ALUMNUS Summer 2020 - Mississippi State University

BULLDOG STRONG Campus community unites in support and service amid COVID-19 pandemic

I N S I D E Summer 2020

Community through Distance p. 15 | Leaders in Action p. 38 | Infinite Success p. 42 | A New Normal p. 54

Table of CONTENTS

13 FEATURES

24 Class of 2020

Spring graduates show resilience and hope for their futures despite the challenging end to their spring semesters

38 Leaders in Action

Task Force team guides MSU through COVID-19

42 Infinite Impact

Mississippi State’s unprecedented, comprehensive philanthropic campaign achieves historic success as it wraps a decade-long run

49 Till the Cowbells Come Home

Bulldog Athletics readies playbook for post-COVID events and student-athlete success

ABOVE: Two Mechanical engineering students, Ryden Smith, right, of Tuscaloosa, and Wesley Cameron of Richton, work to convert a truck toolbox into a UV sterilization device at Mississippi State’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. The device is being used to sterilize masks for MSU’s Longest Student Health Center staff, filling a need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo by Logan Kirkland

SUMMER 2020 | VOL. 97 | NO. 2 PRESIDENT Mark E. Keenum, ’83, ’84, ’88

VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI John P. Rush, ’94, ’02

15

42

56

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jeff Davis CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Sid Salter, ’88 EDITORS Susan Lassetter, ’07 Harriet Laird

WRITERS Vanessa Beeson, ’19 Amy Cagle Camille Carskadon, ’12 James Carskadon, ’12 Nathan Gregory, ’08 Harriet Laird Susan Lassetter, ’07 Allison Matthews, ’00 Sasha Steinberg, ’14 Melody Thurlow, ’90 Erica Way DESIGNER Heather Rowe

PHOTOGRAPHERS Megan Bean Logan Kirkland Beth Wynn

DEPARTMENTS 02 Campus News 10 Discoveries 22 State Snapshot 54 Profiles 62 Alumni News 70 Giving Back 74 Class Notes 76 Forever Maroon 79 Back Story

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COVER

When the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly brought the world to a standstill this spring, the Mississippi State family united in service to protect and support its students, campus and communities at large.

Photo by Beth Wynn

EDITORIAL OFFICE P.O. Box 5325 Mississippi State, MS 39762 662.325.0630 slassetter@opa.msstate.edu ADVERTISING Jeff Davis 662.325.3444 jdavis@alumni.msstate.edu

Mississippi State University’s Alumnus magazine is published three times a year by the Office of Public Affairs and the Mississippi State University Alumni Association. Send address changes to Alumni Director, P.O. Box AA, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5526. Call 662.325.7000, or email cturner@advservices. msstate.edu.

Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution. Discrimination in university employment, programs or activities based on race, color, ethnicity, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, or any other status protected by applicable law is prohibited. Questions about equal opportunity programs or compliance should be directed to the Office of Compliance and Integrity, 56 Morgan Avenue, P.O. 6044, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (662) 325-5839.

Campus NEWS

BRIDGING THE DISTANCE

Pandemic crisis highlights Bulldog spirit, advances in distance education

By Susan Lassetter

At the beginning of March, just over 2,000 students participated in online classes at Mississippi State University. By month’s end, that number had swollen to more than 20,000 as MSU found itself in an unprecedented situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like institutions of higher learning across the country, Mississippi State had just over a week to make all of its face-to-face courses available through online delivery. But unlike some other institutions, Mississippi State had the resources and expertise necessary to make this drastic change as seamless as possible.

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“There was such a can-do attitude expressed on a number of fronts very quickly. Our Center for Distance Education and the university’s Information Technology Services raised their hands immediately to say ‘let us help.’” ~David Shaw

Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw attributed this success to the dedication of the university’s faculty and staff.

“There was such a can-do attitude expressed on a number of fronts very quickly,” Shaw recalled. “Our Center for Distance Education and the university’s Information Technology Services raised their hands immediately to say ‘let us help.’ They stepped up in that week of preparation to expand the capabilities of our technology and train hundreds of faculty, staff and students on how to use it.

“Susan Seal and her entire team in the Center for Distance Education dropped everything to really be there for the faculty and share the experience they brought to the table with how to do a high-quality job in online education,” he continued.

A service unit that coordinates all of MSU’s online academic programs, the Center for Distance Education oversees more than 50 degree and certificate programs, including nationally ranked offerings in engineering, education and business. At the beginning of the semester, this involved roughly 250 faculty members teaching 432 online courses. Within a week at the end of March, they added more than 1,000 faculty members and 3,695 courses.

Seal credits much of the success of the transition to the efforts of MSU Libraries, ITS and the Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as the Center for Distance Education.

“I was proud of our team and how they stepped up to quickly identify what our faculty, staff and students would need, and then worked late hours to provide it as they made the transition to completely online,” Seal said. “And the faculty themselves, especially those who had taught distance courses before, really came together to help each other make the best of this situation.

“Building a quality online class can take months,” Seal continued. “So, you were never going to create a true distancelearning experience in a week’s time. But by pulling together and building on our combined experience in online teaching, we were able to preserve the quality of an MSU education. It’s not the same as being able to hang around after class or share social experiences like you do on campus, but as an institution, we were able to meet our educational objectives thanks in part to the personnel and infrastructure already in place.”

With more than 18 years of experience in online learning, both at an academic level and in an outreach capacity with MSU’s Extension Service, Seal said she sees distance education as the fulfillment of the land-grant institution’s mission.

“Through online education, we’re taking the university out to the people who can’t come to campus, whether because of location, career, family or, in this case, public safety,” Seal said. “Being able to support the university community during this crisis will, I think, change perceptions and open people’s eyes to the capabilities of distance education.”

Shaw agreed, noting that, while it was under non-ideal circumstances, having all classes temporarily move online has opened the door to possibilities that might have otherwise not been available.

“The silver lining is that we will have more opportunities in the future because of this situation,” Shaw said. “Faculty are seeing real advantages to some digital approaches; deans and department heads are brainstorming ways to create hybrid course offerings; and everyone is learning and developing new tools that will not only advance online teaching but face-toface courses as well.”

He noted that after announcing the summer semester would be online only, the university saw an increase in the number of courses to be offered over what was originally planned when it

“Through online education, we’re taking the university out to the people who can’t come to campus, whether because of location, career, family or, in this case, public safety.

Being able to support the university community during this crisis will, I think, change perceptions and open people’s eyes to the capabilities of distance education.” ~ Susan Seal was to be face-to-face. There was also a more than 35% increase in the number of credit hours registered for by students.

Shaw said this is a testament to the Bulldog family and shows how it’s the people, not the proximity, that make Mississippi State great.

“We’re never going to be a fully online institution, but distance education will continue to play an important and growing role at MSU,” Shaw said.

“Throughout this crisis, our faculty have demonstrated—whether through Webex, email or text messages—that they were still there for our students. And the dedication of our faculty and staff to make themselves available to support our students, even if it was outside of normal hours or traditional settings, really shows the true Bulldog spirit. And it’s those people and that dedication that differentiates an MSU education from all the rest.” n ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 3

Campus NEWS

ESSENTIAL IN SERVICE

MSU staff provide much-needed services for Bulldog community in midst of pandemic

By Harriet Laird

In response to COVID-19, Mississippi State staffers have worked diligently behind the scenes to come to the aid of students. From tracking down laptops for those without a computer to ensuring they have food and other essential items, MSU employees have jumped into action.

They are the unsung heroes who’ve gone above and beyond.

In a time of crisis, Bulldogs can do exceptional things, and here are a few shining examples.

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“I feel more connected now to the students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, store owners and so many others,” he explained.

“I feel what a community is, what joining together for a common cause is.”

MONTELLEO HOBLEY

Bully’s Closet and Pantry

At the time Montelleo Hobley drove from the Florida Panhandle toward Mississippi in 2017 to accept his first job in the MSU Division of Student Affairs, he knew that his life was about to change. What he didn’t know was three years later he would have the chance to dramatically and positively change the lives of hundreds of students during an unprecedented time.

Through his role as student services coordinator, Hobley oversees Bully’s Closet and Pantry. Prior to spring break, he and the volunteers who staff the pantry had helped about 250 students with clothing and food since the free service began in January.

However, as the virus spread and shut down businesses, restricted travel and forced MSU to limit campus operations, more and more students found themselves lacking basic necessities.

With a sudden increase of about 200 additional students needing immediate help, Hobley worked to ramp up BCP’s offerings.

“We added a click list, curbside service, social media accounts that featured cooking demonstrations, and even opened a new BCP location at MSU-Meridian,” he said. “We wanted to fill every need we could and supply as many specific items as possible.”

Fresh vegetables, pet food, and more health and hygiene products were among the staples that Hobley began to include on the digital order form now being used by BCP to meet clients’ changing needs.

“I definitely have had to readjust my job,” he said. “I’ve created a satellite workspace here at BCP that’s separate from my main office in Student Affairs, and the logistics of keeping this service running have evolved.”

Hobley said the experience has changed him as well.

computers or purchased them.

“The university joined together as a community to make the best out of the situation that we could,” he said.

He also singled out his library co-workers for stepping up. Faculty research, library loan orders, archival scans, book checkout and much more have continued, even if the processes have been revamped.

“The payoff for us has been how appreciative and thankful the students, faculty and community members have been,” he said. “We all have wanted to do what we could to make the ‘new normal’ feel a little more comfortable.”

PAUL HUDDLESTON

MSU Libraries

Paul Huddleston, systems administrator for MSU Libraries, calls himself a “cog in the machine” as he looks back on the hectic weeks after spring break when university administrators moved courses completely online.

“I played a small part,” he said modestly of his important role in equipping students with the necessary technology to complete the spring and summer sessions.

Prepping computers with the right tools for students to effectively learn during the pandemic has been a significant role change for Huddleston, whose work in the past mainly focused on keeping technology up-todate for library employees and patrons.

Outfitting more than 250 donated and purchased laptops suddenly became Huddleston’s focus as the equipment filled Mitchell Memorial Library’s basement offices. Each one, he said, had to include the Microsoft Office, Canvas educational platform, a lockdown browser for testing, virus protection, a virtual private network and more.

“Along with these computers, we also loaned students C Spire hotspots, camera kits, tripods and camcorders—basically anything we could provide to help them do their work,” said Huddleston, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in information systems from Mississippi State.

Huddleston was quick to praise the various university divisions, departments, offices and individuals who either donated

BRENT CROCKER

Emergency Management

Emergency personnel constantly plan for the next major disaster, but no one had been trained to deal with a pandemic of the scope and scale of COVID-19—not even Brent Crocker, Mississippi State’s emergency manager.

Regular training, according to Crocker, usually covers severe weather, bomb threats, active shooter situations or natural disasters such as earthquakes and tornadoes.

Pandemics are also included in national, state and community emergency plans, but the new coronavirus is like nothing most people have ever experienced in their lifetime.

“Many agencies have plans for it, but with this virus the plans didn’t play out as written for most. Emergency workers are definitely rewriting the book from this experience,” said Crocker, who earned a bachelor’s in business and master’s in information systems from Mississippi State.

While the playbook may not have included step-by-step instructions for the university’s response, Crocker knew the first priority was guaranteeing the safety and ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 5

Campus NEWS health of everyone on campus, and part of that protection was setting up a quarantine facility. Butler Guest House became a secure location for housing anyone who showed signs of the disease.

Crocker also became the point person for working with employees and students who were producing personal protective equipment, or PPE, for distribution across the state. Because of its research and engineering capabilities, the university was able to send PPE to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, medical facilities, numerous cities and counties, and even offices on campus that needed them.

“Helping out in a time of need is rewarding,” Crocker said, adding that he hopes history shows how everyone pulled together to make health and safety the university’s primary focus.

“People were genuinely willing to help and put aside who gets credit,” he said. “They care about their university community.”

coronavirus spreading across the state and the nation. Marketplace at Perry, Starbucks and the POD in Colvard Student Union sustained the few students who stayed on campus.

Jankowski said adapting to serving a few hundred instead of thousands isn’t that foreign to his team, which has quickly been able to switch gears in situations when classes are suddenly canceled or weather prevents events from taking place.

“They have helped each other to make things happen,” he said of the smaller staff that took on more responsibilities and changed duties to keep those on campus fed.

Over the summer, Jankowski spent much of his time thinking about how MSU Dining would move forward for the fall semester and how to accommodate students in the new environment after COVID-19. To-go orders, pick-up locations, new offerings, speed of service, adequate seating and the installation of kiosks have been a few of his considerations.

“We want safety to be our top priority, but we also want quality food service,” he said. “Our biggest factor is looking at student feedback and what they want next. Their habits drive our direction.”

JAMES JANKOWSKI MSU DINING SERVICES

Food service on a college campus usually comes in high demand the Monday after spring break, with MSU Dining staff glad to see the familiar faces of the more than 22,000 students returning to the university with big appetites.

Things were different this March.

“We would have been ready to ramp back up,” said James Jankowski, Aramark resident district manager. “All 22 eateries would have been back in full operation, and our team of 500 employees would be buying, preparing, cooking, serving and selling.”

Instead, when that Monday rolled around this spring, only three dining locations reopened as the university moved all courses online for the remainder of the semester with 6

SUMMER 2020

ANN SANSING MSU EXTENSION

Summertime usually means children and teens of all ages come to Mississippi State for enjoyable and enriching experiences through camps and other activities that keep their curiosity and creativity thriving. Talents are developed, personal growth occurs and encouragement to explore takes these young people to places they never thought they could go.

The summer of 2020, though, didn’t happen quite as planned for camp organizers who struggled with how to offer programming in the time of COVID-19.

As director of the Rural Medical and Science Scholars Program at Mississippi State, Ann Sansing knew she and other staff members had to begin early to prepare for the continuation of her curriculum, a 20year staple at the university and cornerstone of the MSU Extension Service’s mission of youth development. The program helps rising high school seniors determine if they want to pursue health-related careers and shapes students’ interest and understanding of medicine, health-related disciplines and other STEM fields.

“This required a different level of thinking and planning. Solely leaning on technology to create that face-to-face atmosphere was now dependent on a screen with personality,” said Sansing who, in addition to being a Rural Health Fellow, holds both a bachelor’s in marketing and master’s in technology from Mississippi State.

Quickly recognizing the importance of moving summer programs online, Sansing said school closings, the emergence of the term “social distancing” and all-around feelings about future uncertainty emerged as key factors in changing to virtual learning.

The toughest part was planning for physician shadowing and practical learning like suturing techniques. She said these hands-on activities were replaced with medical simulation software, video instruction technology and real-time videoconferencing sessions. Sansing and her team even created virtual roommates and counselors, so student participants could experience teambuilding activities, relationship building, mentorship and program navigation.

“The inception took a different mindset to maintain that personal connection and mimic a face-to-face environment,” she said.

“Our staff envisioned obstacles and challenges as opportunities. We were pushed out of our comfort zones to think critically, embrace change and ‘create’ in the unknown.”

Looking back at this summer’s successful program, Sansing is a believer that educational programs via online learning—whether real-time or independent—rises to the same excellence and commitment as face-to-face learning environments.

“Change can offer opportunities to develop new skills and techniques that will prove profitable in the 21st century,” she concluded. n

Mississippi State University and Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians leaders came together in January to mark the founding of MSU’s Native American Student Association. The new organization was founded by MSU students and the university’s Division of Student Affairs to bring together and support Native Americans on campus. MSU’s Holmes Cultural Diversity Center is home to several diverse student organizations and promotes a climate in which all cultures, especially minority and international students, are appreciated as valued members of the campus community.

Mississippi State’s three hospitals affiliated with its College of Veterinary Medicine were recognized for attaining the nation’s highest level of veterinary care excellence. The university’s CVM Animal Health Center, Veterinary Specialty Center, and Animal Emergency and Referral Center all earned American Animal Hospital Association accreditation after a rigorous review of the hospitals’ practice protocols, medical equipment, facilities and client services. AAHA-accredited hospitals are recognized among the finest in the industry and are consistently at the forefront of advanced veterinary medicine.

Allen

Barnes

Van Pamel

Three Mississippi State students from Alabama were selected for the U.S. Department of State-sponsored Critical Language Scholarship Program.

Recipients are Donielle D. Allen, a senior microbiology major from McCalla, Alabama; Grace K. Barnes, a senior secondary education/English education major from Madison, Alabama; and Rebecca M. Van Pamel, a senior English major from Athens, Alabama. Allen and Van Pamel both are students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College. Barnes is a student in the College of Education.

Creative writing and fiction are two of Becky Hagenston’s favorite subjects to teach. With her selection this year for the highly coveted Pushcart Prize, the Mississippi State English professor is proving she’s got a knack for these areas. Her short story “Hi Ho Cherry-O” was originally published in the spring 2018 issue of Witness Magazine. Editors of that publication then nominated the story for inclusion in the Pushcart Prize’s 2020 edition, featuring 72 authors from 47 presses.

Jervette R. Ward, a Mississippi State associate professor of English, and Mia Rodriguez of Milton, Florida, a senior English major serving as editor-in-chief of The Reflector, represented the university as 2020 William Winter Scholars in February at the 31st annual Natchez Trace Literary and Cinema Conference.

Sofia Alvarez of Belmont, junior political science major, is a University of California, Berkeley selection as a Junior Fellow for the 2020 Public Policy and International Affairs Summer Institute. With a cohort of 30 fellows selected from universities across the nation, the fellowship includes courses in economics of public policy analysis, quantitative methods for public policy analysis, and policy analysis and communication.

Yucheng Liu, who holds the university’s Jack Hatcher Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship within the Bagley College of Engineering, received the 2020 Forest R. McFarland Award from Society of Automotive Engineers International. The McFarland Award is presented annually to SAE members who have made outstanding contributions to SAE Engineering events through planning, development and dissemination of technical information

via meetings, conferences and professional development programs.

Mimmo Parisi, founder of Mississippi State’s National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (NSPARC), is taking on a new position as MSU’s senior advisor for European development.

NSPARC Deputy Executive Director Steven Grice is now serving as the center’s interim executive director.

Junior biochemistry major Hannah L. Scheaffer of Ruston, Louisiana, has been selected to receive the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. She is among nearly 400 students from across the country receiving the highly coveted undergraduate award that encourages pursuit of research careers in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.

Scheaffer is pursuing a concentration in science and a minor in French.

Freshman Mia C. Robertson, a political science major from Starkville, won the university’s first individual national championship in debate. She was named overall season-long national champion in her International Public Debate Association division out of 305 qualified debaters from 84 schools.

J. Alex Thomasson, a precision agriculture and cotton ginning expert, is the new head of Mississippi State’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

Kari Babski-Reeves, a three-time Mississippi State engineering alumna, is the new department head for industrial and systems engineering within Mississippi State University’s Bagley College of Engineering.

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SUMMER 2020

Giving + Getting the most from your assets When most people think about making a charitable gift, they think of giving cash. While we welcome gifts of many kinds to help support Mississippi State University, there are ways you can give and benefit from a gift of other assets.

• • • • •

You can avoid paying capital gains tax if you give appreciated assets.

You will receive a charitable deduction for your gift which can lower your tax bill.

You can make a gift today while preserving your cash for immediate or future needs.

You and your family can receive benefits such as lifetime income.

You may be able to make greater gifts than you ever thought possible.

For more information on how you can give and get the most from your assets, contact the MSU Foundation Office of Gift Planning.

MSU is an AA/EEO university.

Wes Gordon, Director of Gift Planning (662) 325-3707 | wgordon@foundation.msstate.edu

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 9

Discoveries

States-of-Emergency MSU agriculture, forestry, Extension and veterinary medicine units help Magnolia State manage overlapping crises

By Vanessa Beeson, Nathan Gregory and Melody Thurlow

A

s a global pandemic bore down on the world this spring, Mississippi had its share of unique challenges.

In addition to the novel virus that causes COVID-19, Mississippi also grappled with the threats it faces every March and April, namely severe weather that spurs tornadoes and plenty of rain.

As a land-grant university, MSU bolsters two of the state’s largest economic drivers— agriculture and forestry. Research, extension and teaching in the MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine support these two industries, which accounted for $7.2 billion in total farm-gate value, with an additional $15.5 billion value added to the Mississippi economy indirectly in 2019.

Reuben Moore, the division’s interim vice president, said that each unit within the division played a distinctive role responding to COVID-19 and carrying out essential tasks that keep the state of Mississippi thriving.

“Our programming affects all Mississippians—whether it be the food supply, sustainable natural resources or animal welfare—we’re here to ensure a better quality of life for everyone in our state. This is illustrated most often when 10 SUMMER 2020

our state is faced with uncertainty,” Moore said. “Despite closures or crises, our faculty strives to maintain continuity in agricultural and forestry research along with advancing knowledge through educational programming. Our scientists are planting research plots to address critical issues faced by farmers and assisting those serving on the front lines, particularly in a state of emergency.”

He continued, “Even when many of our researchers were working from home, our agronomic, animal science, forestry, fisheries, veterinary medicine and poultry science professionals spent time with animals and in fields or with clients who need our professional expertise. We are here to educate and serve the people of Mississippi, both today and into the future.”

MSU Extension Service

Before the first cases of the coronavirus in Mississippi were confirmed, health and communications specialists with the MSU Extension Service began working with the Office of Agricultural Communications to produce videos and news articles addressing COVID-19 concerns ranging from sanitization to talking with children

about the virus to coping with stress. They also developed publications and digital educational materials on business strategies, finances, meal planning and resources for local governments.

State leaders and health professionals were already trying to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the Magnolia State’s borders when a worst-case scenario of overlapping crises came to pass on Easter Sunday.

Widespread tornadoes in the southern half of the state on Sunday, April 12, caused 14 fatalities, many injuries and catastrophic destruction to residential, commercial and agricultural property.

With Mississippi under two states of emergency, the MSU Extension Service became an integral part of the response.

