The youngest member ever to be sworn in as a member of the Mississippi Legislature has ties to Pearl River County.

Democrat Jeramey Anderson of Moss Point took his oath as a state representative on Friday. The ceremony took place on his 22nd birthday.

Anderson won a special election runoff on Nov. 26 in District 110 in coastal Jackson County. He succeeds former Rep. Billy Broomfield who was elected mayor of Moss Point during the summer.

Anderson graduated from Moss Point High School in 2010 and attended Pearl River Community College on a soccer scholarship, where he graduated with an associate’s degree in criminal justice two years later.

He’s now a senior at Tulane University’s Gulf Coast campus in Biloxi, where he is studying homeland security and public relations and expects to graduate in May.

“This experience has been great,” said Anderson, who was sworn in by House Speaker Philip Gunn. “It’s obviously something I’ve never been through before. I’ve already spoken to a lot of young people, some I know and some I don’t know, and they are so excited to have a voice.

He is the youngest person to serve in the Mississippi Legislature since Democrat Dirk Dedeaux of Perkinston was sworn into the House in January 1996 at age 23. Dedeaux served until January 2012. The new session for the legislature began at noon on Tuesday.

“I’m just excited that I was given the opportunity to run this race and that the community rallied behind me to support me in this endeavor,” he said. “I look forward to serving the community of District 110.

While campaigning, Anderson focused on education, availability and cost of insurance and economic growth.