm confident that these fine young women will be an asset to our incoming freshman class.