MSU Extension is written into the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as an essential agency.

Extension personnel are placed on standby to assist MEMA, as well as the Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, when a state of emergency is declared. The

organization’s functions range from caring for animals and row crops to supporting the mass care and feeding of children and adults displaced or left without resources during or after a disaster.

“While people have turned to Extension for their educational needs for more than 100 years, they have also looked to us for leadership, encouragement and stability during emergencies,” said MSU Extension Director Gary Jackson. “We’re perhaps best known for our work as an education agency supporting agriculture and 4-H, but we also provide essential education in family and consumer sciences, community development and natural resources, and we do vital work in all of these areas during disasters.”

Examples include the work of the MSU Extension Office of Agricultural Communications, which produced 150 media releases, educational publications, blog posts, videos and social media graphics between the beginning of March and the end of May. Posts on MSU Extension and Mississippi 4-H social media platforms reached more than 950,000 users.

Extension’s Center for Technology Outreach played a critical role in an ongoing process of making internal trainings and Extension programs for the public available for online delivery. One-third of Extension’s statewide educational programs are now available online. The Extension Center for Government and Community Development assisted local and county governments as they navigated their communities through unprecedented challenges.

The response to the needs of small businesses and agricultural producers and Mississippi 4-H’ers included webinars on stimulus funding, safe environments for farmers markets and holding the state’s annual 4-H Congress event virtually.

As for the poultry industry—Mississippi’s largest agricultural sector—storms damaged or destroyed more than 90 poultry houses, while other facilities had to temporarily run on generator power as the industry was already coping with COVID-19 concerns.

MSU Extension poultry experts consulted workers as they stepped up biosecurity measures at their plants in response to the pandemic. They used videoconferencing and

other digital media to provide guidance on disaster recovery, bird welfare and grower safety.

The expertise of Extension faculty and staff in forest management is also in high demand after any weather event. Nearly 13,000 acres of private forestland in the

“Our programming affects all Mississippians—whether it be the food supply, sustainable natural resources or animal welfare—we’re here to ensure a better quality of life for everyone in our state. This is illustrated most often when our state is faced with uncertainty.” ~ Reuben Moore southern half of Mississippi totaling almost $15 million in value were damaged during the severe weather event. Extension forestry specialists responded by hosting webinars for affected landowners on salvaging stormdamaged timber.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station

During the pandemic, much of daily life has seemed to come to a halt for many Mississippians. But come rain, shine, snow or global health crisis, there are crops to plant and animals to feed because the world still needs agriculture to thrive.

Throughout the spring, vital planting continued at the 16 MAFES branch stations across the state. While pandemic-related safety measures put restrictions on faculty and staff movements, the main obstacle they faced was a more familiar foe as wet weather delayed many plantings.

Faculty, staff and students in the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station had to take extra health measures to minimize risks as they capitalized on breaks in the rainy weather to get personnel in the field. Still, John Blanton,

the unit’s interim associate director, said those working on the farms remained diligent and dedicated to providing the necessary efforts to meet the needs of all researchers.

“MAFES and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center have some of the best people in the world who understand the importance of agricultural and natural resource research.

They have sacrificed a great deal during this pandemic to ensure that we continue to serve all of our stakeholders,” said Blanton, who is also head of the animal and dairy sciences department in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

He continued, “Throughout the pandemic, many of the technicians and crews on campus and at research stations have continued to come into work to make sure that Mississippi’s agricultural research enterprises continue to function, and many more continue to work from home. I am very proud of everyone’s efforts.”

That hard work has culminated in the planting of approximately 3,870 acres of row-crops like cotton, corn, soybean and rice to forage and horticulture such as fruits, vegetables, ornamentals and much more across the Mississippi farmland that makes up the MAFES experiment stations.

Crops for the MAFES official variety trials, vegetable trials and research studies in entomology, plant pathology, agronomy and weed science all have been planted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the crops were going in the ground for various research purposes, animals have continued to be cared for and as an extension of that, milk from the Bearden Dairy Research Center have been delivered daily to the Custer Dairy Processing Plant to make cheese.

In addition to the more than 420 Holstein and Jersey cows at the MSU Dairy, the Experiment Station also cares for 2,500 cows in the MSU Beef Unit; 80 horses including nearly a dozen newborn fillies and colts in the MSU Equine Unit; nearly 2,800 broilers, laying hens, turkeys and other fowl in the MSU Poultry Unit and acres of aquaculture.

“Whether it’s caring for the herds at the dairy and in the beef unit, the flocks in the poultry unit or planting season at our branch stations, the dedication of our ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 11

Discoveries personnel during this difficult time translates to essential research that helps agricultural producers in Mississippi and across the globe keep food on our plates today and into the future,” said George Hopper, recently retired dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.

Hopper pointed out that while the work has continued in the fields, the students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are quickly adjusting to the new landscape of learning brought on by the pandemic.

“We have outstanding students and faculty that have had to adapt to online instruction on short notice,” Hopper said.

“I have never been prouder of our professors who moved all instruction, including our labs, to a virtual environment.”

He continued, “While this particular challenge certainly hasn’t been easy, we pulled together as a team to complete the semester as we graduated a record number of students across both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Forest Resources.”

College of Forest Resources and the Forest and Wildlife Research Center

In MSU’s College of Forest Resources, faculty and staff joined with alumni to ensure quality education and top-notch experiential learning opportunities continue in the state’s only nationally accredited forestry, wildlife, fisheries and wood science program.

“We develop future leaders in natural resources. Additionally, valuable research continues in support of forestry and forest products industries, and in wildlife and fisheries recreation in Mississippi, which generate $12.79 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively, to the state’s economy,” said Hopper who is also the dean of the College of Forest Resources and the director of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

Hopper explained that the college and FWRC have continued to produce highquality research but have worked differently, alternating remote work, field collection and laboratory work with flexible scheduling.

Examples of this work include a new study on tracking vultures, enlisting help from citizen scientists who have spent a large 12 SUMMER 2020

amount of time at home. Additionally, scientists in the FWRC’s Center for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts released a feral pig damage computer application that enables local farmers to assess wild hog damage as it happens. The Department of Sustainable Bioproducts continues its work to explore new uses of southern yellow pine lumber which translates to greater income for Mississippi’s private forest landowners.

Hopper said everyone across CALS, MAFES, CFR and FWRC are doing all they can with an unfailing sense of Bulldog spirit in helping everyone who needs it.

“It’s our sense of Bulldog pride that compels us to serve our community and help everyone we can during this unprecedented time,” Hopper said. “Whether that’s helping train our students, helping producers make the best decision with best farm and forestry practices, or conducting basic sciences in molecular biology, one thing is certain. We are all doing our best to overcome this crisis.”

College of Veterinary Medicine

While the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s mission is focused on educating students, advancing research and providing diagnostic and specialty veterinary services to the region, the college has expanded its focus during the COVID-19 pandemic to share resources with medical personnel at the state and local levels.

Five CVM research scientists in the Department of Basic Sciences stepped up to assist the Mississippi State Department of Health with efforts to mitigate the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

These scientists include research associates Michelle Banes and Allen Shack; Dr. Wei Tan, director of the CVM flow cytometry facility; graduate student Liyuan Liu; and post-doctoral researcher Dr. Nogi Park, all skilled in molecular biology and currently working in areas conducting infectious disease research.

By making themselves available to conduct COVID-19 diagnostic work on human samples at the MSDH laboratory in Jackson during weekends in May, they provided the lab’s day-to-day employees the opportunity for a needed respite. These five scientists joined Dr. Lifang Yan, a CVM faculty member at the Mississippi Veterinary

Research & Diagnostic Laboratory in Pearl, who was already assisting the MSDH. CVM also delivered personal protective equipment to the university’s Longest Student Health Center, and two ventilators suitable for human use are on loan to OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville.

Additionally, the college remains in contact with appropriate agencies and physicians and emergency preparedness representatives at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MSU’s health center and OCH, regarding their ability to assist in efforts to care for the public should additional resources and personnel be needed.

In addition to the college’s efforts helping medical personnel, it remains committed to its primary responsibility of educating those entering the field of veterinary medicine.

The college also continued to provide essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that veterinary care is available to agricultural and companion animals. Throughout this process, they adhered to CDC, MSDH, MBVM, as well as state and university guidelines, to maximize the safety of staff, clients and patients.

Both the Animal Health Center in the MSU Wise Center and the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Flowood, continued to treat all emergency and essential cases, such as diabetic, gastric distress and other such patients that could not wait weeks for medical care.

College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Kent Hoblet said he is proud of how the college has responded to the crisis.

“This is an unprecedented situation that has hit our country and many in our state hard, and we all have to do our part to get through it,” Hoblet said. “We are proud of our partnership with state and local agencies and health care facilities.

“We’re also proud of our graduating class for the obstacles they overcame to complete their degrees and realize the dreams they worked so hard to reach for so many years, and we know they are entering the field well-prepared to meet the needs of animals in our ever-evolving world,” he continued.

“We remain committed to meeting the needs of both companion and agricultural animals while protecting the health and well-being of our faculty, staff, students and clients.” n

Industrial and systems engineering doctoral student Abdullah Al Mamun of Bangladesh monitors the production of face shields by an MSU team making their first set for health care facilities in Meridian. Using 3D printers and basic office supplies, the engineers and researchers are manufacturing 250 of the face protectors per week to be delivered to medical professionals caring for patients with coronavirus.

LENDING A HAND

MSU researchers contribute to statewide COVID-19 response

W

hen the COVID-19 pandemic brought most in-person activity at Mississippi State to a halt, administrators and faculty worked swiftly to ensure the university could carry out its educational mission remotely. With the state and nation dealing with unprecedented difficulties, carrying out the university’s service mission was also paramount.

Throughout the university, faculty, staff and students used a combination of unique concepts and campus research infrastructure to assist in the state’s COVID-19 response.

Using a design created by Mississippi State engineers and 3D printers in Mitchell Memorial Library, McCain Hall and the downtown Idea Shop, members of the university community produced face shields to help address a shortage in personal protective equipment for medical personnel across the state. Over 1,000 of these shields

By James Carskadon were distributed, first directly to Meridian hospitals and then through the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

“The donation of these face masks from Mississippi State University helps ensure our front-line staff remains safe while caring for patients,” said Rush Health Systems President and CEO Larkin Kennedy.

John G. Anderson, president and CEO of Anderson Regional Health System, also thanked MSU for the equipment donation.

“With PPE in short supply through our normal procurement channels, innovation has become a critical factor in making sure our staff and patients are protected,” Anderson said. “Many, many thanks to MSU’s faculty and researchers for developing a face shield that can be produced with easily obtainable supplies.”

The effort began with MSU faculty members looking for ways to help and

reaching out to the medical community, said Carlton Young, professor of healthcare administration at MSU-Meridian. The design and production process was led by Linkan Bian, the Thomas B. and Terri L. Nusz Professor in MSU’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, who worked with colleagues from the College of Business and MSU Libraries to maximize the number of shields made in a short amount of time.

“Their expertise, public spirit and passion truly embody the heart of Mississippi State and our mission to serve the people of Mississippi,” Young said. “Not only did this benefit patients and health care professionals but many MSU alumni who are employed in health care.”

The face shield manufacturing was one of many ways that MSU has put its resources and expertise to use during the ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 13

Discoveries

Mechanical engineering students Ryden Smith, left, and Wesley Cameron, right, converted a truck toolbox into a UV sterilization device at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.

They delivered their first sterilizer to MSU’s Longest Student Health Center to help extend the life of personal protective equipment and made their design available online for others.

COVID-19 pandemic. From students turning a truck toolbox into a UV mask sterilizer to helping companies gather important data as they transition to making protective equipment to loaning ventilators, MSU has continued to find ways to assist with the statewide response.

“This has been a challenging time for our state and our university, but I am incredibly proud of the way our students, faculty and staff have worked with local and state officials to help solve problems,” said Julie Jordan, MSU interim vice president for research and economic development. “As part of our land-grant mission, we’re here to help Mississippi in the good times and in the difficult moments. The way people across campus have stepped up during this pandemic is an embodiment of that.”

For two students working at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, the spring semester included an unusual project.

Ryden Smith, a mechanical engineering graduate student, and Wesley Cameron, a spring 2020 mechanical engineering graduate, converted a truck toolbox into 14 SUMMER 2020

a UV sterilization device for MSU’s John C. Longest Student Health Center. The device can sterilize 15-20 masks in minutes, providing a fast and convenient way for doctors, nurses and staff at the health center to extend the life of their personal protective equipment.

“I’ve been really honored with the opportunity to work on this and help our health care providers,” Smith said. “This project is a great application of what we learn in school because there’s not always a standard solution.”

MSU made the design of the sterilization device available for public use so more could be built. The CAVS teams also made one for the staff at the veterans’ home in Kosciusko.

With ventilators in short supply during the early stages of the pandemic, MSU’s Paul B. Jacob High Voltage Laboratory helped the state by converting 550 ventilators from battery to AC power. In the span of a week, the ventilators were retrofitted and shipped to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where they could be plugged into a wall instead of running

on battery power. Louisville-based Taylor Machine Works assisted with the effort by helping procure parts and converting a portion of the ventilators.

MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine has also contributed to the response, loaning two ventilators to OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville. Additionally, CVM researchers have spent time assisting the Mississippi State Department of Health with COVID-19 diagnostic work, helping the state’s lead health agency handle the increase in test samples to be processed.

As the focus shifts from immediate production of equipment to other longterm pandemic response needs, MSU will continue to help in any way it can, Jordan said. The university has formed a task force to coordinate research efforts aimed at mitigating the impact and spread of COVID-19.

“These recent months have shown that MSU researchers have a lot to contribute to the COVID-19 response,” Jordan said.

“I know they will continue to be a valuable resource as this situation unfolds.” n

Art by CAAD lecturer Rowan Haug’s students.

Top left: Trisha Harjono, Top right: Erin Herald, Bottom left: Aiden Shrock

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH DISTANCE

By Sasha Steinberg

ART WHEN APART

The concept of community is integral to the College of Architecture, Art and Design experience at Mississippi State, and art lecturer Rowan Haug was determined to find a long-distance way to maintain that with her students when they needed connection the most.

Haug is a Starkville native who has taught at Mississippi State since fall 2010.

She primarily teaches foundation courses, which students take in their first two years to lay the groundwork for concepts to come.

During the pandemic, she has been teaching Design I, an introductory design course for students across the college’s disciplines, as well as 3D Design, an introductory sculpture course.

Mississippi State’s art and engineering curriculums are among many campus programs known for providing hands-on learning opportunities that equip students with career-ready skills. Though the mid-semester move to all online classes this spring presented various challenges, faculty in these academic areas were determined to keep students engaged from afar. Creativity, resourcefulness and the support of colleagues, alumni and university leaders helped these dedicated educators maintain the sense of “family” that students have come to expect from the state’s leading university.

“The art department has very few online classes because most of our classes are studio classes. They are taught for three hours twice a week and include lectures, demonstrations and very intensive oneon-one troubleshooting, redirecting and insistence on technique, which is difficult to do online,” Haug explained. “I had not used Canvas much prior to spring break of this semester, so using that has been a big change for me in the way I teach. I also set up weekly Webex meetings, so we could all come together to talk and they could ask questions.”

Haug said the most difficult aspect of face-to-face instruction to translate online was the personal connection students and faculty have in the art department.

“We’re always working together and

bouncing ideas off each other,” she said.

“We enjoy getting to know each other and creating a level of comfort where we can critique our work, so I had to figure out how to best duplicate that environment online.”

Haug said each of her class projects typically ends with a final, in-person critique.

At the beginning of the pandemic, she created a private, searchable Facebook group for each of her classes that provided a fun way for her students to communicate, share photos of their sketches and offer critiques. Haug also used the platform to share interesting YouTube videos and general inspiration to keep her students enthusiastic and engaged.

“The learning and academics that take place regularly are strong points for our art department, but I think the bonds our faculty and students have is one of the most ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 15

Discoveries important ways that we excel in terms of the college experience,” Haug said. “I’m glad that sense of connection seemed to still come through online.

“The Facebook group was great for pushing out a lot of information to my students, and they could give feedback pretty quickly,” she continued. “They were like ‘Can we keep that Facebook group open even though class is over, so we can keep talking to each other?’ I was like, “Yes, we have succeeded!”

Haug said a major challenge of going virtual was time. For her 3-D Design class, she originally planned to have students pour and carve plaster, but lack of time and tools made that difficult. She decided to switch to a completely different project that yielded better results than when she conducted it in a classroom setting.

“The project was based on the work of British artist Andy Goldsworthy. He goes out every day into nature and creates artwork with found materials,” Haug said. “The idea is to be alone in a quiet environment out in nature, and I figured this project would work well because students were already staying in one place. The results I got for this project were really nice and thoughtful overall, and I think not having a lot of other things going on helped students focus.”

Haug adapted another in-class project to give her 3-D Design students a fun, creative way to express themselves. She asked the students to create wearable sculptures out of repeated everyday items, like decks of playing cards, plastic spoons and Q-tips. The results were as interesting as the items used, she said.

“I told the students they could make pieces inspired by the current state of affairs if they wanted to, but it was not required,” she explained. “Some students created social distancing masks or wearable things that kept people six feet away. Others just wanted to do something fun or whimsical, and that was fine too.

“It was fun to see the different takes,” she continued. “We had students who made some really emotional pieces and I wondered if they would have done the same project if they had been presenting it in a classroom setting. I found that interesting.”

Haug said she has enjoyed opportunities 16 SUMMER 2020

to switch up her normal repertoire of projects while challenging her students to think outside of the box as well.

“It was good for me to shake up the way I normally teach or work. It inspired me to be more creative, understanding and flexible,” she said. “My students also learned that you have to roll with the punches. I think this challenged their willingness to troubleshoot and use their creative problem-solving skills to figure things out, so that’s good too.”

ENGINEERING ONLINE SUCCESS

Under normal circumstances, Isaac Howard enjoys bringing undergraduate students into the laboratory to gain firsthand experience making asphalt, concrete and other fundamental construction materials. He’s a big believer in learning by doing, giving demonstrations and empowering students to be methodical yet unafraid to experiment and adjust.

The longtime civil and environmental engineering professor had to do just that to bring his construction materials course to life in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he said the support of MSU colleagues and alumni has played a big role in his online teaching success.

“From guest lectures to research projects to student support, we are very fortunate that our construction materials program is financially supported by dozens of private groups, several of which are well-represented with MSU alumni,” said Howard, the CEE department’s Endowed Materials and Construction Industries Chair. “Several of our supporters serve on practitioner panels that our students can give presentations to about the work they’re doing. Being able to directly engage with alumni and supporters provides a very realistic learning environment for our students.”

Though in-person engagement with practitioners had to be put on hold due to the pandemic, Howard said he was able to, with quick thinking and colleagues’ assistance, use resources made possible by alumni and supporters to engage students long distance.

“I have access to a video camera that we use to make a variety of educational videos our students get to participate in, and this

high-quality equipment was made possible by our supporters,” he said. “I used some of those videos with educational content appropriate for the COVID-19 environment but I also was able to make use of another resource within our department with help from our IT group.”

Howard said he spent several days in the college’s distance classrooms and labs, demonstrating experiments that could be shared in video form with his students. Missy Runnels, a computer support specialist, and Michael Lane, systems administrator in the Bagley College of Engineering, recorded the videos.

“In the college, we have an active distance education program, and Missy and Michael are part of our amazing IT group. They really stepped up,” Howard said. “They took care of setting the rooms up so I could record for hours at a time. Having the ability to record lectures in these nice classrooms and working with dedicated, knowledgeable people like Missy and Michael made it possible to send the students one email with a link to these videos, so they had what they needed for the rest of the semester.”

Howard said he’s also grateful for his teaching assistant Ashley Carey, who helped him pilot a video assignment option for students earlier in the semester. Among other submission options like written reports, students could use their cellphones to record themselves speaking about a lecture-related topic and upload the presentation to Canvas.

“Whether they were dealing with a nonideal internet connection or other scenarios, I wanted the students to understand they could still do well in this class,” he said.

“We made sure to meet all accreditation requirements and ensured the content was at an appropriate level, while also giving them more flexibility.

“A lot of engineering students may not be as comfortable with public speaking, so the phone presentation option helped them become more confident by giving them a way to privately practice and improve those skills,” Howard explained. “I think this video presentation option is something we could incorporate more of in the future.”

Howard said he received multiple emails from students, thankful for his swift

response, thoughtfulness and flexibility with assignments. Student evaluations praised his and Carey’s creation of a “phenomenal lab experience” that ensured learning goals and objectives were maintained in an online setting.

“The online portion of this class was a dream,” one student wrote. “Dr. Howard moved heaven and earth to have all lectures and lab videos ready, to keep very open and frequent communication, to keep the standards of the class and department, as well as consider the students.”

More than anything, Howard said he is grateful for colleagues, alumni and others who equipped him with the tools and support he needed to be there for his students during these challenging times.

“Without Missy, Michael and Ashley,” Howard said, “my ability to respond to COVID-19 would have been severely affected. The same goes for alumni who regularly support our program and those who called me early in the COVID-19 time frame to ask if I needed any additional assistance to keep the program strong.

“Our students needed comfort. I wanted them to understand I was there for them and to help them see that this was going to be OK if they would just try,” he said. “I’ve told them many times that you’re either in control of a project or the project is in control of you.

When they see you make the most of difficult circumstances, it gives them the feeling they can do it too.”

Isaac Howard’s teahing assistant, Ashley Carey, grading video assignment by Jessica Lewis.

LESSONS IN RESILIENCE

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Joe Morzuch found himself teaching an online class for the very first time. It was a challenging experience, but the assistant professor of art said it also was one of the most worthwhile of his career.

