17 November Pontotoc resident and ICC alum returns to alma mater to share her story with Emerging Scholars November 17, 2023 By Thomas, Donna S. Career Center, General 0 Almost five years ago, Pontotoc native and resident Karis Cox Pannell graduated from Itawamba Community College. Today she is a Certified Public Accountant, specializing in tax planning, strategy and consulting for both individuals and businesses. She is a 2017 graduate of South Pontotoc High School, and her journey has included both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University, and most recently, recipient of the prestigious Fred T. Neely Gold Medal awarded to the student who has the highest CPA exam score in the state and passes all four sections on the first try. Oh, and by the way, that journey has also included a wedding with husband Landon a year and a half ago. Recently she came “home” to ICC, where she had an opportunity to share her story with area high school honor students during an Emerging Scholars luncheon. “Starting college is a significant step in your life, and it’s an opportunity to shape your future,” she said. “I decided I wanted to major in accounting back in high school, I was always a very logical thinker, and numbers just made sense to me. However, the career I am in still allows me to be creative and flexible in my ideas, giving me the best of both worlds.” In addition to sharing information about an accounting career, Pannell said her best start came at ICC. Among the advantages, she noted, are affordable, preparation for the next level, transfer opportunities, engaging classes and activities, diverse programs/faculty, supportive community and personal attention. “I graduated from South Pontotoc, which is a smaller school, as most in our area are,” Pannell said. “I was pretty nervous about the transition to college. I was worried about going from somewhere that I knew every single classmate to somewhere that I turned out to be just another student. ICC served as a great bridge from one stage of life to the next.” At ICC, Pannell was a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the inaugural Travel Tribe, which is now the Global Experience. At MSU, she was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, Stephen D. Lee Scholar, graduate assistant and recipient of the outstanding graduate student award (4.0 average). Currently, she is a Tax Associate at Byrne Zizzi, CPA in the Tupelo office. Related Articles ICC Foundation awards scholarships Several area students are the recipients of Foundation scholarships at Itawamba Community College for 2024-25. They include Aberdeen – Nevaeh Morris, ICC Tuition Toss Annual Scholarship; Dawsen Grimes, R. T. “Mickey” West Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Edgar Irwin Moore and Ruth Moore Endowed Forestry Scholarship; Sierra Lochala, The Rev. 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They had an opportunity to meet their benefactors at a dinner on Sept. 18 at the Fulton Campus. Recipients include Aberdeen – Brannon Herring, Pearl Markham Burch Memorial Endowed Scholarship; Amory – Caleb Weaver, Donald A. Baker Endowed Scholarship; Bailey N. Sanders, Dr. Marshall E. Hollis Endowed Pharmacy Scholarship; Belden – Carrie Addelyn Bridges, Linda Kay Gilreath Scholarship; Belmont – Jay Rodriguez, Ernest and Jamie Joyner Annual Scholarship; Caledonia – Jessica N. Reeves, Land Bank of North Mississippi Scholarship; Ecru – McKenna Grace Nowlin, John and Beth Cleveland Endowed Scholarship; Katie Henry, Ouida Kennedy McDaniel Academic Endowed Scholarship; Fulton – Emily M. Johnson, A.J. Pitts Annual Memorial Scholarship; Cody Lane Domino, BellSouth Endowed Scholarship, Kelly Wade Prestage Memorial Endowed Scholarship; McKenzie Cooper, Bonnie Ruth Gibbs Owings Memorial Endowed Scholarship; Kelsey Spradling, Charlie and Terry McCarthy Memorial Endowed Scholarship; Jade Parker, David and Betty Cole Endowed Scholarship; Misty Sheffield, Dixie Medlin Memorial Endowed Scholarship; Zachary Stanphill, Dorothy D. and George H. Ruff Foundation Vocational ... Comments are closed.