Spain Park grad named to Mississippi College Student Hall of Fame

Damon Wright, a 2017 Spain Park High School graduate was inducted into the Mississippi College Student Hall of Fame this spring.

Wright recently graduated from Mississippi College with a bachelor’s degree in communication and was one of four graduating seniors inducted in the hall of fame this year.

Students are selected based on outstanding leadership ability, scholastic achievement, participation in extracurricular activities, contributions to student life and dedication to serving God and their fellow men.

Wright, 22, was a linebacker for the Mississippi College football team. He was also a member of the men’s track team where he did the shot put, hammer throw and weight throw (indoor). That team won the Gulf South Conference indoor championship in February.

Wright also served as vice president of the school’s Student Government Association for two years and was a member of the Lambda Pi Eta communication honor society, a tutor for the school’s writing center and an orientation leader. He also wrote for Mississippi College’s student newspaper, The Collegian.

He was among student leaders who spearheaded efforts to help improve students’ mental health as the campus recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, to encourage elderly people in their community and to bolster the Be the Match stem cell donation registry.

As a result of the SGA initiatives, 240 people registered for the stem cell donation registry, about 100 encouraging letters were sent to elderly people in nursing homes and retirement centers along with boxes of toiletries and hygiene products, and students were given an opportunity to play with puppies as they walked around campus to help relieve stress, Wright said.

Wright said it’s truly an honor to be inducted into the Student Hall of Fame. When he graduated from Spain Park, he initially questioned whether he had made the right choice to go to Mississippi College, but now has no doubt he did.

God has challenged him to look beyond himself, be a better man and get out of his comfort zone, allowing him to increase his faith and grow as a person, he said. He’s thankful for the people around him who have poured into his life, he said.

After finishing a summer job in Orange Beach, Wright plans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas and pursue a master’s degree in sports management. He has landed a graduate assistant position with the university’s Housing Unification Board.