“The leadership in the College of Architecture, Art and Design and the Department of Art has been amazing,” he said. “Throughout all of this, our Department Head Critz Campbell and Dean Angi Bourgeois have been super supportive. I felt very much like I was there for my students in being flexible and accommodating, and as a faculty member, I was definitely getting that in return. We have a very caring and

Art by Joe Morzuch’s and Rowan Haug’s students. Top: Riley Cutler, Middle: Juliet Buckholdt, Bottom: Retta Maxwell

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 17

Discoveries supportive program, and I’m really happy to be here and be a part of that.”

Morzuch, who’s in his third year at MSU, teaches foundation courses in the Department of Art, the state’s largest undergraduate studio art program. This semester, he taught Drawing I and Drawing II, studio-based courses where students normally thrive on face-to-face communication.

“I had never taught online before and mistakenly thought that would be difficult because it’s not ideal for these types of courses, but this was a great opportunity to figure out how to do it,” said Morzuch, an observational painter who works primarily with still life, landscape and self-portraiture.

Providing resources and immediate feedback to his students was an initial concern in making the move online, but Morzuch said the Canvas learning management system helped alleviate that obstacle.

“When students are working in the studio, I’m there to guide them and answer questions in the moment,” he said. “One of the ways I kept that immediacy of feedback going was to set up everything in Canvas. I was able to make available all of the resources—lectures, demonstrations, PowerPoints—for new material we were covering, but students also could look back at what we had covered previously in our face-to-face instruction.

“Showing works on historical and contemporary artists and examples of student work that fit the goals and objectives of the assignment helped,” Morzuch continued. “It was hard, but I was able to set up my studio, so I could talk through and videotape demos for my students. I also asked them to send examples—either through Canvas or email— of their works in progress with specific questions or issues, and I could give them the feedback they needed that way too.”

Morzuch said teaching students how to present and archive their work was another upside of this online instruction experience.

“So much of what we do as artists and designers is going to be viewed through digital platforms, so I wanted to make sure my students understood the importance of documenting their work well with good light and editing,” he said.

Student engagement was a top priority for Morzuch, and he wanted to be especially 18 SUMMER 2020

considerate of students’ varying circumstances and capabilities. Along with connecting to students individually, he enjoyed conducting group Webex meetings to maintain the closeknit feel of the normal classroom setting.

“Our art classes are great because they are workshop environments where students collaborate all of the time. Through Webex, I was able to establish that sense of community and reaffirm to the students that we were in this together,” he said.

“Each class set up a GroupMe, so they could

“One of things I love about being an art teacher is teaching students how to open their eyes to the world around them, think for themselves, communicate and stand by the choices they make in creating a work of art.

Especially in times like this where so many people may be feeling powerless, uninspired or just unsure of what to do, I think this experience was very empowering for my students.” ~ Joe Morzuch send examples, troubleshoot and critique each other’s work. I think being able to lean on each other was helpful.”

Morzuch said he was excited to see his students’ unwavering commitment to their studies in the face of uncertainty.

He’s confident the autonomy, resilience and creative problem-solving skills they’ve developed will serve them well throughout their MSU experience and future careers.

“The students stayed as invested and involved as they were at the start of the semester, and that was pretty awesome to see,” he said. “I think that speaks a lot about our students here at State; they’re hard workers.

One of the big life lessons that college—and an art or design degree in particular—teaches

you is the importance of looking at a situation from different angles and being constructive in finding solutions. I think this whole situation has been a good lesson for that.”

Morzuch said he was pleased with his students’ resilience and creativity, particularly those in his Drawing II class. In the normal studio setting, students create drawings of still life scenes Morzuch assembles using an assortment of objects collected by the department. With the move to online classes, students were tasked with doing both independently. Many used objects found around their homes and Morzuch said it was neat to see the narratives they told through their art.

“One student who loves horror movies put objects together in a way that evoked the feel of an old-time horror movie. Another student did a colorful pastel drawing of party favors, like a party hat, banner of letters and fingernail polish. It was pretty cool,” Morzuch said.

“One of things I love about being an art teacher is teaching students how to open their eyes to the world around them, think for themselves, communicate and stand by the choices they make in creating a work of art. Especially in times like this where so many people may be feeling powerless, uninspired or just unsure of what to do, I think this experience was very empowering for my students.”

Morzuch said he found empowerment of his own through participation in Online Teaching 101. Offered by MSU’s Center for Teaching and Learning, the free, fourweek training course introduces faculty and teaching staff to the best practices of online instruction. He said the course, which is taught via Canvas, showed him the pedagogical differences of working with students in the same physical space versus at a distance.

“Online teaching is about making resources available, and this course is showing me how my role changes in that kind of learning environment,” he said. “I’m used to taking a more hands-on, direct approach in the studio, but teaching online classes requires me to become more of a facilitator and guide for my students. Learning to see things from this new perspective has been a great experience.” n

STRONGER TOGETHER Mississippi State’s Center for Teaching and Learning had to adapt quickly with the spring 2020 move to online classes, but Director Michael Seymour said his staff, like so many others on campus, proved they were up for the test. After all, staying tough when times get rough is what being a Bulldog is all about.

“I think we were really a step ahead as a university because of all the work that’s been done to promote best practices over the years, including our Online Teaching 101 certification course,” said Seymour, an assistant professor of landscape architecture. “That course is usually a small cohort of less than 30 people, but the May class was up to 107.”

He credits center staffers Kris King and Amy Barefield for aiding in the success of the larger enrollment through their willingness to take on additional work.

Seymour said at the beginning of the move to online, the center shared with faculty a list of experienced instructors who had completed Online Teaching 101. The success of this has prompted the center to explore a more formalized mentorship process for the fall.

“A lot of people have been feeling a bit disconnected and overwhelmed during this difficult time and I’ve been really impressed overall by the willingness of faculty to help one another in this situation,” he said. “I think that Information Technology Services, the Center for Distance Education, and MSU Libraries all also play important

roles in fostering quality teaching, and we try to be a good partner for them as well.”

Associate Dean Stephen Cunetto said MSU Libraries rang true on its commitment to provide faculty and students with the tools and services they needed to stay on course throughout the atypical spring semester. The library worked with ITS, the Office of the Provost and other university departments to secure and distribute laptops and hotspots to help students completing their studies away from campus. Access Services, Special Collections, the Congressional and Political Research Center, and the Digital Preservation and Access Unit were instrumental in maintaining access to the library’s physical collections that many students and faculty rely on for education and research.

“Our faculty and staff understood that we needed to do all that we could, albeit safely and in a different way, to assist our students and faculty,” Cunetto said.

“They worked long hours and had to think outside of the box to reinvent many of our services during this time, and they definitely had the ‘can-do’ attitude and a team mindset that allowed them to do this in such a short amount of time.

“From working remotely to assist students with the completion of their thesis or dissertation to 3-D printing shields and making masks for the Golden Triangle community to acquiring and providing access to e-books for classroom use, our faculty and staff at MSU Libraries went above and beyond to assist our community, and I am very proud of them.” n

Our faculty and staff understood that we needed to do all that we could, albeit safely and in a different way, to assist our students and faculty.

They worked long hours and had to think outside of the box to reinvent many of our services during this time, and they definitely had the ‘can-do’ attitude and a team mindset that allowed them to do this in such a short amount of time.” ~ Stephen Cunetto

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 19

Discoveries

Daniel Carruth, associate director for advanced vehicle systems at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, is part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization research task group examining autonomous vehicle modeling and simulation tools. The group will work through 2023 to determine standards for modeling and simulation tools, allowing military and research personnel to more effectively develop algorithms that will allow autonomous vehicles to navigate off-road and unknown terrain.

Ben Crider, an assistant professor of physics, is working to advance his nuclear physics research and provide a new summer school experience for Mississippi students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The study is funded with support from his National Science Foundation Career Grant of more than $600,000.

Shawn P. Lambert, assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures and research fellow at the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, is partnering with researchers from the Southern Arkansas University Research Station of the Arkansas Archeological Survey and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville seeking to combat sexual harassment during archaeological field studies. The collaboration was awarded $300,000 from the National Science Foundation in support of research aimed at preventing sexual harassment during undergraduate field-based courses.

Michael R. Nadorff, associate professor of psychology and director of the Department of Psychology’s clinical Ph.D. program, received nearly $1 million in federal grant funds to prevent alcohol and tobacco addiction in Oktibbeha County and prevent suicide among college students.

K. Raja Reddy, research professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, was honored by the Mississippi Academy of Sciences for three decades of scientific discoveries with the organization’s Outstanding Contribution to Science Award.

Mark Woodrey, assistant research professor in MSU’s Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, based at the university’s Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi, has helped establish and co-lead the Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network, or GoMAMN, a new network of more than 100 wildlife scientists and land managers from across the U.S. to monitor and aid birds along the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of the network is to better understand the many bird species that frequent the Gulf Coast.

Mississippi State University researchers have patented and licensed a major advancement in split Hopkinson pressure bar technology, significantly reducing the amount of space needed for intermediate and high-strain rate testing. While conducting research on infant head trauma, researchers at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems needed a way to conduct impact testing with biological materials. While a traditional Hopkinson bar system, an apparatus commonly used for testing impact and strain on materials, would have worked, it would have taken up hundreds of feet in length—space that was not available at the bustling research center. However, CAVS engineer Wilburn Whittington, with the support of colleagues Haitham El Kadiri and Hongjoo Rhee, was able to prototype a serpentine bar that can accomplish the same task in only 20 feet of space.

20 SUMMER 2020

Jesse Morrison, an assistant research professor, received the Early Career Award from the American Forage and Grassland Council. The award honors an individual under the age of 40 who has made a significant contribution to the forage and grassland industry.

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified the wood products industry as an essential critical infrastructure workforce. Mississippi State has the only research program in the state dedicated to expanding the service and use of wood products, delivering research to the state’s forest industry—the state’s secondlargest commodity. While the way the research is being conducted may have shifted temporarily, MSU researchers ensured the important work marches on and the university continues supporting vital industries during the pandemic. Forestry in combination with forest products employs a workforce of 69,000 individuals in Mississippi across four sectors—logging, solid wood products, pulp and paper, and wood furniture.

More than $1.3 million was awarded to two Mississippi State chemistry assistant professors by a prestigious National Science Foundation program supporting early-career achievement. Xin Cui and Colleen N. Scott are being honored with CAREER awards by the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, which recognizes outstanding faculty exhibiting potential as academic role models in research and education. The award also is given for leadership in advancement of departmental or organizational missions.

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KEEPING THINGS RUNNING: The dedicated janitorial,

maintenance and landscaping staff of Mississippi State University have worked throughout the pandemic to protect the safety of those on campus and ensure the health and beauty of its buildings and grounds so that when the Bulldog family is ready to return, the campus will be the same welcoming place they love to call home.

Photo by Megan Bean

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 23

CLASS

OF 2020

Shows Resilience Despite Challenging Final Semester

By James Carskadon, Photos by Beth Wynn, Logan Kirkland & Submitted by Graduates

24 SUMMER 2020

T

his May, graduation day at Mississippi State looked different from years past. Humphrey Coliseum stood empty. There were no lines of families waiting to take photos at iconic campus locations. There were no hugs from advisers, no handshakes from administrators and no in-person goodbyes between friends getting ready to go life’s separate ways. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

For the first time since World War II, and only the third time in university history, Mississippi State didn’t hold an in-person commencement ceremony. And much like those who received degrees in 1918 when the Spanish Influenza outbreak halted celebrations or those in the early 1940s who graduated without pomp and circumstance during wartime, this spring’s 3,300 graduates showed impressive perseverance in uncertain times and are a vital part of the Bulldog family.

During a May 1 virtual graduation ceremony to recognize the newest Mississippi State alumni, President Mark E. Keenum encouraged this year’s graduates to remember the lessons from these difficult times while navigating life’s challenges.

“My hope and prayer for each of you is that one day, you will be able to share with your grandchildren or great-grandchildren how you and your family overcame the many challenges through your courage and faith, and how you never lost sight of the importance of education in order to be ready for a bright future and your special purpose in this world,” Keenum said.

The class of 2020 joins the ever-growing ranks of MSU alumni around the world, which now includes over 149,000 people. Jeff Davis, executive director of the MSU Alumni Association, commended graduates for showing their Bulldog resilience during a difficult final semester.

“On behalf of our alumni from around the world, I want to congratulate our newest graduates on achieving one of life’s major milestones,” Davis said. “Even though your time on campus was cut short, your degree and your connection to MSU will stay with you for the rest of your life.”

Every graduate—whether they came to Mississippi State straight out of high school, transferred from a community college, resumed education later in life, completed an online program or came to MSU after years working as a professional—leaves Mississippi State with memories that will last a lifetime. While the institutional name on each degree is common, the experiences of each individual are as diverse as the student body itself.

This spring’s graduates hail from each of Mississippi’s 82 counties, 41 different states and 37 countries. At the institutional level, with 3,312 degrees awarded, they represent the largest spring graduating class in university history. At the individual level, each degree represents years of hard work, late nights, proud families and lifelong memories.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 25

Jake Manning

Jackson, Mississippi Bachelors of Science, Biomedical Engineering, Software Engineering As president of the MSU Student Association, Jake Manning was used to meeting with campus administrators and serving as a voice for the student body. But as the COVID-19 threat escalated during the spring semester, much of Manning’s time and energy became focused on how MSU could make the best of the situation for the university’s students while maintaining appropriate safety procedures.

Before his term as president ended, the Jackson native was part of the COVID-19 Task Force that met several times a week to handle the everchanging situation.

“Dr. Keenum said in every meeting that we wanted to offer leniency and g compassion to students,” Manning Mannin said. “My successor and I were able to voice our concerns and give our opinions, but we didn’t have to advocate as much as we had to make sure we covered everything. What about international students? What about students without Wi-Fi at home? It was doing everything we could to make sure we thought about every Jordan little nuance so that every student could finish the semester.”

A Jackson Academy graduate, Manning came to MSU in 2015 because of family ties to the university and a desire to stay in state. However, his sophomore year, he began to wonder whether he should have sought opportunities elsewhere. After getting involved on campus and discovering the many opportunities provided to MSU students, Manning said he no longer has second thoughts about becoming a Bulldog.

“You can go get an education anywhere, but you can’t build a family like you do at Mississippi State,” he said. “I stayed in Starkville after all the classes were moved online, and I still had meetings and stuff like that. But the thing that was missing was the people, and that made it hard. But it was hard because we had something so good. I’m thankful to have had something that makes it hard to leave. It’s not just a shoulder shrug and on to your next step, and I think that’s a testament to Mississippi State and what we all got from our time here.”

26 SUMMER 2020

Kayla Jordan

Sweetwater, Alabama Bachelor of Arts, History Stephen D. Lee Scholar Growing up in rural west Alabama, Kayla Jordan said her mother tried to incorporate history into every family vacation. If there was a historic site to see, they would visit.

By her junior year of high school, Jordan was working as a tour guide for the local historical society. After high school, she studied at Coastal Alabama Community College’s Thomasville campus before enrolling as a history major at MSU-Meridian. She said she chose MSUMeridian because of strong scholarship support and tuition waivers, as well as its proximity to her home in Alabama.

Among several accolades, Jordan was named this year as the Meridian Division of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Undergraduate Student.

This fall, she is beginning to pursue a master’s degree in history at MSU’s Starkville campus, where she will work as a teaching assistant.

“I really hate to leave MSU-Meridian, but I’m looking forward to going to the campus in Starkville,” Jordan said. “I had always hoped to go to grad school, but I never thought I would make it this far, so I’m very happy.”

She said she hopes to eventually earn a doctorate and teach at the university level.

“I enjoy sharing history with people and doing it in a way where people understand it and enjoy it,” Jordan said. “I love being able to pass that on to people.”

Jordan’s virtual graduation in the spring of 2020 is now a small part of history that she will be able to share with her future students.

While there was disappointment in not having a ceremony in Meridian, Jordan said it has not dampened her sense of accomplishment.

“I really, really hoped to participate in a graduation ceremony,” Jordan said. “At the same time, I still know that I did it. I still can’t believe I’ve gotten to this point.”

Skyler Caldwell

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Doctor of Veterinary Medicine As an undergraduate student at William Carey University, Skyler Caldwell gained a passion for working with animals at Hattiesburg Zoo and was able to work at a local veterinary clinic for a year.

Those experiences led her to become part of MSU’s Doctor of Veterinary Medicine class of 2020. From assisting with Vet Camp to studying wildlife conservation in South Africa to the many clinical experiences offered in MSU’s

DVM program, Caldwell said her time in the program has prepared her for her next step as a veterinarian.

“We get so much more hands-on experience compared to other vet schools in the U.S.,” Caldwell said. “I think it’s fantastic and part of what makes Mississippi State grads a little different than most.”

With vet school presenting many challenges, Caldwell said she is thankful for the strong and supportive relationships she had with her fellow students, as well as the College of Veterinary Medicine faculty and staff. Her peers voted her as the person they would most like to care for their own animals.

Caldwell’s final semester did not go as planned, but she said students and clinicians adjusted as well as they could to online topic rounds and supporting animal care services with a skeleton crew. It was another example of CVM’s strong support for students that Caldwell said she has witnessed over the last four years.

“For us, this graduation is the pinnacle of everything we’ve been working for the last four years,” Caldwell said. “We appreciate every effort they made to recognize us. As a class, we’ve had a lot of interesting challenges during our time.

We’ve always managed to come together and figure it out. We’re a pretty resilient group of people.”

Caldwell will stay at MSU as a rotating small animal medicine and surgery intern. She plans to specialize in small animal internal medicine.

Tony Coleman

Gulfport, Mississippi Bachelor of Architecture Tony Coleman’s interest in building things and understanding how different parts work together dates back to his time playing with Lincoln Logs as a child. As he got older, he started to notice the home designs in his subdivision, and eventually found himself going through homes under construction to see the framework and other aspects needed to turn building materials into a home.

Coleman said he knew he wanted to come to MSU because the university is home to the state’s only accredited School of Architecture and offers an enjoyable campus atmosphere. During his time in Starkville, as well as the fifth-year studio program in Jackson, Coleman gained the skills needed to become an architect and built a strong support network. Among other accolades, he earned the 2020 AIA Henry Adams Medal, awarded by School of Architecture faculty every year for “general excellence in architecture” to the most qualified student.

“My favorite experiences at MSU have

revolved around the wonderful people I’ve met and become friends with,” Coleman said. “I stuck to myself for the first two years, but after that I grew more comfortable and confident and became a much more social individual. I can honestly say that I wouldn’t be the person and future architect I am today without the support of my architecture friends.”

Coleman said one of the hardest parts of the final semester was no longer being around his peers in the program, who provided each other with valuable feedback as they completed their final projects.

“While I was able to finish my final project, not being able to present it at our final review in the presence of the people I have leaned on and struggled with and care so much for throughout this journey honestly makes me want to cry,” Coleman said. “Not being able to physically be there during their presentations and celebrate with them afterward for the last time as a studio is something we won’t get back.”

Following graduation, Coleman moved to Dothan, Alabama, where he is now employed

by Seay, Seay & Litchfield Architects. He hopes to complete his licensure exam in the next two to three years and one day have an ownership stake in an architecture firm.

Caldwell

Coleman

Michael Nattrass

Ocean Springs, Mississippi Doctor of Philosophy, Plant and Soil Sciences When Michael Nattrass first came to MSU in 2009 from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, he expected to stay for a couple of years, finish his undergraduate degree in turfgrass management and move on. He did finish that undergraduate degree, but he ended up staying in Starkville much longer than expected.

This spring, Nattrass finished his dissertation and earned a doctorate in plant and soil sciences under Professor Brian Baldwin. In August, he will begin a new position as an assistant professor of soils agronomy at Tennessee Tech University.

“The Mississippi State faculty have been very accepting of me this whole time,” Nattrass said. “They encouraged me to not give up and to keep going. I could knock on anybody’s door and ask any question. That has a broad impact on students.”

At MSU, Nattrass was able to visit ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 27

Washington, D.C., to advocate for agricultural research funding on Capitol Hill, as well as travel to professional conferences. In 2018, he was the Grand Champion Nattrass of the MSU 3-Minute Thesis Competition. He was the 2020 recipient of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ Graduate Student Research Award. He said he enjoyed working with fellow graduate students on their research projects and they reciprocated by helping with his.

Nattrass participated in commencement ceremonies when he received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

When the time for this spring’s ceremony came around, he watched the virtual event while working, a different experience than battling the traffic and crowds at previous graduations. But he said getting the degree is still just as meaningful.

“I really wanted my family to see me walk at graduation,” Nattrass said. “It would have been nice to have that experience, but I’m very grateful for the degree and the opportunity to pay it forward.”

Quinlan Gray

Gray

28 SUMMER 2020

De Kalb, Texas Bachelor of Music Education Quinlan Gray originally toured Mississippi State because it earned him an excused day off from his Texas high school during the spring semester of his senior year. Four years later, he is back in Texas with a college degree in hand, ready to begin his career as a music educator.

As Gray prepares to make an impact on young people, he said MSU’s professors, and especially the directors of the Famous Maroon Band, have had a significant impact on him.

“The three directors all became mentors to me,” Gray said of Elva Kaye Lance, Craig Aarhus and Cliff Taylor. “They were a big part of what I’ve learned as an educator.

They teach you so much more than music.

The band teaches you how to work with other people, where to find your place.

I really don’t think I would be nearly as prepared to be an educator if I wasn’t in the band.”

During his time at MSU, Gray has served as an Alumni Delegate and College of Education Ambassador, as well as chief justice in the Student Association. He also spent two years working part time with Starkville Academy’s band. A personal highlight for Gray was traveling with the MSU women’s basketball pep band to Dallas, Texas, for the

Final Four in 2017. With the game happening near his hometown, he was able to experience MSU’s historic victory over the University of Connecticut with family members and the band.

