Mo’Nazia Sowells is the recipient of two scholarships, the Magnolia Thompson Williams Scholarship and Ret. Sgt. Major Ulysses W. Mays Scholarship. Mo’Nazia Sowells is an honor graduate of Dillon High School and plans to attend the University of South Carolina to pursue a degree in nursing.
While enrolled in Dillon High School, she was active in the Beta Club, the Anchor Club, and was selected as a Palmetto Girl’s State delegate.
She is the daughter of Monique and Roderick Gurley.

In 2020, the children of Magnolia T. Williams established the Magnolia Thompson Williams Scholarship to be a perpetual honor of legacy for her thirty years as an educator. Two scholarships may be awarded annually to motivate and to inspire students to excel academically and to become contributors to society.
Ulysses W. Mays, a Dillon High School graduate and a thirty-year retired Sergeant Major of The United States Army, established a scholarship in his name to be awarded to a deserving high school student.
Currently, Mr. Mays resides in Savannah where he serves as a motivation specialist. MAGNOLIA WILLIAMS AND Mo’Nazia Sowells, recipient. (Photo by Betsy Finklea/The Dillon Herald)