[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 135 (Friday, August 12, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E835-E836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING KIERRA JONES-WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 12, 2022

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
tenacious and self-motivated leader, Kierra Jones-Williams. Kierra has 
shown what can be done through hard work, dedication, and a desire to 
achieve success.
  Kierra Jones-Williams, a native of Cleveland, the daughter of a 
single parent, said her passion for helping others stems from her Delta 
roots; volunteering and mentoring in the MS Delta, and being crowned 
Miss Tougaloo College (2017-2018). She attended Tougaloo College, where 
she received a full ride and other scholarships including the 
Congressional Black Caucus Scholarship. Her journey continued when she 
enrolled in Jackson State University's School of Public Health (SPH), 
which is the only SPH in Mississippi. Her concentration was Behavioral 
Health Promotion and Education within the Department of Behavioral and 
Environmental Health. With a strong desire to impact public health and 
practice medicine, Kierra Jones-Williams, wanted to return to the 
Mississippi Delta as a medical doctor because she's seen how the lack 
of education and resources can impact the health of communities.
  She was then accepted into the University of Mississippi Medical 
Center (UMMC) School of Medicine Fall 2019. Kierra was awarded two 
scholarships totaling $41,000 annually to help achieve her goal of 
becoming a physician. She has also been awarded $30,000 per year toward 
her tuition by the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program and 
$11,000 per year by the Robert M. Hearing Support Foundation Minority 
Scholarship. Jones-Williams is also a Daniel Hale Williams Scholar in 
the Jackson Heart Study Graduate Training and Education Center. Kierra 
plans to return to a rural area of Mississippi to practice. As many who 
have paved the path before her, she plans to integrate public health 
with clinical care in her practice. She wants the legacy of her career 
to be labeled as a physician who considers the influences of culture 
and genetics on patient health and one that primarily generates a 
professional relationship of trust, understanding, and sound medical 
treatment practices with her patients. While enrolled as a medical 
student at UMMC, Kierra has served as Vice President of UMMC Student 
National Medical Association, Advocacy Chair of UMMC Obstetrics and 
Gynecology Interest Group, Community Liaison for Rural Scholars, 
received the Dee and Bill Keeton Award (for

[[Page E836]]

demonstrating scholarship, leadership, and service) as a third-year 
medical student, and received a Diversity Supplement Scholarship from 
the National Institute of Health.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Kierra 
Jones-Williams for her passion and dedication in medicine, and caring 
for patients in the rural communities.

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