Gray was in the middle of a student-teaching internship with the Tupelo Public School District when classes were moved online. With less time on campus because of his internship in Tupelo, Gray made an effort early in the semester to bring his friends together every Friday for a big meal. In addition to graduation, they were looking forward to having a big gettogether at the end of the semester. Instead, they were all home after spring break.

At home, Gray watched the virtual graduation ceremony with his family by his side.

He told his family members that missing out on this in-person graduation gives him a good reason to get a master’s degree.

In the fall, Gray will begin working as an assistant band director at Longview High School in Longview, Texas.

“Mississippi State taught me how to be a better person, not just a better teacher or a better musician,” Gray said. “Not all colleges can say that they teach you that. I took a leap of faith coming here when I didn’t really know anybody at all, and it was the best decision I ever made.”

A lifetime of memories, with more to come

All of this spring’s graduates have been invited to participate in the university’s fall commencement ceremonies in December.

Other recognition and celebration opportunities are also being planned.

Davis stresses that being a Bulldog does not end once the degree is conferred, and neither does the building of Maroon and White memories. Whether it’s coming back to watch a favorite MSU sport, bringing children to see the historic campus, catching up with a professor who made an impact, or connecting with one of the 104 MSU Alumni Association chapters and clubs around the nation, there are plenty of ways to celebrate being a Mississippi State graduate and be an active member of the Bulldog family.

“There are a lot of opportunities for Mississippi State to be a part of your life, regardless of where you live,” Davis said. “This year’s graduates are going to be the mentors and examples for the next generation of students with what they do in their careers and their lives. We want to share in their successes with them. The alumni network is part of the value of an MSU degree, and we’re fortunate to have a very strong one. The class of 2020, and everything they have overcome to get here, will make it even stronger.” n

MSU President Mark E. Keenum recognizing 3,300 graduates and their families during the virtual spring commencement on May 1. Broadcasting statewide via MSTV and online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the occasion represents only the third time in the land-grant university’s 142-year history that a traditional graduation ceremony has not been possible, with the earlier times during the Spanish Flu pandemic and World War II.

CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF 2020

ACCESS

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION Karly Elizabeth Cuevas of Kiln, MS Joseph Tyler Gall of West Point, MS Benton Hawes Gibbens of Little Rock, AR Spencer Manning Kirkpatrick of Tupelo, MS Richard Keith Rozier II of Collierville, TN

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Jeffrey Dale Akins of Starkville, MS | BUS Terri A. Bourrage of Meridian, MS | BUS Leslie Ann Brewer of Lander, WY | BUS Samantha McCain Clardy of Starkville, MS | BUS Katelyn McKenzie Clem of Pascagoula, MS | BUS Larita S. Copprue of Byram, MS | BUS Lauren Renee Foreman of Long Beach, MS | BUS Janette Michelle Gilliam-Avery of Pass Christian, MS | BUS Bessie Mae Haughton of West Point, MS | BUS William Scott Hudson of Meridian, MS | BUS Shanna Elaine Isaac of Choctaw, MS | BUS Tequilla Marie Jackson of Grenada, MS | BUS Gregory Shane Lackie of Hamilton, MS | BUS Fartilia Latricia Lane of Starkville, MS | BUS Johanna Lee Lopez of Loveland, CO | BUS Lauren Ellaine Lott of Southaven, MS | BUS Brendan Michael Manders of Dyersburg, TN | BUS Chadwick L. Martin of Fulton, MS | BUS Jolynn McKinion of Philadelphia, MS | BUS Victoria McNeal of Meridian, MS | BUS Katie Elaine Mills of Philadelphia, MS | BUS Joseph Louis Mullins of Booneville, MS | BUS Memrie Allison Myrick of Hattiesburg, MS | BUS Markeeta Outlaw of Starkville, MS | BUS Christi Jackson Payton of Pearl, MS | BUS Chivona Latrice Roberts of Utica, MS | BUS Brynia Rhystacia Smith of Jackson, MS | BUS

Doris M. Smith of Lithonia, GA | BUS Sidney Andrew Snapka of Columbus, MS | BUS Nickolaus Allan Stafford of Starkville, MS | BUS David Jonathan Stiles of Starkville, MS | BUS Robert F. Thomas of Gulfport, MS | BUS Austin Jack Townsend of Ocean Springs, MS | BUS Gregory T. Walsh of Liberty, MS | BUS Nikki P. Watkins of Carthage, MS | BUS Jennifer LeVette Wilson of Jackson, MS | BUS Robert Lee Wilson of Meridian, MS | BUS Jonathan Ryan Yarbrough of Pearl, MS | BUS

ADKERSON SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY

Kentarrious Jermaine Adams of Benoit, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Gary Griffin Agent of Madison, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Elliott Elizabeth Allen of Madison, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Nicholas Spencer Allen of Long Beach, MS | BACC Connor Cleveland Altman of Brandon, MS | BACC Kyle Christopher Anderson of Ridgeland, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Margaret Elizabeth Boeye of Cumming, GA | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Taylor B. Bolton of Leakesville, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Anna Catherine Bostick of Hattiesburg, MS | MPA Peyton Elizabeth Bowyer of Canton, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Jesslyn Claire Brewer of Myrtle, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Griffin Louis Brown of Germantown, TN | MPA Sarah McKinley Buchanan of Jackson, MS | BACC Eliza Gene Buckley of Bay Springs, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Breanna Michelle Burns of Kosciusko, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Anna Belle Butler of Jackson, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude April Leigh-Anne Callahan of Pontotoc, MS | MPA Kaleigh Madison Callender of Murphy, TX | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Christian Campbell of Ripley, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Gerald Parker Cathey of Collierville, TN | BACC, Cum Laude Haley Elizabeth Chisholm of Pontotoc, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude

Emma Madsen Chope of Pensacola, FL | BACC, Cum Laude Haileigh Alexandria Cleveland of Chunky, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Deanne Elizabeth Coley of Jackson, TN | BACC, Cum Laude Emilee Allyce Collins of Decatur, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Peyton Elise Conder of Nolensville, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Carley Nichole Cook of Brandon, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Samantha C. Cornelius of Corinth, MS | MTX Abigail Daines Cothran of Cordova, TN | MPA Keshawndra M. Cummings of Maben, MS | BACC Arielle Marie Dauber of Columbus, MS | MPA Cameron Michael Davis of Columbus, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Patrick Cooper Davis of Hattiesburg, MS | BACC Sloan O’Keefe Davis of Brentwood, TN | MPA Adam Todd Dearing of Hernando, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Brittany Elise Dennison of Pensacola, FL | BACC, Cum Laude Stephen Michael East of Eads, TN | BACC David Alexander East of Eads, TN | MPA Caroline McKenzie Edmonson of Clarksdale, MS | BACC Eryca Lyn Edwards of Lexington, MS | BACC David Edwin Ethridge of Meridian, MS | BACC Ali Elizabeth Evans of Brookhaven, MS | MPA Lauren Alexandra Evans of Bartlett, TN | MPA Trevor Douglas Faulkner of Brandon, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Shea Marie Flanagan of Atlanta, GA | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Katherine Faulkner Flowers of Clarksdale, MS | MPA Kara Dawn Forman of Liberty, MS | BACC Walter Mcinnis Foster of Long Beach, MS | MPA Emily Nicole Frady of Madison, AL | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Melanie Madison Franklin of Brookhaven, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Jacori Gandy of Starkville, MS | BACC John Gregory Gibson of Fayetteville, AR | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Jordan Taylor Gill of Biloxi, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Allison Nicole Granberry of Columbus, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Ladarrion Cornelius Grant of Jackson, MS | MPA Madison Elizabeth Gray of Madison, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Cassie L. Green of Meridian, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude

Kourtney Renee Green of Pass Christian, MS | BACC Michael Thomas Groves of Madison, MS | MPA Ethan Alexander Guynes of Ridgeland, MS | BACC, Cum Laude William Stephen Hardy of Columbus, MS | MPA Julianna Claire Harris of Sumrall, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Joseph Michael Hill of Southaven, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Millie Grace Hill of Corinth, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Hannah Leanne Honeycutt of Southaven, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Leah Elizabeth Howard of Columbus, MS | MPA Jerrie Lynne Hubbard of Meridian, MS | BACC Miranda Rae Humes of Coldwater, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Ann Mason Hunter of Mobile, AL | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Siwei Jiang of Starkville, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Catherine Britton Jones of Starkville, MS | MPA Camryn Reese Kestenbaum of Madison, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Sarah Elizabeth King of Charlotte, NC | MPA Jackson Brill Laurence of Fairhope, AL | BACC, Cum Laude Morgan Elizabeth Little of Dyersburg, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Kaleb Brian Lovertich of Brandon, MS | BACC Cameron Michael Maddox of Starkville, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Margaret W. Maddox of Bruce, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Cynthia Liz Martinez-Alicea of Columbus, MS | BACC Andrew Patrick McDavid of Madison, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Kelsey Margaret Moran of Wake Forest, NC | BACC Bailie Gowan Morgan of Carthage, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Cecily Lynn Morris of Rutherford, TN | BACC, Cum Laude Mary Carole Morris of Stanton, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Jessica Morris of Starkville, MS | MTX Samuel Thomas Mosley of Jackson, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Ann Kristen Mrozinski of Franklin, TN | MPA Vy Thi Tuong Nguyen of Starkville, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Avery Nicole Palmer of Marietta, GA | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Laicon Elise Partain of Union, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Roshni Jigneshbhai Patel of Brandon, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Michael Riley Pierce of West Point, MS | MPA Amelia Joy Pongetti of Tupelo, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 29

Anna Theresa Purcell of Long Beach, MS | BACC Anna Grace Ragland of Satartia, MS | BACC Evan James Ratcliff of Brandon, MS | BACC Abbey Grace Rhodes of Lexington, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Austin Scott Richey of Tupelo, MS | MTX Emily Grace Robertson of Starkville, MS | BACC, Cum Laude McKenzie Shannon Robinson of Madison, MS | BACC Dalton Glenn Ross of Petal, MS | BACC Spencer Charles Sasser of Harrisville, MS | BACC, Cum Laude Reagan Marion Scott of Pensacola, FL | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Landon Blaine Sellers of Jackson, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Brian William Setser of Stafford, VA | BACC David Craig Sheley of Sardis, MS | BACC Madison Alyssa Shidler of Hernando, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Jordyn Chanel Shipp of Hernando, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Deegodage Sahan Lakshika Silva of Starkville, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Rebecca Adams Sistrunk of Jackson, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Jalisa P. Slater of Clinton, MS | MTX Blake Edward Slaughter of Starkville, MS | MPA Brandon Curtis Slovensky of Trussville, AL | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Tywanna Nykia Smith of West Point, MS | BACC William Garrett Smith of Brookhaven, MS | BACC Erica Rose Soldan of Olive Branch, MS | BACC, Summa Cum Laude London Alexandra Steverson of Lexington, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Georgia Blake Stovall of Hattiesburg, MS | BACC Olivia Renae Sweatt of Starkville, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Elizabeth McGivaren Tavoleti of Memphis, TN | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Gage Anthony Tegethoff of Ocean Springs, MS | BACC Anne Elizabeth Thibodeaux of D’Iberville, MS | BACC James Evan Thomas of Kosciusko, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Katharine Elizabeth Thomas of Alpharetta, GA | MPA Sarah Katherine Todd of Lewisville, NC | BACC, Summa Cum Laude Louis Franklin Touchstone of Raymond, MS | BACC Nicklaus Grant Touchstone of Greenwood, SC | BACC Landon Tubb of Biloxi, MS | BACC Alexa M. Turner of Brandon, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Samantha Ann Vakos of Virginia Beach, VA | BACC, Cum Laude John Houston Vaught of College Grove, TN | BACC Madison Gabrielle Wadley of Collierville, TN | MPA Kelby Colleen Westcott of Vicksburg, MS | BACC Kathryn Grace Wheeler of Tupelo, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Paul Alston White of Meridian, MS | BACC Brittney Lynn Winstead of Collinsville, MS | BACC Emma Catherine Wiygul of Madison, MS | BACC, Magna Cum Laude Sutton Steele Workman of Collierville, TN | BACC, Cum Laude Taylor McKenzie Wynn of Pensacola, FL | BACC, Summa Cum Laude

BAGLEY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Kushal Acharya of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude William Luke Acuff of Columbia, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Shelby Caroline Adair of Starkville, MS | BS Bradley Grant Adams of Nettleton, MS | BS Naresh Adhikari of Starkville, MS | PHD Meisam Adibifard of Baton Rouge, LA | MS Nusrat Nur Afrose of Germantown, TN | MS Samuel Lee Aiken of Fleming Island, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Nicholas Briant Alexander of Madison, MS | BS Carter Joseph Allen of Gulfport, MS | BS, Cum Laude Lynwood Floyd Allen of Mooresville, NC | BS Wyatt David Allen of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Elisabeth Kristine Ama of Caledonia, MS | BS, Cum Laude Alwyn Mari McKenna Ambrose of Decatur, AL | BS, Cum Laude Dylan Garrett Amerson of Iuka, MS | BS, Cum Laude Turner Morris Ames of Hattiesburg, MS | BS William Andrew Anderson of Palm Beach Gardens, FL | BS Aaron Robert Anspach of Saucier, MS | BS Blake Thomas Appel of Mendenhall, MS | BS Robert Zachary Ard of Petal, MS | BS Mohammed Safayet Arefin of Starkville, MS | MS Victoria Nicole Arroyave of Union, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brandon Terrell Ashe of Picayune, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Andrew Mitchell Atkinson of Selmer, TN | BS Caleb Daniel Aultman of Raymond, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Joseph Paxton Austin of Vicksburg, MS | BS Daniel H. Austin of Starkville, MS | MS Tyler James Babb of Batesville, MS | BS Lena Christine Baioni of Memphis, TN | BS Kereikhan Bakhytkhanuly of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brooke Olivia Balla of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Meredith Jordan Barnes of Gulfport, MS | BS Spencer William Barnes of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jackson Richard Barrett of Arrington, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Leanne Locke Barrier of Starkville, MS | BS Benjamin James Bartlett of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Michaela Corinne Bashour of Franklin, TN | BS, Cum Laude Brian Frank Batinick of Plainfield, IL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Salem Mohammed Batiyah of Starkville, MS | PHD Blake Dempsey Beach of Soso, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude

30 SUMMER 2020

Mary Catherine Beard of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Caroline Lee Bearden of Hoover, AL | BS Ladarius Montrell Beason of Byhalia, MS | BS, Cum Laude Rachel Elizabeth Bennet of Clinton, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude James David Bennett of Hernando, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kaitlinn Victoria Bennett of Moss Point, MS | BS Justin Williams Berry of Alabaster, AL | BS Richard Allen Berryman of Starkville, MS | BS Christian Taylor Bevis of Chunchula, AL | BS Nagadarshan Rao Bhounsly Janardhan Rao of Starkville, MS | MS Crystal Michelle Biggs of Magnolia, MS | BS Noah Lance Billingsley of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Alfredo Francisco Bird-Canals of San Juan, PR | MS Cody Regnal Blackledge of Collins, MS | BS Paul J. Blackwell of Pascagoula, MS | BS Mason Alan Blakeney of Laurel, MS | BS James Travis Blanche of Vicksburg, MS | BS Reid Reagan Bond of Pascagoula, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Zachary Paul Boone of Brandon, MS | BS Haley Christine Bradford of Vancleave, MS | BS Ashley Ruth Branyon of Huntsville, AL | BS James Nathaniel Breland of Laurel, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kelcey Rose Bremenkamp of Gulfport, MS | BS Emily Kay Brennan of Pearl, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ivanna C. Brent of New Orleans, LA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jacob McKenzie Brewington of Starkville, MS | BS Frank Mhoon Brinkley of Dennis, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alicia Danielle Brown of Petal, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ashton Mikel Brown of Jackson, MS | BS Aygul Makana Brown of Yazoo City, MS | BS Hunter Orion Brown of Easley, SC | BS Karimah Anitra Brown of Huntsville, AL | BS, Cum Laude Nykea Itiria Brown of Forest, MS | BS Sidney Rosha Brown of Starkville, MS | BS Collin Saxton Brown of Starkville, MS | MS Kevin Reese Brune of Vancleave, MS | BS, Cum Laude Catherine Louise Buchanan of Collierville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Kendric Bullard of Leakesville, MS | BS Andrew Bullington of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Taylor Brent Burch of Dyersburg, TN | MS Jordan Blake Burks of Collierville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Collin Dwight Burnham of Mendenhall, MS | BS William Joseph Bush of Hernando, MS | BS Kelley Nicole Byrd of Thomasville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sierra Dawn Byrd of Tappahannock, VA | BS Isaac Lee Cagle of Selmer, TN | BS Thomas Wesley Cameron of Richton, MS | BS Aaron Troy Carraway of Bainbridge, GA | BS, Cum Laude Jiana B. Carter of Madison, AL | BS Tucker H. Carter of Saltillo, MS | BS Jordan Vickers Caskey of West Point, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Charles Burt Caston of Jackson, MS | BS Chandler Dean Causey of Collierville, TN | BS Neil Stevenson Chadala of Starkville, MS | BS William Reid Clark of Flowood, MS | BS Brooke Ann Clarke of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Drew Alexander Clawson of Johns Island, SC | BS John Russell Cobb of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ryan Michael Cobb of Germantown, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Glen C. Cockrell of Oro Valley, AZ | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Claire Cockrum of Niceville, FL | BS, Cum Laude Laura Elizabeth Coleman of Clinton, MS | BS Jacob Martin Collins of Moss Point, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Levi Dean Colquitt of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kyle Hunter Cone of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude McCaleb Liam Connor of Rome, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Martha Avelina Contreras of Starkville, MS | BS Jackson Lamar Cook of Meridian, MS | BS Timothy Hill Cook of Madison, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brittany Noelle Corder of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Gray Gordon Cordes of Vicksburg, MS | BS Alex Lee Cote’ of Jackson, MS | BS Anna Elizabeth Crawford of Hoover, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Clayton Patrick Creager of Olive Branch, MS | BS Charlie Tanner Crim of Madison, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Ray Criss of Clinton, MS | BS Jacques Valois Crochet of Gulfport, MS | BS Madeline Elise Crow of Kingsport, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude David Nicholas Cuevas of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Dylan Joseph Cuevas of Raleigh, MS | BS Alexandria Bayleigh Cumbest of Lucedale, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Colby Graham Curtis of Slidell, LA | BS, Cum Laude Blake Ashley Cutrer of Carriere, MS | BS Vahid Daghigh of Starkville, MS | PHD Aubrey Clinton Dallas of Moss Point, MS | BS Hart McMullen Daniels of Vaughan, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kristopher Wayne Davis of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BS Madelyn Leigh Davis of Olive Branch, MS | MS Elizabeth Rose Dell’Orco of Kirkwood, MO | BS, Magna Cum Laude

Jayson Scott Dempsey of Morton, MS | BS Joseph Marvin Dendy of Brandon, MS | BS Mason Alexander DeOrnellis of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Mitchell Thomas Dethloff of Humble, TX | BS Santosh Dhakal of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Wellesley Jane Dittmar of Baton Rouge, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Nicholas Dollar of Diamondhead, MS | BS Michael Edward Dollar of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Johnathan Christian Donoho of Columbus, MS | BS, Cum Laude Matthew Howell Dorris of Crystal Springs, MS | BS Isaiah James Dorsey of Helena, AL | BS, Cum Laude Teri Elizabeth Doss of Paducah, KY | BS, Summa Cum Laude Corwin James Drummond of Rockwall, TX | BS Braden Thomas Duke of Pontotoc, MS | BS John Dale Dumas of Magnolia, MS | BS Durward Belmont Dunn of Fredericksburg, VA | MS Mabry Katherine Dye of Carthage, MS | BS Hannah Elizabeth Eakes of Philadelphia, MS | BS Jacob Nathaniel Easley of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jennifer Barrett Easley of Starkville, MS | PHD Efrem Onyekuehenwemene Egede of Kennesaw, GA | BS Nicholas Richard Eldred of Slidell, LA | BS Rachel Elise Emig of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alexcia Danielle Ennis of Fayetteville, GA | BS William Blake Evans of Nettleton, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kathryn Greer Fagan of Prattville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Renelle Elena Failla of Picayune, MS | BS, Cum Laude Eric David Farmer of Toney, AL | MS Caleb Nathaniel Farrar of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Cum Laude Matthew Stephen Faulkner of Madison, MS | BS, Cum Laude Zachary Thomas Caleb Fauver of Pontotoc, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kendall Jaron Fields of Augusta, GA | BS, Cum Laude Megan Elizabeth Finney of Amory, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Austin Matthew Finney of Starkville, MS | MS Claire Ann Fischer of Montgomery, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Avery Colton Fisher of Carthage, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ethan Drew Fisher of Athens, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sara Ann Wages Fisher of Madison, MS | BS Braden McCoy Fitzhugh of Lena, MS | BS Connor Barnett Flaherty of Baldwyn, MS | BS Keith Flournoy of Vicksburg, MS | MENG Steven Mitch Fortenberry of Sandy Hook, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Joshua Andew Fortune of Lawrenceville, GA | BS Carly Jean Foss of Mchenry, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude John Daniel Grissom Foster of Tuscumbia, AL | BS Joshua Wayne Foster of Florence, MS | BS William Jacob Foster of Laurel, MS | BS Deonante M. Frazier of Utica, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Darren Anthony Frey of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Gabrielle Nicole Fuller of Petal, MS | BS, Cum Laude Gavin Hiser Funderburg of Madison, MS | BS Althea Charis Furby of Canton, MS | MS Thomas Willhite Gaines of Coldwater, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kierra M. Gallion of Shelby, MS | BS Jonah Thomas Gandy of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hemant Ganti of Starkville, MS | MS Rebecca Ann Garcia of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude David Thomas Gardner of Vancleave, MS | BS Melanae Garrett of Cruger, MS | MS Christopher Roland Garza of Clinton, MS | BS Lucas Cole Gay of Bremen, AL | BS, Cum Laude Nicholas Allan Geeslin of Olive Branch, MS | MS Thomas Wesley George of Aberdeen, MS | BS Delaney Jewel Gillespie of Loretto, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Andrew Barrett Gilmore of Roswell, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Lin Gong of Starkville, MS | PHD Alexander Javier Gonzalez of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Robert Aaron Gray of New Orleans, LA | BS Christopher Garret Green of Senatobia, MS | BS Jake Thomas Griesmer of Collierville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Alexander Stephen Griggs of Brandon, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jason Thomas Gunnell of Seminary, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rhet Osborne Hailey of Meridian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Daniel Aven Hall of Mobile, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jesse Michael Hall of Picayune, MS | BS, Cum Laude James Paul Hammer of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Nicholas Aaron Hampton of Brandon, MS | BS Dalton Jacob Hanley of Clinton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Travis Neal Hannan of Midland, GA | BS Nolan Joseph Harrell of Summit, MS | BS, Cum Laude Derrian Juwan Harrington of Starkville, MS | BS Kennedy Leigh-Ann Harris of Starkville, MS | BS Wesley Clay Harrison of Mathiston, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Turner West Harrod of Bremen, GA | BS Robert Alexander Hartsell of Aiken, SC | MENG Devin Riley Hedgepeth of Picayune, MS | BS Samuel Masters Herrin of Madison, AL | BS Brandon Patrick Herron of Biloxi, MS | BS Bruce Oneal Hicks of Martin, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude

