News Release

Northwest Mississippi Community College has announced that recent graduate Matthew Locke of Oxford has been awarded the prestigious Lyceum Scholarship at the University of Mississippi.

“I was told that over 350 students applied, and only 15 scholarships are awarded,” Locke said. “Obviously, I may have been number 15 on the list, but I’m on it. It means all of the hard work is starting to pay off, in and out of the classroom. It means I have more academic, social and leadership ability than I once gave myself credit for. It also means people believe in that ability enough to help make my academic dreams a reality.”

Locke, a home-schooled student from Oxford, graduated from Northwest in the spring of 2022 with an associate’s degree in business administration. 

He attended the Oxford campus, and was a recipient of the Students Honoring Bobby King Endowed Scholarship. A member of Gamma Beta Phi and president of Phi Theta Kappa Beta Eta Theta chapter during his time as a student, he was also named to the PTK All-Mississippi Academic Team. He graduated from the college with a 3.949 GPA. 

“Usually when people are met with accolades, they will say something along the lines of, ‘This honor humbled me,’ but I’m proud of my achievements at Northwest,” Locke said. “They gave me the confidence to try anything that piques my interest.”

He intends to continue pursuing leadership roles at Ole Miss, expressing interest in the university’s Student Real Estate Society, as well as potentially serving as an orientation leader and a Student Leadership and Engagement Ambassador to help other students find clubs and organizations that interest them.

In addition to receiving the Lyceum Scholarship, he has also been awarded the Chancellor’s Leadership Class Scholarship, Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship 2, Phi Theta Kappa President Scholarship, and the Academic Excellence Scholarship.