A prominent Colorado pediatrician has been chosen as the 2023 inductee to the Petal School District Hall of Fame, where she will join 34 previous outstanding graduates of the Petal School District who have distinguished themselves through academic and professional achievement.
Officials from the Petal Education Foundation recently announced that Amanda Winters, who graduated from Petal High School as salutatorian in 2000, will be inducted into the hall at 6 p.m. May 15 at the Petal Performing Arts Center, adjacent to Petal High School. As Winters was not available for comment by press time, Leahne Lightsey, executive director of the education foundation, commented on her behalf.
“I think, first of all, the fact that she is so compassionate for the health of very young children, that really strikes a chord in me,” Lightsey said. “Here she is with an M.D. and a PhD, and she’s just a great example of the academically inclined (students) that Petal produces.
“I admire somebody with that kind of ambition and who loves to make a difference in the world.”
After graduating from high school, Winters earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2004 and completed an M.D./PhD combined program at Tulane University in New Orleans in 2011. During her medical and graduate school training, she spent time in Houston, Texas and Chicago, Illinois, as well as New Orleans in a stint in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
After medical school graduation, she chose a career in pediatric oncology, completing a pediatrics residency at Cincinnati Children's and a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at Children's Hospital Colorado, where she is now faculty. As a practicing physician, she cares for children with all different types of cancer, but primarily focuses her practice on leukemias.
Winters also is involved in leukemia research and in teaching the next generation of physician learners at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
During her induction at the performing arts center, Winters will address the graduating Petal seniors for Honors and Scholarship Night.
“I’m so excited to meet her and spend some time with her, and I’ll be touring her around the school district, taking her to each of the schools and departments to show her how Petal has grown (since she was last here),” Lightsey said. “We’ll have lunch on that Monday with … a couple of her friends that are still here, so she can just visit a little bit.
“I also look forward to her words of inspiration and wisdom that she will be given at her induction. That’s where all of the scholarship recipients are going to be gathered … and hopefully she inspires them one day to be an academic hall of famer as well.”
The hall of fame, which was established in 1989, honors individuals who serve as role models for students by exhibiting the attitudes, knowledge and lifelong learning skills essential to thrive as responsible citizens in an ever-changing global society.
To be considered, each individual nominated must have graduated from Petal High School and must have attended school in the Petal School District for a minimum of four years. Nominees’ high school classes must have graduated at least 20 years prior to the nomination, and nominees must have a demonstrated history of professional success.
Last year, the honor went to Bradley G. Bond, a 1981 graduate of Petal High School. Bond has served as director of undergraduate and graduate studies in the department of history, director of the University Forum, Project Manager, African Studies Program Development, special assistant to the Provost, director of the Learning Enhancement Center and Assistant Provost at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Other hall of fame members include Kavon Hakimzadeh and Thomas James.
“We’ve had different walks of life that have been very, very successful, and they come from right here in Petal, Mississippi,” Lightsey said. “It just is a testament to our district, our teachers who invest so much in every one of these students.”