Daniel Quinton Hill of Ridgeland, MS | BS Randy Perez Hill of Corinth, MS | BS Philip Kaleb Hilton of Laurel, MS | BS Austin Dale Hipps of Harvest, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Joel Luke Hitt of Columbia, MS | BS Mark Richard Hodge of Lafayette, LA | BS Louis Gaylord Hodges of Starkville, MS | BS Nolan R. Hoffman of Clinton, MS | MS Frank Allen Holiman of Jackson, MS | MS Tanner Michael Holt of Southaven, MS | BS Joshua Gabriel Hopkins of Daleville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Holly Xiao-Jun Howard of Diamondhead, MS | BS Graham Alan Hubbard of Cordova, TN | MS Kevin R. Huey of Long Beach, MS | BS Michael Anthony Hughes of Yazoo City, MS | BS Coleby Logan Hutchinson of Boyle, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jeremy Philip Irwin of Long Beach, MS | BS, Cum Laude Tyler Shellman Irwin of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Brayden Chance Jackson of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William McLean Jackson of Monticello, MS | BS Varsha Jain of Brighton, MA | PHD William Robert Janowsky of Diamondhead, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Will Hunter Jarrell of Fulton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Ty Hayden Jernigan of Hamilton, MS | BS Alexandria Brooke Johnson of Huntsville, AL | BS Benjamin Daniel Johnson of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jonathan Caleb Johnson of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Peyton Lee Johnson of Madison, MS | BS Spencer Eugene Johnson of Byhalia, MS | BS William Peyton Johnson of Milton, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Michael Lee Johnston of Brookhaven, MS | BS Jason Michael Joines of Richboro, PA | MENG Benjamin Kai Jones of Jonesboro, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Shameria Juanese Jones of Purvis, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Shelby Denise Jones of Columbus, MS | BS Sarkis L. Kazandjian of Silver Spring, MD | MS Gautam Kc of Starkville, MS | BS Jennifer Michelle Keeter of Jackson, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Drew Elizabeth Kelley of Germantown, TN | MENG William Kelley of New Fairfield, CT | MENG Jackson Paul Kelly of Martin, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude William Michael Kelly of Urbandale, IA | PHD Christina Kemp of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Madison E. Kendall of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Gage Michael Kennedy of Kiln, MS | BS Parker Bishop Kennedy of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude John Thomas Kerr of Starkville, MS | MS Ikhlas Faheem Khan of Como, MS | BS Kirk Randall Kinard of Starkville, MS | MS James Shelton Kinnebrew of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Caitlyn Paige Kleinschmidt of Starkville, MS | BS Sravya Kodali of Saint Louis, MO | MS Mohan Sri Krishna Kopuru of Starkville, MS | MS Brian James Koren of Rolling Meadows, IL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Stanley James Koryta of Harvest, AL | BS, Cum Laude Angelina E. Kottemann of Spring Hill, FL | MENG Katelyn Joyce Kovach of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Jonathon Chase Kramer of Jackson, TN | BS McKayla Lynn Kramer of Gulfport, MS | BS James Ryan Ladd of Cleveland, AL | BS Stanton Myles Ladner of Perkinston, MS | BS Bryan Nelson Lagrone of Clinton, MS | MS Mason L. Lambert of Saltillo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Olivia Ann Lampkin of Pelahatchie, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Spencer Payne Lampkin of The Woodlands, TX | BS, Magna Cum Laude Christopher Edward Lee of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BS Michael Aaron Lee of Madison, MS | BS James Elliot Leggett of Jackson, MS | BS Kenneth C. Leggett of Gautier, MS | MS Gage Powell Leifried of Meridian, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ali Lenfar of Starkville, MS | MS Seth Lawrence Lenoir of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Daniel David Liffrig of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Dylan Gary Lightsey of Meridian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Johnny Lin of Long Beach, MS | BS Joel Martin Lindsey of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Jonathan Briggs Lindsey of Nesbit, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ethan Jared Lishen of Long Beach, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Colton Paul Little of Jackson, TN | BS Qing Liu of Starkville, MS | MS Timothy Blake Lowman of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kennedy Alexandria Lowther of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Eric Darnell Lucas of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Samuel Nathan Lucas of Memphis, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Anthony L. Luczak of Starkville, MS | PHD Joseph Gee Shing Lum of Southaven, MS | BS Nathaniel Clifton Mabry of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Abraham Sanad Mahdi of Starkville, MS | BS Angelica Catherine Maiers of Starkville, MS | BS

Benjamin Julian Malatesta of Olive Branch, MS | BS Mounia Malki of Los Alamos, NM | PHD Justice Samuel Mallett of Nesbit, MS | BS Harish Kumar Manchukonda of Starkville, MS | MS Jacob Scott Manning of Ridgeland, MS | BS, Cum Laude Steven Thomas Marshall of Inverness, MS | BS Stanley Keith Martin of Vicksburg, MS | PHD Carlos Martinez-Mata of Pearl, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Juliana Martinez-Solano of Petal, MS | BS Sarah Abbott Martinson of Huntsville, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Meshanna Deiandria Marzette of Jackson, MS | BS Benjamin Matthew Mason of Slidell, LA | BS Matthew Thomas Matrick of Brandon, MS | BS Joshua Tyler McCoy of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Cary Daniel McCraine of Starkville, MS | MS Cole Blair McCranie of Clifton, VA | BS Samuel Aidan McDevitt of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Taylor McDonald of Tupelo, MS | BS Mark Thomas McDonnell of Biloxi, MS | BS Samuel Alexander McDougal of Brentwood, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Benjamin Clay McDowell of Jackson, MS | BS William David McGee of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Emily McGinity of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Khalil D’Shon McGuire of Ellenwood, GA | BS Megan Olivia McKenzie of Pearl River, LA | BS Travis Richard McKnight of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mary Elise McMinn of Collierville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Nathan Andrew McMurray of Brandon, MS | BS Jason C. McQueen of Wiggins, MS | BS Samuel Andrew Meals of Waterford, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Andrew Bryce Mehta of Pensacola, FL | BS, Cum Laude Jordan Lee Mercer of Walnut, MS | BS Marcos Alex Merlin of Clinton, MS | BS Savannah Marie Metz of Gulfport, MS | MS Nicholas Alexander Michael of Starkville, MS | MS Dylan Douglas Miley of Carbondale, IL | BS William Brinson Miller of Woodland, MS | BS James Howard Mitchell of Corinth, MS | BS Austin Cole Moak of Wesson, MS | BS Christina Maria Moffett of Gulfport, MS | BS Robert Clayton Montgomery of Ft Worth, TX | BS Schell Ann Montville of Buford, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Andrew Joseph Moore of Tupelo, MS | BS Jessica Marie Moore of Harvest, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Tavis Deshaun Moore of Brookhaven, MS | BS Claudia Maris Moorehead of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Eli Hampton Morgan-Barnes of Madison, AL | MS Peyton Harrison Morris of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Amelia Ann Morson of Clarksdale, MS | BS Matthew Riley Moss of Madison, MS | BS Mohammed Ahmed Mousa of Starkville, MS | PHD Clay Thomas Murphy of Woodstock, GA | BS Matthew P. Murray of Vicksburg, MS | MS Priya Ganesh Musale of Starkville, MS | BS Andrew James Mussell of Buford, GA | BS Chandler Jack Myers of Birmingham, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Hayden Myers of Lauderdale, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Paige Nicole Nachtman of Collierville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Caitlin Paige Nash of Sheffield, AL | BS Devin Blake Neal of Starkville, MS | MS Claudia Renee Nelson of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Tyler Alexander Nix of Pontotoc, MS | BS James Christopher Noblin of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Owen Alexander Walker Norris of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Emily Christine O’Connor of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ryan Edward O’Malley of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Jadan John Orgeron of Cut Off, LA | BS Maroua Ouazzani Touhami of Starkville, MS | MS Blake Thomas Paben of Ridgeland, MS | BS, Cum Laude Madeline Alyce Pace of Marion, AR | BS Yamiretsy Pagan-Albelo of Vicksburg, MS | MS Nelson Edgardo Pagoaga of Olive Branch, MS | BS Thomas Francis Paladino of Hazel Green, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jastej Singh Pandher of Clinton, MS | BS Sophia Elena Parker of Natchez, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brandon Marshal Parks of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude John Shelton Parks of Collierville, TN | BS Haley Jo Parlette of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Shreyaben Dilip Patel of Perry, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Heather Nicole Patterson of Corinth, MS | BS Sweta Paudel of Starkville, MS | BS Kristopher Neal Penn of Olive Branch, MS | BS Lauren Nicole Peterman of Gulfport, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Clifton Hopkins Peyton of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jonathan Emmett Philley of Starkville, MS | BS Hunter Cape Phillips of Decatur, MS | BS Van Thien Phung of Mississippi State, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude April Vanessa Pierce of Lucedale, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tristan John Pisacane of Franklin, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude

Monica Marie Pistorius of Decatur, AL | BS, Cum Laude Tyler Brett Polderman of Carriere, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jessica Lauren Pope of Terry, MS | BS Joshua Thomas Poynor of Olive Branch, MS | BS William Vincent Pratt of Madison, MS | BS Kenneth Crumpton Presley of Oxford, MS | BS, Cum Laude Peyton Price of Annapolis, MD | PHD Arianna Lynn Pullen of Perkinston, MS | BS, Cum Laude Hunter Gage Purvis of Gulfport, MS | BS John Zachary Pyles of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jason Kyle Rakestraw of Blue Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Andrew Randle of Memphis, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Cameron Collier Rawls of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Libby Catherine Reaves of Hernando, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jacob Franklin Reed of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Robert Dwyer Reed of Columbus, MS | BS Matthew Allen Register of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Charley Carroll Rhea of Hoover, AL | BS, Cum Laude Stephen M. Richard of Summit, MS | BS Mckenzie Renae Robbins of Franklin, TN | BS Madeleine Meilstrup Roberson of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Lauren Elizabeth Robertson of Starkville, MS | BS William Ross Robertson of Peachtree City, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Dylan Michael Robicheaux of Gulfport, MS | BS Khara Nichell Robinson of Starkville, MS | BS Britain Alexandra Rohling of Fountain Inn, SC | BS Matthew Val Romero of Kansas City, MO | BS, Summa Cum Laude Anna Sue Rourke of Birmingham, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Edgardo Ruiz of Clinton, MS | PHD Jonathan S. Ruoss of Madison, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ethan Buck Rushing of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Reed Stoker Rushing of Winona, MS | BS Brittany Nicole Russell of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matt Elan Russell of Thaxton, MS | BS Michael Dylan Russell of Columbia, MS | BS, Cum Laude Michael Methodius Rust of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Kendra Leigh Sanders of Belden, MS | BS Reed Emil James Carter Sanders of Canton, MS | BS Gideon Sarpong of Tehachapi, CA | PHD David Neil Saucier of Starkville, MS | MS Caroline Morgan Schaade of North Augusta, SC | BS, Magna Cum Laude Chasse Sterling Sciple of Gulfport, MS | BS Madeline Alexandria Seale of Bay Minette, AL | BS, Cum Laude Kali Marie Sebastian of Burr Ridge, IL | MS Mary Frances F. Segars of Birmingham, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Anna Lacy Sellers of Gulfport, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Clayton Alan Sewell of Belden, MS | BS Haley Elizabeth Sexton of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude James David Shaffer of Schriever, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude John Taber Shank of Gulfport, MS | BS Sean Patrick Sheehan of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Zachary Ralph Shelly of Collinsville, MS | MS Megan Elizabeth Shepherd of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matthew Henry Shine of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Robert Alexander Shober of Starkville, MS | BS Thomas Henry Showers of Gulfport, MS | BS Ralph Joseph Sieja of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Caleb Christian Simmons of Saltillo, MS | BS Jack Earl Simmons of Tupelo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Luke Nathanael Simons of Franklin, TN | BS Robert Louis Simpson of Long Beach, MS | BS Gurdit Singh of Yazoo City, MS | BS Dustin Edwin Slade of Gulfport, MS | BS Karl Smink of Starkville, MS | MS Dillon Cody Smith of Southaven, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rylee Brooke Smith of Dyersburg, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Slater Smith of Ridgeland, MS | MENG Edwin Soto-Aponte of Grovetown, GA | MS Jacob Russell South of Iuka, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Arthur Andrew Speegle of Jackson, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Lane Spell of Lexington, MS | BS Katie Lynn Spillers of Decatur, AL | BS, Cum Laude Alexander Brantley Sprung of Atlanta, GA | BS, Cum Laude Divya Srikakulapu of Starkville, MS | MS Rebecca Ann Stewart of Owens Cross Roads, AL | MS Timothy Hunter Stogner of Bogue Chitto, MS | BS John Allen Stowers of Brandon, MS | BS Jordan Cantrell Stremming of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Aryn Denise Strickland of Cordova, TN | BS, Cum Laude Matthew Ray Studer of Owens Cross Roads, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Abhinash Subedi of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Chance Douglas Sumrall of Ovett, MS | BS Skylar Brady Taggart of Pass Christian, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ishan U. Taldekar of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Thomas Taylor Tatum of Brentwood, TN | BS John Dylan Teas of Grenada, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Ray Tedford of Batesville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Daniela Fernanda Tellkamp of Louisville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bryce Collin Temple of Brookhaven, MS | BS

Adam L. Tew of Simpsonville, SC | BS Christopher Michael Thomas of New Albany, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Michael F. Thompson of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Lalith Kumar Thugudam of Starkville, MS | MS Prajjwol Timilsina of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jason Michael Tomasi of Walls, MS | BS MOUSSA TOURE of Starkville, MS | MS Huy Andy Tran of Biloxi, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Claire Elise Travis of Baton Rouge, LA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Francisco Trejo Acevedo of Gautier, MS | BS Kevin Van Trinh of Crestview, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Luke Jackson Tucker of Tupelo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jonathan Baxter Turfitt of Bay St Louis, MS | BS Cole Reed Turner of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS Jesse Tutor of Pontotoc, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Margaret Elizabeth Tuttle of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude George Laskaris Tzotzolas of Vicksburg, MS | BS Erin Laura Upshur of Columbus, MS | MS Jason Scott Utley of Starkville, MS | BS Lukas Alexander Vali of Starkville, MS | BS Joaquin Rolando Valle of Biloxi, MS | BS Haley Paige Van Drunen of Meridian, MS | BS Dawn Rose Van Iderstine of Pensacola, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rachel Nicole Van Namen of Little Rock, AR | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lacey Elizabeth Venhaus of Breese, IL | MS Michael Preston Violet of Dacula, GA | BS Kaitlyn Thao-Nhi Vu of Huntsville, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Christian Jackson Wagner of Gulfport, MS | BS Mary Elizabeth Walker of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alexandra Elena Wallace of Tallahassee, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Derrick Grant Walley of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Monica Dawn Warren of Corinth, MS | BS Russell Tyler Warren of Starkville, MS | BS Zachary Lane Warren of Southaven, MS | BS Andrew James Weaver of Dumfries, VA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Michael Anthony Webster of Lebanon, MO | BS, Cum Laude Jonathan Peter Weeks of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matthew Joesph Weicks of Madison, MS | BS Allison Amelia Weissinger of Arnold, MD | BS Tucker Alexander Welch of Clinton, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Todd Wendling of Saltillo, MS | BS Warren Alexander Wheeler of Madison, MS | BS Lauren Mariette Wientjes of Byhalia, MS | BS Gabriel Thomas Wiggins of Brownsboro, AL | BS Benjamin Charles Wilkinson of Simpsonville, SC | BS, Magna Cum Laude Dalton Lee Williams of Collinsville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Anthony Williams of Biloxi, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Katherine Elizabeth Williams of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kayla Tyelise Williams of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Lindsey Catherine Williams of Mobile, AL | BS Reginald Williams of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Warren Reed Williams of North Carrollton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Nicholas Paul Willis of Olive Branch, MS | MS Michael Joseph Williston of Athens, AL | MS Charles Steven Wilson of Millport, AL | BS Natasha E. Wilson of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Woodrow Neal Wilson of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Andrew John Windham of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Rikaiyah Simone Winters of Vicksburg, MS | BS Matthew Bradley Wise of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Bailey R. Wofford of Starkville, MS | BS Jackson Brody Wolfe of Roswell, GA | BS, Cum Laude Ronni Nicole Wolfe of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Cum Laude Richard Alan Woodfield of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Taylor Olivia Woodruff of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Dennis Kuen-Hung Wu of Starkville, MS | MS Tyler Scott Wyckoff of Columbus, MS | BS Zhangjin Xu of Chicago, IL | PHD Ryan Andrew Yingling of Mississippi State, MS | BS, Cum Laude Chandler Wilson Young of Covington, LA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Luliang Zhang of Starkville, MS | BS Haydn Bailey Zimmerman of Tanner, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & LIFE SCIENCES Brittany Nicole Adams of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jeffrey Blake Adams of Huntsville, AL | BS Layla Jaynell Adkisson of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Charles Nolan Ahlrich of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Heather Ann Alexander of Wildwood, MO | BS Zachary Hunter Allen of Roswell, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matthew R. Allred of Coppell, TX | BS Dareen Bander Altayyar of Starkville, MS | MS Tiffani Nicole Anderson of Pleasant Grove, AL | BS Emilia Kell Armond of Pascagoula, MS | BS, Cum Laude Catherine Hensley Avent of Water Valley, MS | BS Callie Nicole Baker of Olive Branch, MS | BS Shelby Claire Ballinger of Hollandale, MS | MS Kayla Shea Bannister of Mt Pleasant, SC | BS, Summa Cum Laude

Clare Harmon Beckham of Nesbit, MS | BS, Cum Laude Olivia Roth Benner of Danville, IN | BLA, Magna Cum Laude Ashley Marie Beyer of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Austin Billingsley of Coldwater, MS | BS Baylie Michelle Billiot of Carriere, MS | BS Hannah Lindsay Blades of Madison, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Bailee Diane Boling of Starkville, MS | BS Harrison Cole Bond of Dawsonville, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hannah Nicole Bostick of Irondale, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude George Randell Bouler of Alligator, MS | BS Karrigan Jane Bowers of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ralyn Brooke Bowling of Raymond, MS | BS Addison Noelle Braddock of Loveland, OH | BS, Summa Cum Laude Arlie Strider Brandon of Charleston, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Blaye Brasher of Oakland, MS | BS Garrett Wayne Brewer of Collierville, TN | BLA Shelby Leigh Brewer of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kayla Lynn Broster of Mount Carmel, IL | MS Abiola Elizabeth Bruce Smith of Raymond, MS | MS Timothy Boyd Bryant of Starkville, MS | BLA Ravali Budavarthi of Starkville, MS | MS Rylee Elizabeth Burchfield of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Harrison David Burford of Greenville, MS | BS Sara Joanne Cagle of Smithville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Evan Scott Campbell of Ardmore, TN | BS Amber Michelle Camper of Clinton, MS | BS Carolina Anne Canestrano of Tampa, FL | BS Tyler Lane Capps of Starkville, MS | BS Victor Frank Carey of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Cum Laude Eva Rachel Carranza of Gulfport, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Amber Nicole Carter of Horn Lake, MS | BS Clinton Tanner Case of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Nicole Cavender of Lexington, SC | BS, Cum Laude Cody Joe Chastain of Sharpsburg, GA | BS Jessica Jolelia Chease of Clinton, MS | BS Danielle Childers of Senatobia, MS | BS Rebecca Carol Christian of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Madison Hope Christian of Millport, AL | MS Matthew Blake Clem of Starkville, MS | BS Shelby Lauren Cole of Flora, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Anajah Vanais Coleman of Clinton, MS | BS Katherine Grace Connelley of Monticello, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Adam Joseph Connor of Memphis, TN | BS Kaylee Suzzanne Cooper of Rienzi, MS | BS Mallory Banks Cooper of Star, MS | BS Lea Sierra Cornelius of Clinton, MS | BS, Cum Laude William Gage Creel of Golden, MS | BS David Nicholas Cuevas of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Samuel Matthew Czosek of Collierville, TN | BS Shelby Elizabeth Daigle of Nashville, TN | BS Cameron S. Dantzler of Hammond, LA | BS Elton Lynn Datcher of Harpersville, AL | BS Paige Katherine Davis of Moselle, MS | BLA Amelia Lauren Davis of Mobile, AL | BS, Cum Laude Anna Grace Davis of Brownsboro, AL | BS Amberly Dennis of Starkville, MS | BS Clara Morgan Diekman of Mooresville, NC | BS, Summa Cum Laude Olivia S. Dinep-Schneider of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Harrison Edward Donnell of Slidell, LA | BS Shawna Carlie Downs of Willow Spring, NC | BS Benjamin Lee Draughn of Richton, MS | BS James Harmon Duke of Hooks, TX | BLA, Cum Laude Parker Wiltshire Dulaney of Clarksdale, MS | BS, Cum Laude Rachel Leigh Dykes of Birmingham, AL | BS Lacey Marie Dysart of Woodstock, VA | MS Aven Wesley Edgeworth of Big Creek, MS | BLA, Cum Laude Allie Lee Edwards of Diamondhead, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kazzie Nichole Ellenburg of Westville, FL | MS Alexander Stephen Eskew of Gainesville, GA | BS Nathaly Alexandra Espinoza of Ridgeland, MS | BS Charles Andrew Eubanks of Lucedale, MS | BS John Tucker Fant of Holly Springs, MS | BS Justin R. Farmer of Ethel, MS | BS Jacob Zachary Felkins of Lebanon, TN | BLA Jacob Zachary Felkins of Lebanon, TN | BS Sommer Nicole Fitzgerald of Carson, MS | BS Hannah LeeAnn Ford of Weatherford, TX | MS Akeelein Jarmel Rashaahn Forrest of Grenada, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ashley Nicole Forwood of Mobile, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sarah Love Frey of Jackson, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Robert Montgomery Fuller of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Josie Nicole Gamble of Soso, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Todd Edward Garner of Wynne, AR | BS Anna Beth Gaudin of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Catherine Olivia Gibson of Butler, AL | BS, Cum Laude Julia Leanne Gibson of Arbyrd, MO | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tiarra Isabella Gipson of Batesville, MS | BS Adam Jackson Goldman of Nesbit, MS | BS Candy R. Grant of Caledonia, MS | PHD

