HBCUdigest.com December 2011 Alcorn music major Vera Zholondz named 2011 StudyMississippi Undergraduate International Student of the Year The Alcorn family is proud for Vera Zholondz, a senior majoring in music performance, for being selected the 2011 StudyMississippi Undergraduate International Student of the Year! Zholondz is from Voronezh, Russia, she is a member of the International and Multicultural Student Organization (IMSO), the ASU Jazz Band, the ASU Concert Choir and will be representing the university at the National Collegiate Honors Council annual conference. She is also part of the Natchez First Presbyterian Church Choir, tutors music history and writing, serves as a mentor to new international students and has performed at multiple university and community events. "Congratulations to Alcorn State University for Vera Zholondz being chosen as the first StudyMississippi International Students of the Year, said Dr. Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, president of the Study Mississippi Consortium. "We thank Vera and Alcorn State University for her exceptional personal contributions to international student life and community outreach in the state of Mississippi." For winning the contest, Vera received an Apple iPad2 from the StudyMississippi Consortium that was presented to her on November 30 by Dr. Dovi Alipoe, director of Global Programs, and Elena Kostyleva, senior staff writer for the Office of University Relations/ IMSO advisor. "We are so proud of Vera for competing with international students from all over the state and winning," stated Dr. Alipoe. "She truly deserves the award because she exemplifies what an international student should be in the state of Mississippi." Elena Kostyleva said, "Since her first day on campus, Vera has been a great asset to the International and Multicultural Student Organization, Fine Arts Department, the University and the community. We couldn't be happier for her today." Happy and emotional Zholondz exclaimed, "I still cannot believe I won the contest. There were students participating from big schools and I didn't think I would win. It feels so good to know that I represented Alcorn and my home country of Russia well." SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 404.592.4820 Skype:sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.