Hinds Community College’s annual Homecoming festivities on Oct. 16 include honoring alumni award winners and Sports Hall of Fame inductees.
The award ceremony is at 4:30 p.m. in Cain-Cochran Hall on the Raymond Campus before the 7 p.m. match-up with Southwest Mississippi Community College.
The honorees include Alumnus of the Year Dr. Ryn Laster, Young Alumnus of the Year Dr. Mioshi Marshall Smith and Alumni Service Award recipients Lamar Currie and Dr. Roger Jones.
Dr. Ryn Laster Hinds CC Alumnus of the Year.
Dr. Ryn Laster of Raymond, a Hinds 1989 graduate and current Hinds Foundation Board member, has been named 2025 Alumnus of the Year.
During her almost 30-year career as Director of Food Safety and Animal Welfare at Cal-Maine Foods, Dr. Laster has broken down barriers for women in the poultry science industry and academia. She helped build a pathway from Hinds to Mississippi State University, also her alma mater, for students focused on poultry science careers. And she regularly gives back to the community, ensuring Mississippians without regular access to food have eggs to eat.
Dr. Laster spent much her childhood on Hinds’ Raymond Campus – her mother Ann Laster was an English instructor and father Bob Laster, also a Hinds graduate, helped build the Jackson Campus and taught engineering graphics.
“I am the way I am because I was pretty much raised by the women in the Hinds English Department,” said Dr. Laster. “From a very early age, they all impressed upon me that there was nothing I couldn’t do. It didn’t matter if you were a woman or not, if you want to do it, go do it.”
Dr. Mioshi Marshall Smith, Hinds CC Young alumnus
Dr. Mioshi Marshall Smith (2008) is one of those rare people who knew exactly what she wanted to do before she even touched a toe on a college campus.
Smith, 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year, knew she was destined for a business career. Hinds just helped her confirm what she already knew.
“I knew I wanted to be in business but had never experienced it. Hinds was able to pair me with business-related work-study jobs, so I knew I wanted to be able to help people and be in a professional setting. Hinds really gave me the opportunity to know that business is the field for me,” said Dr. Smith, a Jackson Callaway High School graduate.
Now living in McKinney, Texas, with her husband and three daughters, she is a Client Service Manager for the Rochester, N.Y.-based Alera Group, an independent, national insurance and financial services firm.
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Lamar Currie - Hinds CC Alumni Service
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Dr. Roger Jones - Hinds CC Alumni Service
A shared love of Hinds and service to others cemented the almost 40-year friendship of retirees Meat Merchandising Instructor Lamar Currie of Utica and Agriculture Department Chairman Dr. Roger Jones of Raymond.
The pair has been named joint 2025 Alumni Service Award winners in honor of their years of service to Hinds, which included putting together successful — and sometimes creative — fundraisers that raised hundreds of thousands for student scholarships.
The duo cooked for and hosted numerous events over the years, including summer suppers for the football team and an Ultimate Game Dinner that raised $400,000 for student scholarships. They were also a fixture on campus after hours, often working as the “chain gang” at home football games.
“It’s a great honor to get this particular award,” Dr. Jones said. “Having an opportunity to share this one means a lot.”
“Anything that Hinds does to honor you is great because I love Hinds,” Currie said. “We felt like we were working for Hinds, even though it wasn’t daytime, and we weren’t really on the clock. We were doing something for Hinds to better Hinds.”