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 31

John Tyler Graves of Ellisville, MS | BS Alexis Morgan Greene of Murfreesboro, TN | BS, Cum Laude Ashley Lorraine Greene of Starkville, MS | MS Benjamin Haney Griffith of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Gregory Heath Grimes of Hartselle, AL | BS Jacamria Tonai Gunn of Maben, MS | BS Preston Michael Hahn of Oran, MO | BS Dalton Lane Hall of D’Iberville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Vaughn Addison Hamill of Franklin, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Stephanie Nicole Haney of Salina, KS | PHD Amanda Jeane Harfst of Pheba, MS | MS Md Shamimul Hasan of Starkville, MS | PHD Samantha Elizabeth Hawkins of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Bailey Sean Herring of Eupora, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Joseph Andrew-Lee Hester of Kosciusko, MS | BS Charlsie Brienna Hicks of Leakesville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Caitlin Michelle Hidalgo of Amory, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Chelsey Raeanne Hill of Gulfport, MS | BS Addie Inez Hitt of Mooreville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Dalton Clay Hodges of Lucedale, MS | BS Hunter Garrett Holley of Nettleton, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Georgiana Olivia Hoover of Diamondhead, MS | BS Alexandra Jane Hovan of Savannah, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Ross Howard of Clinton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Zhaoheng Huang of Starkville, MS | MLA Anda A. Hubbard of Starkville, MS | BS Mary K. Huff of Lexa, AR | MS Dominique Rebecca Hull of Luling, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jenna Michele Hull of Hamilton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alyssa Lynn Hutcheson of Starkville, MS | MS Robert Chaz Ingram of Starkville, MS | BS Lauren Madison Irby of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hannah Noel Irwin of Moss Point, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Adriana Quintel Ivy of Verona, MS | BS, Cum Laude Tessa Rosemarie Jarvis of Delmar, DE | MS Michael Deantonio Jeffries of Memphis, TN | BS Abigail Karren Jenkins of Bush, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kayla Caree Jenkins of Bentonia, MS | BS Clinton Paul Jones of Senath, MO | BS Harris Kirtland Kearney of Collierville, TN | BS Curtis Champ Knight of Starkville, MS | BS Emily Morgan Knight of Mobile, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kristen Cathy Kocher of Redding, CT | BS Rebekah Rowan Lambert of Iuka, MS | BS Nathan Daniel Lambeth of Bay Saint Louis, MS | MLA Meredith Ashley Landis of Porter, TX | BS, Cum Laude James Hunter Lane of Franklin, GA | BS Jack O’Brien Langford of Lena, MS | BS Grace Elisabeth Layton Langford of Starkville, MS | MS William Curtis Larsen of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS Margaret Elizabeth Lee of Biloxi, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jacinda Skye Leopard of Oxford, MS | BS Millane Elizabeth Lewis of Brookhaven, MS | BS Brint Alan Lindsey of Bolivar, TN | BS Ryann Elizabeth Lipcon of Statesville, NC | BS Brittany E. Lipsey of Leland, MS | PHD Margaret Perry Loftin of Starkville, MS | BS Kayley Victoria Loggins of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Anna - Elizabeth Loper of Collinsville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude David Figueroa Lopez of Byhalia, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude David Robert Mansfield of Columbia, SC | BS, Cum Laude Samantha Rae Marshall of Starkville, MS | BLA, Summa Cum Laude Alexandra Elizabeth Martin of Katy, TX | BS Miranda Rene’ Martin of Dayton, OH | MS Alexandra Christina Massaro of Tampa, FL | BS Rebecca Anne Mazanec of Saint Louis, MO | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kayla Gracie Leeandra Maze of Arab, AL | BS Joey Tyler McClain of Mathiston, MS | BS Amber Christine McCord of Sugar Land, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hayden Brian McCord of Gurley, AL | BS Eva Marie McCormick of Harrisburg, IL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rachel Hope McDaniel of Brookhaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brantley Lake McGee of Owens Cross Roads, AL | BS Dax Patrick McGriff of Huntsville, AL | BS Molly Elaine McKeown of Mississippi State, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Haley Dione McLain of Leakesville, MS | BS Luke Edward McNerney of New Hebron, MS | BS Addison Claude Meeks of Halls, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Sydney Salone Melton of Meridian, MS | BS Madison Mertz of Mississippi State, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Abbie Melissa Metcalfe of Germantown, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Makayla A. Minton of Westminster, MD | BS, Summa Cum Laude Reagan Marie Moak of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Wesley Gene Moore of Grenada, MS | BS Adam Sharp Morgan of Mcdonough, GA | BS Abigail Lynn Morrow of Perry, GA | BS, Cum Laude Logan Reed Morton of Rienzi, MS | BS Casey Michelle Moss of Bruce, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Noah Ruffin Myrick of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Roshumbria Jenee Nash of Kosciusko, MS | BS

32 SUMMER 2020

Michael Paul Nattrass of Starkville, MS | PHD Thomas Glendon Nazary of Carthage, MS | MS Macey Andraya Nelson of Tylertown, MS | BS Jonah Thomas Neville of Starkville, MS | MS Taylor G. Newman of Helotes, TX | MS Jesse Dwayne Newton of Eupora, MS | MS Tiffany Kieu-Diem Nguyen of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Roberta Lee Nicholson of Nashville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Taylor Paige Nix of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hayes Jackson Norris of Madison, MS | BS Olivia Grace Odom of Tomball, TX | BS, Cum Laude Camden Dawson Oglesby of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hannah Lee Oliver of Stuttgart, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Caitlin Renee Ornatowski of Toney, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jonathan Nicholas Owens of Hamilton, MS | BS Alexia Rose Parker of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lauren Abigail Parker of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mary Katherine Parkes of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Warren Thomas Perry of Rienzi, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Leelawattie Persaud of Bronx, NY | MS Anna Melinda Persell of Athens, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Thompson Parrish Pettway of Lookout Mountain, GA | BS Michael Thang Hong Pham of Byram, MS | BS Bethany Rebeccah Pickard of Summit, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brian K. Pieralisi of Greenville, MS | PHD Graham Davis Pierce of Lexington, MS | BS Jesse Thomas Potter of Louisville, MS | BS Levisky Powell of Cane Ridge, TN | BS Marissa Kaytlyn Powell of Guyton, GA | BS Cecily Kate Price of Philadelphia, MS | BS Kanani Jill Price of Jonesboro, IN | BS Leah Bethany Pylate of Starkville, MS | PHD Jacob Edward Rabinowitz of Westfield, NJ | BLA Anna Ryan Ragland of Bentonia, MS | BS Susanna Catherine Ratcliff of Brookhaven, MS | BS, Cum Laude Courtney Elaine Ray of Starkville, MS | BS Trenton James Ray of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Katie Elizabeth Reed of West Helena, AR | BS Cole Thomas Reesman of Dacula, GA | BS, Cum Laude Shelby Nicole Richardson of West Point, MS | BS Cameron Paris Roach of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kali A. Roberts of Kosciusko, MS | BS, Cum Laude Thomas Cole Robinson of Hamilton, MS | BS Anastasia S. Rogers of Pascagoula, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William D. Rogers of Corinth, MS | MS Madeline Michelle Roth of Montgomery, AL | BS, Cum Laude Erin Elizabeth Rushing of Silver Creek, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Christien Brione Russell of Louisville, KY | PHD Peyton Rollins Ryals of Louisville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Savannah Renee Saczek of Starkville, MS | BS Chase A. Samples of Ashland, MS | PHD Ashley Michelle Sanders of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Clara G. Sanders of Tupelo, MS | BS, Cum Laude Sydney Michelle Savage of Starkville, MS | BS Emilee Abret Sawyer of Morton, MS | BS Kody James Schexnayder of Terrytown, LA | BS Blake Louis Schlitt of Oran, MO | BS, Magna Cum Laude Patrick Evan Seal of Wiggins, MS | BS Miriam Grace Seale of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Cum Laude Andrew Bailey Seals of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brittany Michele Semko of North Chesterfield, VA | BS William Jacob Seward of Hurley, MS | BS Kristina Brooke Seyfarth of Woodville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Milan Kumar Sharma of Starkville, MS | MS Carson Jakeb Sharp of Water Valley, MS | BS Katie Lee Shearer of Arlington, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brandon Louis Shelby of Laurel, MS | BS Emma Riley Shinall of Acworth, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Madeline Grace Shirley of Corinth, MS | BS Beth Noelle Shiyou of Diamondhead, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mark David Sikora of Starkville, MS | BS Rylie Caitlin Simmons of Arlington, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sarah Caroline Sims of Montevallo, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bhupinder Singh of Columbia, MO | PHD Taylor Nicole Skeen of Hernando, MS | BS Courtney Renee Slattery of Houston, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jailyn Adrianna Smith of Rosedale, MS | BS Neil Wayne Smith of Walnut Grove, MS | BS, Cum Laude Taylor Marlow South of Eupora, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hailey Victoria Spillers of Terry, MS | BS Christian Sudduth Stanley of Mobile, AL | BS, Cum Laude Jamison Loyd Stennis of Trussville, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Homer Stevens of Booneville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Steven Bennett Stoker of Grenada, MS | BS Mary A. Stokes of Elba, AL | MS Charles L. Stokes of West Point, MS | PHD Lindsay Blake Streiff of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Arielle Grace Striplin of Hernando, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Asher Logan Sullivan of Nokesville, VA | MLA Emily Erin Sykes of Iuka, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude

Sara Nicole Talley of Corinth, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Peyton Alyssa Taylor of Irvington, AL | BS Andy R. Taylor of Nettleton, MS | MS Hunter Ryce Theunissen of Hollandale, MS | BS Kensey Maryssa Thomas of Starkville, MS | BS Brooklyn Paige Thompson of Lagrange, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Chandra Samone Thompson of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Cum Laude Leiana Marie Thornell of Vicksburg, MS | BS Bethany Lynn Tillman of Schlater, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kezia Virellia To of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Thien Hong To of Brandon, MS | BS Sydney Erin Toler of Collinsville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Nieko Miguel Torres of Riverdale, NJ | MS Tyler Breck Towles of Leland, MS | PHD Zachary Ray Treadway of Coldwater, MS | MS Brian Michael Tribble of Wilmington, NC | MABM Alexis K. Turnipseed of Mccool, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Elizabeth Paige Usery of Athens, AL | BS, Cum Laude Zachary Thomas Varner of Pelahatchie, MS | BLA Zachary Thomas Varner of Pelahatchie, MS | BS Brooklyn D. Waldrep of Steens, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Blake Evan Waldrip of Southaven, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jamie Leann Walker of Wynne, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kalli Dawn Wardrop of Waynesboro, MS | BS Lauren Marcella Waters of Dothan, AL | BS Brittney Lane Watkins of Forest, MS | BS Ember Lindsey West of Sumrall, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sadie Ann White of Byhalia, MS | BS Ryan J. Whitehouse of Albany, NY | MS Wilson Stone Whitener of Columbia, SC | BS Leah Jane Widmer of Philadelphia, PA | BLA Leah Jane Widmer of Philadelphia, PA | BS Cody Lee Wilhite of Tylertown, MS | BS Heather Diane Williams of Wildomar, CA | MS Anna Elizabeth Wilson of Woodville, AL | BS Dakota Lee Wood of Glen Burnie, MD | BS, Cum Laude Leeza M. Woodard of Rienzi, MS | BS Tierra Nichelle Woodard of Jackson, MS | BS, Cum Laude Courtney Nicole Wynn of Hope Hull, AL | BS Savannah Michel Yonge of Spring Hill, TN | BS Wyatt Austin Young of Hernando, MS | BS Brittany Lynn Zapata of Burlington, NJ | BS Tony Joseph Zbysinski of Biloxi, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Haley Kathryn Zetterholm of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE, ART & DESIGN Justin Cortez Alexander of Meridian, MS | BFA Hannah Lee Battey of Brandon, MS | BFA Rayce Curry Belton of Perkinston, MS | BARC Catherine Alexis Bennett of Columbus, MS | BFA, Cum Laude Carson Elizabeth Brantley of Pontotoc, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Veronica Ashley Brashear of Madison, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Hunter Everett Bullock of Nolensville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jonathon Bryan Burton of Starkville, MS | BS Timothy Lawell Bush of Starkville, MS | BFA Davis Linzy Byars of Tuscaloosa, AL | BARC Kayla Louise Cauthen of Natchez, MS | BFA Laura Kalyn Cole of Pearl, MS | BARC Tony Darnell Coleman of Gulfport, MS | BARC, Magna Cum Laude John Colton Cox of Brandon, MS | BS Sydney Caroline Cozart of Tuscumbia, AL | BFA, Summa Cum Laude Wesley Cordell Crenshaw of Irwinton, GA | BARC Amelia Grace Dalton of Vicksburg, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Joey Sanford Deaton of Flowood, MS | BS Steven Craig Dragoo of West Point, MS | BS Carl Stephen Elkins of Lucedale, MS | BS Jeremy Blake Farrar of Blue Springs, MS | BARC, Cum Laude Robert David Fatherree of Brandon, MS | BS Tatiana B. Flores of Forest, MS | BFA Gregory Reid Goza of Flora, MS | BS Blake Alexander Guthrie of Starkville, MS | BS Damion Savon Hardy of Lawrence, MS | BARC Peyton Anthony Harlow of Pelham, AL | BS, Cum Laude Lindsey Anne Harper of Starkville, MS | BFA Jessica Renae Hines of Hazel Green, AL | BARC Caylee Lenay Hubbard of Starkville, MS | BFA Matthew Charles Hudgins of Huntersville, NC | BARC Baleigh Alyssa Hull of Collinsville, MS | BARC Rosalind Grey Hutton of Tchula, MS | BFA Joshua Todd Jacobs of Madison, MS | BS Ryeley Karsons Jacobs of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Kacie Lynn James of Grenada, MS | BS Laura Kay Jones of Laurel, MS | BFA Garrett Bryce Jones of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Austin Lee Keaton of Soso, MS | BARC Amanda Carole Kotecki of Arlington, TN | BARC Alexandra Saba Ladewig of Pelham, AL | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Anthony S. Lowe of Jackson, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude

Amber Necole Mabry of Ridgeland, MS | BFA Susan Marie Marshall of Smithville, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Evan Stocker McElrath of Columbus, MS | BARC Robert Laurence Montoux of Plano, TX | BS Jacquelyn Victoria Mullins of Starkville, MS | BFA Christopher Kyle Murphy of Vicksburg, MS | BARC Demarques Terrell Nevels of Olive Branch, MS | BFA Asher Evans Paxton of Murfreesboro, TN | BARC, Magna Cum Laude Casey L. Pennebaker of Madison, MS | BS Robert Albert Scott of Flowood, MS | BARC Garrett Jackson Seal of Wiggins, MS | BFA, Cum Laude Tyler Ashton Seal of Ridgeland, MS | BS Christopher David Sharp of Waco, TX | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mimi Abbott Sheppard of Starkville, MS | BFA, Magna Cum Laude Jordan Xavier Smith of Jackson, MS | BARC Hunter Cade Smith of Starkville, MS | BFA Lilah Searcy Smith of Florence, MS | BFA, Cum Laude Mason Gregory Smith of Miramar Beach, FL | BS Mitchell Jackson Smith of Madison, MS | BS Jacob Lee Stovall of Senatobia, MS | BS Julia Elizabeth Thompson of Starkville, MS | BFA Victoria Ann Thompson of Spring Hill, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mark Alexander Todd of Navarre, FL | BS Jacob Nathaniel Turner of Memphis, TN | BARC Jalyn Rose Wallin of Double Springs, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Katie Noel Ware of Savannah, GA | BFA Charles Robinson Warlick of Jackson, MS | BARC Jackson Stuart Warren of Hoover, AL | BS Daniel Gerard Wikoff of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BARC, Cum Laude Case Lawson Woodward of Madison, MS | BS Justin Taylor Wright of Olive Branch, MS | BFA

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES Safa Badr Salem Abdulqawi of Starkville, MS | BS Anna Gale Alexander of Laurel, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Avis Aaliyah Alexander of Starkville, MS | BA Danielle Alexander of Lake, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Catelyn Elizabeth Allard of Clinton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Emily Elizabeth Allegrezza of Vestavia Hills, AL | BA, Cum Laude Donielle Desiree Allen of Mccalla, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Maxwell Lee Allen of Noxapater, MS | BS, Cum Laude Arwa Salem Alsaiari of Starkville, MS | MS Carolyn Angelo of Louisville, MS | MA Adrianna Danielle Aponte of Carriere, MS | BA Julia Elizabeth Argroves of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Sophia Evans Armata of Birmingham, AL | BS Luke William Armstrong of Flowood, MS | BA Sarah Chrysten Armstrong of Starkville, MS | BA Shelby Kate Arnold of Starkville, MS | BS Amy Elizabeth Arrington of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Toni Alexandra Arroyave of Marco Island, FL | BS, Cum Laude Sumudu Ayesha Athukorale of Starkville, MS | PHD Mallory Jo Aughtman of Jefferson City, MO | BSW, Cum Laude Mattie Taylor Baker of Bailey, MS | BS Mary Webb Ballou of Bailey, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Nathan Barclay of Starkville, MS | MS Caitlyn Elizabeth Barger of Gadsden, TN | BSW, Magna Cum Laude Brantley Aaron Barksdale of Starkville, MS | BA, Cum Laude Doris Lofton Barksdale of Starkville, MS | BS Mae Elisabeth Barnes of Tupelo, MS | BS Kevin Matthew Barnes of Starkville, MS | MS Christian Jade Barnette of Starkville, MS | BA Samantha Ann Beckham of Meridian, MS | BSW Shronda Beeks of Amory, MS | BS Taylor Grace Beerman of Southaven, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jonathan Belanich of Lindenhurst, NY | PHD Blake Stewart Bell of Lexington, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mary Elliott Benakovich of Gulf Shores, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Taylor Marie Bendell of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Katherine Jane Bender of Yonkers, NY | BA Shaneyra Sharda Bennamon of De Kalb, MS | BS Michael Todd Bennett of Starkville, MS | BS Regan Moore Bernardoni of Walkersville, MD | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Hanna Berry of Madison, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Brooke Elizabeth Berry of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Emily Kate Beyea of Brandon, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Avery McKee Billingsley of Saltillo, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Andrea Marie Black of Kosciusko, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ethan Eryk Black of Fort Wayne, IN | BS, Cum Laude Robert Gain Black of Navarre, FL | BS, Cum Laude Timothy Jordan Blackwell of Brandon, MS | BA Kiara Breshawn Davis Blackwell of Starkville, MS | BS Susan Lynn Blackwell of Laurel, MS | BS Bentley McClain Blair of West Point, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Dondreia Senia Blanchard of Tupelo, MS | BA Mandalin Love Blanton of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Heather Blythe of Amarillo, TX | MS Tori Ashley Boatner of West Point, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Robert Donald Boles of Rose Hill, MS | BA

Akira Shantel Bolton of Columbia, MS | BA Justin Lamar Bond of Allentown, PA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rachel Annette Bond of Jayess, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Vanessa Katherine Bond of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Amanda Elizabeth Boneau of Lake Jackson, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kristopher Ashlock Boone of Watauga, TX | BS, Magna Cum Laude Emily Morgan Boornazian of Downingtown, PA | BA Amanda Shyann Boothe of Bassfield, MS | BS Mary Catherine Boring of Nashville, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Landon Scott Bounds of Union, MS | BA, Cum Laude Jamie K. Bowen of Byhalia, MS | BS, Cum Laude Emily Grace Box of Jackson, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Brianna Makayla Boyd of Okolona, MS | BA, Cum Laude William Alan Bracken of Meridian, MS | BA, Cum Laude Lauren Grace Brady of Byhalia, MS | BA Rachel Ellen Brantley of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Catherine Jaye Bratton of Madison, MS | BS Alyssa Michelle Breazeale of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sydney Laikan Breazeale of Philadelphia, MS | BSW, Magna Cum Laude Khamaya Janea Brooks of Columbus, MS | BA Zofia Tyler Broughton of Livingston, AL | BS, Cum Laude Dominique M. Brown of Starkville, MS | BA, Cum Laude Edward Calhoun Brown of Starkville, MS | BA Caitlin Rose Brown of Safety Harbor, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Colton Miller Brown of Hamilton, AL | BS Frederick Dionte Brown of Jackson, MS | BS Jasmine Janae Brownlee of Vardaman, MS | BA Nakayla Nashun Brownlee of Winona, MS | BS Wesley Clay Bunch of Sturgis, MS | MPPA Madeline N. Burdine of Houston, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Gerry Ann Burford of Camden, AL | BS Austin Jarod Burl of Calhoun City, MS | BS Julianna Hope Burnham of Cullman, AL | BS Casey Leighann Busby of Saint Stephens, AL | BS, Cum Laude Laura Bess Buskirk of Tupelo, MS | BSW Ashli R. Butler of Columbus, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ashley Nicole Butler of Union, MS | BSW Delaney Lauren Butts of Brandon, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Randa Elizabeth Byars of Steens, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Gracie Erin Byrne of Brookhaven, MS | BA, Cum Laude Aubry Skyler Cabaniss of Diamondhead, MS | BS Greyson Mosby Calhoun of Collinsville, MS | BS Scott Edward Camilleri of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Hayden James Campbell of Olive Branch, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Margaretta Campbell of Meridian, MS | BAT Sydney Dillon Canaday of Maylene, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Julia Ann Canfield-Phillips of Bartlett, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Marissa G. Cannon of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Morgan Barrett Cantrell of Aberdeen, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Grace Anne Carlson of Signal Mountain, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Morgan Paige Carroll of Batesville, MS | BS Stephanie Brooke Carter of Ocean Springs, MS | BA Tyson Gregory Carter of Starkville, MS | BS John H. Cartwright of Starkville, MS | PHD Courtney Renee Carver of Lucedale, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Emily Brandon Case of Richmond, VA | BA, Magna Cum Laude Nicholas Kent Casey of Vardaman, MS | BS Sarah Camille Caveness of Marietta, MS | BS Anthony Craig Cawthorn of De Kalb, MS | BS Christopher Chatman of Magee, MS | BS Julia Christian of Cordova, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Taylor Elizabeth Churchwell of Hernando, MS | BSW, Magna Cum Laude Stephen Chase Clark of Biloxi, MS | BA David Quentin Clark of Silver Creek, MS | PHD Sarah Elizabeth Claxton of Memphis, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Tiara Lynn Clemmons of Starkville, MS | BA, Cum Laude Nathan Ryan Cleveland of Dennis, MS | BA Triston Paige Coats of Union, MS | BA Kelly Diane Coble of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Lauren Nicole Cockrell of Magee, MS | BS Joshua Daniel Coggins of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Ashea Brianonya Cole of Greenwood, MS | BA Zanisha Cole of Lamar, MS | BA Annabel Lee Cole of Huntsville, AL | BS Myranda Reshea Coley of Olive Branch, MS | BS Amari Ifeanyel Collins of Memphis, TN | BA Cecilia Catherine Collins of Biloxi, MS | BS, Cum Laude Tiffany R. Collins of Meridian, MS | BSW Lucas P. Comfort of Madison, MS | BA Isabelle Nicole Comfort of Cordova, TN | BS Julia Claire Concolino of Fayetteville, GA | BA, Summa Cum Laude Cheyenne Elizabeth Conkin of Madison, AL | BA, Cum Laude Omarr Shamire Conner of Ridgeland, MS | BS Cara Grace Connors of Simpsonville, SC | BS, Magna Cum Laude Paxton Kane Cook of Collinsville, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Rashon C. Cook of Starkville, MS | BS Amarrah Nicole Cooks of Columbia, SC | BA Hudson Phillips Coombs of Nashville, TN | BA Allie Brooke Cooper of Carriere, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Neal Cooper of Jackson, TN | MS

James David Cope of Sacramento, CA | PHD Mariah Paige Corbell of Ida, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Charlotte Denise Corr of Franklin, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Skyler Michelle Cox of Meridian, MS | BA Robert Paul Craven of Apo, AP | BS, Cum Laude Ray-Vernard Crusoe of Madison, MS | BA Richenda Lashay Crutcher of Holly Springs, MS | BS Joshua Quentin Cummins of Flowood, MS | BS Shakylan Bernard Cunningham of Starkville, MS | BS Kimberly Wayne Curtis of Vicksburg, MS | BS Michael Tyler Curtis of Tiplersville, MS | BS David Vincent D’Angelo of Brandon, MS | BS Ashley Christine Dafoe of Thornton, CO | MA Shannon Christen Dalene of Hixson, TN | BS, Cum Laude Tyler Blake Daniel of Starkville, MS | MA Ashlan Brooke Daniels of Cordova, TN | BA Joshua Lashawn Dantzler of Columbus, MS | BS Savon Dewayne Daughtery of Starkville, MS | BS Kelsi Michele Davidson of Raymond, MS | BS Arielle De’Jahna Davis of Starkville, MS | BS Cayla Selena Davis of Starkville, MS | BS Victoria Banks Davis of Starkville, MS | BS Danielle Piper Davis of Fleming Island, FL | MS Ana Alicia Dean of Brandon, MS | BS Micah Ray Dear of Madison, MS | BA Dottie L. Dearen of Mccool, MS | BS John Byron Dennis of Brandon, MS | BA Emma Caroline Denson of Decatur, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Haleigh Alece Denton of Morton, MS | BA Krishna Dipakkumar Desai of Ridgeland, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Wesley Fox DeVaughn of Tupelo, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Brian Anthony DeVeau of Biloxi, MS | MS Delani Alise Distefano of Franklin, TN | BA, Magna Cum Laude Erica Valentina Dixon of Starkville, MS | BA Autumn L. Dodson of Brandon, MS | BS Julia Anne Domenech of Oak View, CA | PHD Cassidy Leigh Doss of Hernando, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Gabrielle Reanna Doss of Fayette, MS | BSW Tamoris Vontae Draine of Eupora, MS | BS Nathan K. Drake of Starkville, MS | PHD Michaela Ruth DuBose-Schmitt of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Grace Isabel Duggan of Jonesboro, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Renordna Christy Dukes of Meridian, MS | BSW, Magna Cum Laude Kelsey Darnyelle Duncan of Marietta, GA | BA Hannah Grace Dunlap of Belmont, MS | BS, Cum Laude Danny R. DuPree of Amarillo, TX | BS Jack Michael Eagan of Wautoma, WI | BS Alyssa Kaye Easterling of Benton, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Whitney Brooke Eddy of Haleyville, AL | BA Samuel Paje Edmonson of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Lauren Nicole Edwards of Madison, MS | BS Tunisha Tyia Ellis of Newton, MS | BS Clayton Riley England of Arab, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Maryasa Martin England of Hernando, MS | MPPA Raana Victoria Esmaeili of Mccomb, MS | BA Philemon Terrell Evans of Riverdale, GA | BA Brian Evans of Powder Springs, GA | BS Torrye Raymond Evans of Jackson, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lauren Jane Ezzell of Athens, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Olivia Grace Fahrmann of Orange Beach, AL | BA, Magna Cum Laude Haden Christopher Felsher of Biloxi, MS | BS, Cum Laude Isidora Rebecca Fereday of Summit, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Avery Kathleen Ferguson of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Hannah Frances Feruglio of Germantown, TN | BS, Cum Laude Brianna Nicole Fields of Tupelo, MS | BS Evan D. Fierro of Madison, AL | BA Nicholas Joseph First of Starkville, MS | BS Mckenzie Kathryn Fish of Dacula, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brandon Michael Fisher of Vernon Hills, IL | BA Savannah Nicole Fleming of Athens, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mia Elizabeth Fontenot of Gulfport, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Adeline Elizabeth Ford of Tuscaloosa, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Laken Gwen Fowler of Eupora, MS | BS Austin Michael Franks of Iuka, MS | BA, Cum Laude Alexandra Marie Freeman of Birmingham, AL | BA, Cum Laude Jacob Bishop Freeman of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Joseph E. French of Starkville, MS | MS Sarah Love Frey of Jackson, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Elise Ellen Fullwood of Madison, MS | BS Thomas Alan Gammon of Southaven, MS | BS Andrew McKinley Gardner of Corinth, MS | BA Ashlee Brooke Garlington of Clinton, MS | BS Peyton Leigh Garrison of Pinson, AL | BS, Cum Laude Thomas James Garrison of Columbus, MS | BS Madelynn Cynthia Garza of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BA Brittany Paige Gaston of Semmes, AL | BS Keaundra Nakayla Gavin of Jackson, MS | BA Morgan Brooke Gay of Chelsea, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Nathaniel Bruce Gentry of Southaven, MS | BS, Cum Laude Conne Alicia George of Starkville, MS | MS

Madison Renee Giammona of Las Vegas, NV | BA Brooke Morgan Gibson of Biloxi, MS | BA Lakendra Sierra Gibson of Terry, MS | BS Annaliese Lee Gill of Moss Point, MS | BS, Cum Laude Thomas Cole Gilman of Collierville, TN | BS Michael Frederick Godley of Starkville, MS | BS Ana Karen Gonzalez of Ocean Springs, MS | MA Desiree Veronica Goodfellow of Gulfport, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Grace Shannon Goodman of Meridian, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Briana Kelsi Goudeau of Hammond, LA | BA, Cum Laude Nathan Shay Gragg of Meridian, MS | BS Lakesiah Keshay Green of Batesville, MS | BA Emily O’Neal Green of Starkville, MS | MPPA Taylor Elise Greer of Belden, MS | MA Deion James Griffin of Byhalia, MS | BS Grayson Sanders Griffith of Pontotoc, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Rebekah Lois Grisham of Starkville, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Chelsea Marie Grissett of Meridian, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Kenneth Wayne Groce of Memphis, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Sabrina Lynn-Marie Guichard of Ocean Springs, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Molly Douglas Guillory of Cumming, GA | BS Alizabeth Adam Guillot of Rayville, LA | BA, Magna Cum Laude Preety Gurung of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude William E. Hagel VI of Horn Lake, MS | BS Ian Baker Halbert of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Christian David Hall of Butler, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mya Sha’Kira Hall of Courtland, MS | BSW, Cum Laude Sakidra Q. Hamilton of Tupelo, MS | BS Madelyn Claire Hammond of Saltillo, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ashley Nicole Hannah of Saltillo, MS | BS Elizabeth Ashley Hardgrave of Mandeville, LA | BS Alexius Harley Hardin of Meridian, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Alycea Auntryce Hardin of Starkville, MS | BS Maddox Lamar Hargett of Indianola, MS | BS Hope Tierre Harrington of Louisville, MS | BS Andrew Dennis Harris of Lauderdale, MS | BA Brian Ernest Harris of Memphis, TN | MA Michael Deion Harris of Starkville, MS | MA Wesley Clay Harrison of Mathiston, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Joseph Andrew Harrison of Athens, GA | MPPA Jordana Frost Hart of Meridian, MS | BS David A. Hatfield of Huntsville, AL | MA Ashley Catherine Hatton of Etta, MS | BS Rhonda Renee Hearn of York, AL | BSW Nicholas Blaine Hebert of Alexandria, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sarah Kathryn Heifner of Huntsville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Terranecia La’Bria Henderson of Madison, MS | MPPA Sara Madison Hendrix of Tupelo, MS | BA, Cum Laude Alexis De’Cheryl Hendrix of Toomsuba, MS | BSW, Cum Laude Amelia Ruth Henson of Philadelphia, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Olivia Rosemary Hernandez of Phoenix, AZ | BS, Summa Cum Laude Connor Benton Herring of Starkville, MS | BA Charles David Herring of Mount Olive, MS | BS, Cum Laude Devon Laqua Herron of Greenville, MS | BS Adrienne Nicole Hicks of Starkville, MS | BS Denzel D’Juan Hicks of Columbus, MS | BS Kayleigh Ashton Higdon of Pensacola, FL | BS, Cum Laude Dontarious C. Higgins of Olive Branch, MS | BS Trace Cobia Hilbun of Oxford, AL | BS Rickie Lavorn Hill of Columbus, MS | BA Rebecca Ann Hill of Fort Walton Beach, FL | PHD Matthew Himel of Brooksville, MS | PHD Alexis Morgan Hinson of Lakeland, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lydia June Hinton of Bay Springs, MS | BS Giulia Elizabeth Hintz of Columbus, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Benjamin Wesley Hobbs of Griffin, GA | BA, Summa Cum Laude Kayla T. Hoggs of Horn Lake, MS | BS Noah William Holbrook of Denham Springs, LA | BA, Summa Cum Laude Samantha Lynn Holbrook of Saint Charles, MO | BA Emily Michelle Holland of Olive Branch, MS | BA Christa Joyce Ann Holloway of Baldwyn, MS | BA Robin Nicole Holly of Grenada, MS | BA Kyra D. Holmes of Loganville, GA | BS Melissa Anne Hopkins of Royal, AR | BS Brandon Jermaine Horton of Jackson, MS | BA Emily Jayne Hounshell of Franklin, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Kallie Nichole Hubbard of Eupora, MS | BSW, Cum Laude Jessica Nicole Hulsey of Lynn, AL | MPPA Clay Matthew Hunker of Fishers, IN | BA Lauren Elizabeth Hunt of Brandon, MS | BA, Cum Laude Kierstynn Arielle Hunter of Arlington, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Crystal E. Hurt of Coldwater, MS | BS Matthew Ryan Hutchison of Hampton, GA | BS Christopher Lane Hynum of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Adjoa D. Intsiful of Starkville, MS | MS Kalee Analece Irby of Jackson, MS | BS Reagan Cavender Irby of Brandon, MS | BS Britnee Raynecia Isaac of Meridian, MS | BS Abby Cannon Ivy of Columbus, MS | BSW James Vincent Jackson of Bay Minette, AL | BA, Cum Laude

Ashlyn Shanyia Jackson of Prattville, AL | BS Donald Wayne Jackson of Pearl, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Emberly Katelyn Jackson of Tupelo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Howard Jackson of Starkville, MS | MS Shelby Chartier Jaco of Huntsville, AL | BS Kdarius Lamonte Jarrett of Olive Branch, MS | BS Emily R. Jeanmard of Sumrall, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Ryan Daniel Jeffries of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Scott Kenneth Jenkins of Sturgis, MS | BA Randi Lorene Jenkins of Pass Christian, MS | BS Tammie R. Jennings of Meridian, MS | BAT Daja Tiara Jennings of Starkville, MS | BS Gillian Kaye Jinkins of Mendenhall, MS | BA, Cum Laude Hannah Nicole Johnson of Alpharetta, GA | BA Jada Trece Johnson of Starkville, MS | BA Lacee Deanna Johnson of Crawford, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Amanda Elizabeth Johnson of Rowlett, TX | BS Bethany H. Johnson of Walnut Grove, MS | BS Charles Philip Johnson of Tupelo, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jada Quinnise Johnson of Brandon, MS | BS Jena Rachelle Johnson of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Karlee Machelle Johnson of Fairhope, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Brad N. Johnston of Glenmora, LA | MA Breanna Yasmeen Jones of Raymond, MS | BA Falon Adalia Jones of Forest, MS | BA Kiara La’Shuntae Jones of Vicksburg, MS | BA Anna Marie Jones of Decatur, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Camille Jones of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Blake Randall Jones of Lawrence, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Christain Lajamees Jones of Macon, MS | BS, Cum Laude Dontea Davis Jones of Mccool, MS | BS Chartese Darnel Jones of Belzoni, MS | PHD Kayla Marie Jordan of Sweet Water, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Rachael Morganne Jordan of Loxley, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Kristina Alexus Jordan of Starkville, MS | BS Ty-Kia Tatiana Joseph of Grenada, MS | BS William Arthur Joseph of Starkville, MS | MA Justin Luke Josey of Starkville, MS | BS Kendall Estelle Junker of Madison, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jolie Kate Kavanagh of Biloxi, MS | BS Samuel Gillespie Kealhofer of Starkville, MS | MA Ashley D. Kelly of Quitman, MS | BS Mary Cecil Kimbrell of Inverness, MS | BS Anfernee Kywon King of Fulton, MS | BS Sean Mitchell Klaus of Collierville, TN | BS Sarah Katherine Kuhn of Lake Wylie, SC | BA Mary Madeline La Mastus of Cleveland, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Taylor Jenai Lairy of West Point, MS | BS Robert W. Lamb of Starkville, MS | PHD Christana Kay Landress of Buford, GA | MS Tristan Gage Langlois of Mcdonough, GA | BS Julia Kathleen Langnes of Alabaster, AL | BA Kara M. Larson of Delton, MI | MA Marisa Gabriella Laudadio of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Morgan Rachel Lauher of Springfield, IL | BA, Cum Laude Brenna Elise Lawrence of Spring Hill, TN | BS Jacob Riley Lawrence of Lubbock, TX | BS Hailey Michelle Lawson of Clarksville, TN | BS Elijah Peerson Layman of Pompano Beach, FL | BA, Cum Laude Parker Miller Lee of Southaven, MS | BA, Cum Laude Seung Heon Lee of Starkville, MS | BS Bailey Carmel Lehmann of Waterloo, IL | BS, Cum Laude Ulufa Epifania Leilua of Hawthorne, CA | BS Marisela Leon of Dyersburg, TN | BS Genevieve Marcelle Leonard of Pensacola, FL | BS Alexandra Harrington Leslie of Woodstock, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Anna-Katherine Nicole Lewellen of Collierville, TN | BA Robert Frank Lewis of Montgomery, AL | BA Frances Elaine Lewis of Jackson, MS | BS Naomi Grace Lewis of Eupora, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kangqi Li of Starkville, MS | MS Jase Lee Gonzales Lias of Southaven, MS | BS Julee Ilana Lieberman of Vicksburg, MS | BA Graham Walker Lightsey of Petal, MS | BA Renada Deann Lilly of Choctaw, MS | BS Lauren Leann Lindsey of Gardendale, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Sara Lizariturry Setien of Mississippi State, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Grant A. Long of Dallas, GA | BA Kevin Michael Lovell of Starkville, MS | BS Lauren Taylor Lucas of Louisville, MS | BA Evan Kenneth Lund of Starkville, MS | BA Caroline Nicole MacDonald of Murfreesboro, TN | MS Luke Andrew Mackay of Starkville, MS | BA, Cum Laude Ben Karl Mackin of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Zadarius D’Anthony Macklin of Jackson, MS | BA Yasiru Randika Perera Mahamarakkalage of Starkville, MS | PHD Ceolia Griffin Marion of Pheba, MS | BS Randeep Reddy Marri of Kosciusko, MS | BS Sadie Katherine Marshall of Dekalb, MS | BS Sarah Rae Marshall of Topanga, CA | BS

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 33

Crista Alexis Martin of Greenville, MS | BA Abigail Nicole Martin of Covington, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Semaj Cordell Martin-Redd of Brandon, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Abigail H. Mason of Rockmart, GA | BS, Cum Laude Sara Taylor Mathis of Carthage, MS | BA R’Najee Ariel Matthews of Okolona, MS | BS Anna Brooke May of Collierville, TN | BA, Magna Cum Laude Jessica Conerly Mayts of Tampa, FL | BA, Magna Cum Laude Charlotte Ann McBride of Kosciusko, MS | MA Emily Rita McCabe of Foley, AL | BS Chalandria Arenette McCall of Cordova, TN | BS Autumn Paisley McCann of Savannah, GA | BS Clayton Scott McCann of Memphis, TN | BS Zachary Michael McCarthy of Biloxi, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Nikayla Gabrielle McClelland of Clinton, MS | BS Brandon Lee McClure of Meridian, MS | BA Kayla Diane Mcconnell of Starkville, MS | PHD Andrew Robert Mccormick of La Plata, MD | MS Amye Faith McDonald of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Giulia Ronnette McDonald of Perkinston, MS | BS Edward Kennon McGavran of Belmont, NC | BA, Cum Laude Anna Elizabeth McGuire of Collierville, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Tori Jorice Mcintosh of Meridian, MS | BS Amber Nicole McKenzie of Quitman, MS | BS Sarah Jessica McKinley of Tylertown, MS | BS Jonathan Dewayne McKinney of Ridgeland, MS | BS Madalyn Ann-Marie McMahon of Dekalb, MS | BS Molly Elise McMahon of Summit, MS | BS Autumn Diane McMillan of Philadelphia, MS | BA Melanie Carol McMillan of Lake, MS | BS Carr Eaton McMorris of Taylorsville, MS | BS Keyunna Ja’Nay McNeil of Byram, MS | BS Devain Price McQueen of Louisville, MS | BS Amber Lynne Medlin of Leola, AR | BS David Erich Mees of Knoxville, TN | BS Kiara Natasha Merrill of Taylorsville, MS | BS Katherine Elizabeth Mertes of Memphis, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Samuel Easton Michael of Booneville, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Angelique Carmela Mickens of Greenwood, MS | BA Lee Gannon Miles of Brownsboro, AL | BA, Cum Laude Abby Caroline Miles of Mcgehee, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Beau Bryant Miller of Meridian, MS | BA Jonathan Duncan Miller of Starkville, MS | BA Andrew Ryan Miller of Gulfport, MS | BS, Cum Laude Lester Jeremiah Miller of Morrow, GA | BS Kayla Denae Minor of Starkville, MS | BA Meredith Suzanne Minshew of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Blaklie Elizabeth Mitchell of Rienzi, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jackson Moore Mitchell of Starkville, MS | BS Madison Lee’Ellen Mitchell of Woodland, MS | BS Maranda Leann Mitchell of Elkmont, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ashlee Jane Mitchke of Brandon, MS | BS, Cum Laude Hannah Elizabeth Mizell of Hallsville, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alyssa Michelle Moncrief of Clinton, MS | BA Braden Thomason Moore of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Cum Laude Jessie Wayne Moore of Houston, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Walter Thomas Moore of French Camp, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mallorie Rachael Moore of Starkville, MS | BSW, Summa Cum Laude Shelby Caroline Morgan of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Amber Grace Morgan of Starkville, MS | MA Naja T. Morris of Matteson, IL | BA Hailey Brooke Morris of Philadelphia, MS | BS Olivia Joy Morris of Olive Branch, MS | BS Audrie Elizabeth Moses of Longview, TX | BS, Magna Cum Laude Callie Elaine Moss of Theodore, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Danielle Eugena Moss of Acworth, GA | BS Olivia Lakin Murtagh of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jason Michael Mustard of Bend, OR | MS Aaron Richard Myler of Plum, PA | MS Sarah Marie Myrick of Cartersville, GA | BA, Cum Laude Lyndsi Parker Naron of Cleveland, MS | BA Peyton Reid Neal of New Albany, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Nadiuska Aolani Nelson of Gautier, MS | BS William Newman of Enterprise, MS | BAT Savio H. Nguyen of Pass Christian, MS | BS Jacob Hunt Nichols of Oxford, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sarai S. Niu of Chula Vista, CA | BA Veronica Jean Norman of Fort Worth, TX | BS Jennifer Marie Norris of Starkville, MS | BS Zynekkia Lueteshia Nunnally of Corinth, MS | BS, Cum Laude Matthew James O’Quinn of Hattiesburg, MS | BA, Cum Laude Hannah Eugenie Oehlerts of Richardson, TX | BA Theophilus Boluwatife Okunlola of Starkville, MS | MA Kellan Kiora Osby of Arlington, TN | BA Tyranni Outlaw of Starkville, MS | BA Anna Marie Owens of Ridgeland, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude April Pace Alhashedi of Starkville, MS | BSW Amanda Caroline Pankratz of Pearland, TX | BS Bohyun Park of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Juan Marquez Parker of Moss Point, MS | BA

34 SUMMER 2020

Sarah Grace Parker of Clinton, MS | BA Chloe Rachel Parker of Smithville, MS | MS Samantha Marie Parry of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Stephanie Brook Parsons of Tishomingo, MS | BS, Cum Laude Srushti Rakesh Patel of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Shelby Jo Patti of Hammond, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mary Grace Payne of Cordova, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Cameron Bradley Peets of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude George Edward Penniman of Savannah, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Caitlyn J. Penton of Mclain, MS | BA, Cum Laude Destiny De’Anna Perkins of Holly Springs, MS | BS Daniel Alan Permenter of West Point, MS | BA Jordan Donovan Perry of Nashville, TN | BA Matthew Hunter Perry of Madison, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Stephanie M. Perry of Senatobia, MS | BS Hannah Susanne Phillips of Nesbit, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Alie Katherine Phillips of Pensacola, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ariel Lanae Phillips of Memphis, TN | BS Logan Scott Phillips of Starkville, MS | BS Carly Lorraine Pippin of Carthage, MS | BA, Cum Laude Deshawn Raheem Pittman of Vossburg, MS | BS Walker Ellis Plunkett of Aberdeen, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Alec Hayden Plunkett of Amory, MS | BS, Cum Laude Daniel Antonio Ponce of Hernando, MS | BA Mary Caitlin Poulos of Biloxi, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hannah Grace Pounds of Brookhaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Rebecca Ann Poynor of Olive Branch, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Shelbie Blair Prather of Starkville, MS | BA Miranda Caitlin Prather of Guntown, MS | BS Hannah Rene Pray of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Macenzie Elizabeth Preston of Owens Cross Roads, AL | BS Cody Mathew Benson Prewitt of Starkville, MS | BA Eddie Price of Canton, MS | BS Brett Ryan Prill of Bellevue, NE | BA Sara Elizabeth Pritchard of Germantown, TN | BA, Summa Cum Laude Katelyn Sue Provine of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Megan J. Raden of Starkville, MS | MS Mariah Randall of Adolphus, KY | BS Alliene Fisher Randle of Fulton, MS | BA Madison Reece Rawdon of Spring Hill, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kaley Marie Read of Naples, FL | BS Claire Elizabeth Reed of Madison, MS | BSW, Cum Laude Stewart Allen Reese of Fort Pierce, FL | BS Cade James Reesman of Dacula, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Audrey Leigh Reid of Starkville, MS | MS Laci Delamar Renfroe of Brookhaven, MS | BS, Cum Laude Micheal Andrew Reynolds of Choctaw, MS | BAT Kimberly Lynn Reynolds of Ellisville, MS | BS De’Aris Jazmon Rhymes of Starkville, MS | MA Wesley Amanda Richards of Memphis, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lamerica Antonette Richardson of Starkville, MS | BS Ramon Antonio Richardson of Pascagoula, MS | BS, Cum Laude Maggie Mae Henderson Rider of Ashland City, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jamari Allen Riptoe of Jackson, MS | BS Kathleen Elisabeth Ritter of Starkville, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Liz Elaina Roark of Enid, MS | BA Daniel Kevin Robinson of Marietta, MS | BA Angelica K. Robinson of Potts Camp, MS | BS Jesse Anna Robinson of Scobey, MS | BS Dillon Christopher Rodriguez of Essex, CT | BA Mary Amelia Rodriguez of Milton, FL | BA, Magna Cum Laude Caleb Lawrence Roedel of Starkville, MS | BS Peyton Harrison Rogers of Brookhaven, MS | BS Taylor Janee Rogers of Starkville, MS | BS Arlonda Jonell Rollings of Starkville, MS | BA Mikenzie Ann Rosamond of Clinton, MS | BS Justice Aaliyah Rule of Byram, MS | BS Morgan Kelsey Runyan of Picayune, MS | BS Sommer Meladi Rush of Philadelphia, MS | BSW Shelby Nicole Russell of Canton, MS | BS Sylvia Margaret Russell of Starkville, MS | BS Alyssa Joy Sanders of Southaven, MS | BS Ella Louise Schalski of Marion, MS | BA, Cum Laude Helen Claire Schwartz of Biloxi, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Erin Elizabeth Scoggin of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Kristopher Malik Scott of Birmingham, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Danielle Nicole Scott of Fort Worth, TX | BS Jessica Taylor Scroggins of Starkville, MS | BS Ryan Patrick Semmes of Starkville, MS | PHD Bailey Ann Sennett of Acworth, GA | BA, Cum Laude Miranda McHale Sennett of Maylene, AL | BS Cynthia Nicole Shadburn of Corinth, MS | BS Anna Kirksey Sheffield of Marietta, MS | BA Mary E. Shelby of Ridgeland, MS | BS Abby Eileen Shelton of Litchfield, IL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Cierra Chantel Shinault of Cordova, TN | BS Christina C. Shoemaker of Morton, MS | BSW David Henry Sides of Birmingham, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Rylie Caitlin Simmons of Arlington, TX | BA, Summa Cum Laude Miriam Hannah Sisk of Booneville, MS | BS

Christopher Stone Sisson of Columbus, MS | BS Dustin Daniel Skelton of Olive Branch, MS | BS David James Skrmetta of Biloxi, MS | BS Austin Malone Slater of Biloxi, MS | BS, Cum Laude Elijah Emile Smith of Natchez, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Tate Olivia Smith of Purvis, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Jamie Alexander Smith of Tupelo, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kathi Michelle Smith of Houston, MS | BS Teana Smith of Meridian, MS | BS Justin Benjamin Smith of Columbus, MS | PHD Erin Danyelle Snelling of Little Rock, AR | BA, Cum Laude Courtney Leeanne Sones of Carriere, MS | BA Joseph A. Soto-Guerrero of Suwanee, GA | BS Cori Johanna Speights of Mexia, TX | PHD Javontae D. Spivey of Forest, MS | BA, Cum Laude Jordan Hailey Spradlin of Pascagoula, MS | BA Yashaswin Sridhar of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Ryan Stachowiak of Vancleave, MS | BA Christopher Owen Stacy of Oxford, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alleah Nicole Stamatis of Jacksonville, FL | BS Wyatt Houston Stamm of Olive Branch, MS | BS Justin Ross Steffens of Vancleave, MS | BS Olivia Marie Steil of Brandon, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Mariah Jayne Stevens of Starkville, MS | BA Alayna N. Stevens of Mathiston, MS | BS Camille Christine Stevenson of Colleyville, TX | BA, Magna Cum Laude Darby Sue Stielstra of Franklin, TN | BA, Magna Cum Laude Jacob Alexander Stone of Robertsdale, AL | BS Kimberly Gail Stone of Spring Hill, TN | BS Amber Lynn Stoudenmire of Clarksville, TN | BS Stone Hargrove Strankman of Huntsville, AL | BA, Cum Laude Lindsay Blake Streiff of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Truli Dawn Xiujin Strickland of Corinth, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Karli Dianne Stringer of Sumrall, MS | BA, Cum Laude Anna Marie Stutzman of Crystal Springs, MS | BS Elliott Christine Suddoth of Leland, MS | BA, Cum Laude Zehavi D’ Undra Suggs of Collierville, TN | BS Jessica Marie Surma of Eupora, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Samuel Jacob Sweeting of Southaven, MS | BS Mary Katherine Swindoll of Hernando, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Noah Franklin Tackitt of Fulton, MS | BS Ahmad Taninah of Starkville, MS | MS Victoria Payton Tanner of Alabaster, AL | BA Lacie Alise Tarver of Wesson, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Leigh Constance Taylor of Johns Creek, GA | BA, Magna Cum Laude Britney Lee Taylor of Titusville, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jennifer Lynn Taylor of Carthage, MS | BS Lindsay Makina Taylor of Oceanport, NJ | BS Anna Elizabeth Tedford of Clarksdale, MS | BS Cameron Dru Temple of Brookhaven, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Alyssa Leann Tessier of Hernando, MS | BS, Cum Laude Olivia Vanzandt Thaggard of Meridian, MS | BA Austin Ray Thelen of Tinley Park, IL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Willa Mae Thomas of Conehatta, MS | BA Tiffany Nicole Thomas of Brandon, MS | BS Curtis Alexander Thompson of Florence, NJ | BA Lauren Paige Tice of Hollandale, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Emily Lynn Tingle of Vicksburg, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Sara Beth Tinsley of West Point, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Heather Michelle Tolar of Columbia, MS | BA Jimmie William Toler of Pass Christian, MS | BS Mary Emmeline Tompkins of Biloxi, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Jamie Gail Topp of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Amber Brooke Travis of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Ellen E. Tribble of Starkville, MS | BS Cynthia La’Shay Triplett of Louisville, MS | BS Emily M. Trussell of Sallis, MS | BS Chardae Mariah Tryon of Corpus Christi, TX | BA Laci Joy Tubertini of Leland, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hollie Trent Tucker of Starkville, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Emma Madison Tucker of Tallahassee, FL | BS, Cum Laude Ethan Kyle Tucker of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Siena R. Turner of Pembroke Pines, FL | BA Shelby Renee Turner of Sallis, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kylie Rae Tuttle of Ocean Springs, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude John Christopher Tyler of Water Valley, MS | BS Meredith Susan Tyre of Starkville, MS | BA Kelsey Alana Valeri of Braselton, GA | BA, Cum Laude Noah Frederick Van Hartesveldt of Grand Rapids, MI | MS Rebecca Marie Van Pamel of Las Vegas, NV | BA, Magna Cum Laude Courtney Ann VanPelt of Anchorage, AK | BSW Ansley Dell Vaughn of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Adrienn Veisz of Starkville, MS | BS Kaitlin Diane Voda of Miami Shores, FL | BA Natalene Vonkchalee of Ridgeland, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Cameron Christopher Walker of Old Hickory, TN | BA Katherine Leigh Walker of Mississippi State, MS | BA, Cum Laude Alexis Nichole Walters of Bellevue, OH | BS Kelly Elise Waltman of Tomball, TX | BA Mia Anthonett Walton of Gulfport, MS | BS

Abbey Lynn Warbington of Marietta, GA | BA, Summa Cum Laude Hunter Chase Ward of Halls, TN | BS Taylor Jane Ward of Blue Mountain, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Samantha Shannon Warren of Forest, MS | BS Juliet Rose Warriner of Brandon, MS | BS Jaida Dornae Washington of Flora, MS | BS Gavin Everett Wasson of Winfield, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Megan Ruth Watkins of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Joinay A. Watts of Jackson, MS | BA Alexis Taylor Watts of Birmingham, AL | BS Sarah Frances Webb of Saltillo, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Britton Lee Webb of Saltillo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Elizabeth Windham Webb of Saltillo, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Andrew William Weddle of Saltillo, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Steven Hunter Welch of Saucier, MS | BS Taylor Grace Welch of Florence, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Searra Nicole Wells of Pearl, MS | BS Marion Marie Welsh of Ridgeland, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Devin Nathaniel Welton of Iuka, MS | BS Madison Grace Wheat of Starkville, MS | BA Anna Catherine Wheeler of Torrance, CA | BA Alex Steven Wheeler of Columbus, MS | BS Holli Ruth White of Fulton, MS | BS Weston Robert Whitehead of Amory, MS | BS Alex Robert Whiteman of Biloxi, MS | BA Carsen Grace Whitten of Madison, MS | BA, Cum Laude Katiana Deralin Wight of Starkville, MS | BSW Andrew Lamar Wilbourn of Starkville, MS | BA Kelcie Victoria Wilding of D’Iberville, MS | BS Twiggy Calloway Wiley of Ridgeland, MS | BS Hallie Dupont Williams of Port Orange, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jonathan Tyler Williams of Starkville, MS | BS Kenya Lavella Williams of Greenville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Keturah Santier Williams of Houston, MS | BS Vernonjae Scottlin Williams of Bay Minette, AL | BS Imelda Dionne Williams of Ridgeland, MS | BSW Alexandria Leah Williams of Lansing, MI | MS Dakota Lee Williamson of Brandon, MS | BA, Magna Cum Laude Christen Dakota Williamson of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Morgan Michele Willingham of Pelham, AL | BA, Summa Cum Laude Gates Prewitt Willson of Madison, MS | BA Audrey Denise Wilson of Pheba, MS | BA Madison Renee Wilson of West Point, MS | BS Elizabeth Grace Wingate of Brentwood, TN | BA Hannah Reese Winters of Ellerslie, GA | BS Herbert Wise of Davenport, FL | BA Kristopher Lee Witcher of Coldwater, MS | BA Tracy Bronson Woodruff of Corinth, MS | BA, Summa Cum Laude Keandra Dapree Woods of Southaven, MS | BS Nylan L. Woods of Jackson, MS | BS Latravion Marquez Woody of Tiplersville, MS | BS Aren Elaine Worrell of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rongrong Wu of Starkville, MS | MS Xiu Zhu Xu of Starkville, MS | PHD Autumn Dream Yarbrough of Walls, MS | BS Ismail Hakki Yigit of Starkville, MS | PHD Brooke Allison Younce of Foley, AL | BS, Cum Laude Gracyn Kallie Young of Medina, TN | BA Amy Katherine Young of Kailua, HI | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kaitlynn Young of Forest, MS | BS William Caleb Younger of Steens, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Eryk Andrew Yunk of Belvidere, IL | BA, Cum Laude Hailey Ryan Zerbel of Covina, CA | BS Gabrielle Marie Zgunda of Starkville, MS | BA Andrew Cordell Zittrouer of Johns Creek, GA | BS

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

John Harrison Adams of Santa Fe, TX | BBA Wyatt Maxwell Adcock of Brandon, MS | BBA Auria Elizabeth Agrinzoni of Owens Cross Roads, AL | BBA Samuel Kellis Allen of Noxapater, MS | BBA Elizabeth Arlene Amalfitano of Bellmore, NY | MBA Sloan Katherine Amos of Columbus, MS | BBA Darby Leeann Anderson of Forney, TX | BBA Rachel Marie Anderson of Keene, NH | BBA Deandra Monique Andrade of Starkville, MS | BBA Russell Jefferson Applewhite of Amory, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Andrew R. Ashe of Pontotoc, MS | BBA Sarah Elizabeth Ashley of Hazlehurst, MS | BBA, Cum Laude William Hunter Bailey of Brandon, MS | BBA Bailey Elizabeth Barnes of Marrero, LA | BBA Reid Latham Barnes of Yazoo City, MS | BBA Grace Elisabeth Barr of Madison, AL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Anna Christian Bass of Clarksdale, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Bryce Charles Batenhorst of Omaha, NE | MBA Clare Paschal Baumhauer of Pascagoula, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Andrew Ray Beaman of Franklin, TN | BBA Slade Odis Beech of Lucedale, MS | BBA Blake Lancaster Bell of Bay Saint Louis, MS | BBA Brooklyn Taylor Bell of Franklin, TN | BBA, Magna Cum Laude

Taylor Dion Bell of Laurel, MS | BBA Phillonta K. Belle of Biloxi, MS | BBA Juan Pablo Benavides of Greenville, MS | BBA Brooke Hartley Benninghoff of Charlotte, NC | BBA, Cum Laude Liam Michael Benson of Auburn, ME | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Ashley Annette Benton of Carriere, MS | BBA Mason Scott Berkowitz of Biloxi, MS | BBA Bryce Dunn Berry of Crystal Springs, MS | BBA Jack Robert Bishop of Brandon, MS | BBA Rebekah Joy Bisson of Sturgis, MS | MBA Preston Lee Black of Hendersonville, NC | MBA Laura Beth Blailock of Summit, MS | BBA Joseph Clayton Blount of Philadelphia, MS | BBA Margaret Elizabeth Boeye of Cumming, GA | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Jake Deshun Bohannon of Dekalb, MS | BBA Brooklyn Malorie Bolton of Red Bay, AL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Mary Catherine Boring of Nashville, TN | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Carley Elizabeth Bowers of Collierville, TN | BBA, Magna Cum Laude John Patrick Box of Calhoun, GA | BBA Kyle Wayne Boyken of Meridian, MS | BBA Maria Victoria Bracamonte Larios of Pembroke Pines, FL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Madison Linzey Bradford of Pelahatchie, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude William Rish Bradford of Southaven, MS | BBA Ebony Denise Bradley of Beaumont, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Brooke Renea Bridges of Brandon, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Anna Gabrielle Bringle of Collierville, TN | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Margaret Ruth Brinkley of Batesville, MS | BBA Tiffani L. Briscoe of Philadelphia, MS | BBA Grace Erin Broder of Charlotte, NC | MBA Dominique M. Brown of Starkville, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Marlin Braxton Brown of Maben, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Andrew F. Brown of Katy, TX | MBA Walker Patton Brown of Columbus, MS | MBA Blake Gregory Bulinski of Olive Branch, MS | BBA Kyle Anthony Burke of Apex, NC | MBA Olivia Leeann Burton of Brandon, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Bethany Leigh Buse of Mantachie, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Melissa Danielle Butler of Philadelphia, MS | BBA Toby Andrew Butler of Caledonia, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Cameron Ilona Caldwell of Memphis, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Jackson Monroe Caldwell of Tupelo, MS | BBA Christopher Daniel Call of Atlanta, GA | MBA Nicholas David Campbell of Decatur, IL | BBA Julia Ann Canfield-Phillips of Bartlett, TN | BBA, Summa Cum Laude John Frederick Carlson of Signal Mountain, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Collin Ray Carpenter of Pace, FL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Destiny Cheyenne Carter of Walnut Grove, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Joshua Franklin Carter of Canton, MS | MBA George Peyton Cathey of Collierville, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Darby Lynne Chaney of Collinsville, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Griffin Cameron Childers of Cordova, TN | BBA Sydney Elizabeth Chrislip of Brandon, MS | BBA Paul Daniel Chubb of Scottsboro, AL | BBA Matthew Houston Clark of Starkville, MS | BBA Caleb Lyle Clay of Meridian, MS | BBA Avery Dean Cobb of Acworth, GA | BBA, Cum Laude James Nicholas Cobb of Madison, MS | MBA Justus Kyle Cochran of Lucedale, MS | BBA Annaleigh Cole of Trussville, AL | BBA, Cum Laude Kelly Ann Coleman of Pheba, MS | BBA Kenish Quayana Coleman of Mound Bayou, MS | BBA Mila Marie Combs of Signal Mtn, TN | MBA Andrea Compper Banguillot of Starkville, MS | BBA Julia Claire Concolino of Fayetteville, GA | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Cheyenne Elizabeth Conkin of Madison, AL | BBA, Cum Laude Kristen Marie Connolly of Santa Monica, CA | MBA Ke’Darrion Damon Cook of Magnolia, MS | BBA Kenneth Foster Cook of Madison, MS | BBA Landon Myles Cook of Collinsville, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Amanda Michelle Cook Campbell of Newton, NC | MBA Alec Keenan Cooper of Arlington, TN | BBA Thomas Fulton Cooper of Columbus, MS | BBA Dominic Michael Correale of Germantown, TN | BBA Tyler Woodruff Cosby of Starkville, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Shan Michael Cothern of Terry, MS | BBA Joseph Anthony Couser of Chapin, SC | BBA Jamie Grace Crout of Madison, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Justin Andrew Crowley of Maben, MS | BBA, Cum Laude David Meyer Crystal of Jackson, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Jordan K. Danberry of Conway, AR | MBA Albany Leanne Davis of Newton, MS | BBA James D. Davis of Springfield, VA | MBA Chayse Dreux Delcuze of Diamondhead, MS | BBA Parker Dale Dial of Scooba, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude John Anthony Dickson of Terry, MS | BBA Jackson Daniel Dillehay of Nashville, TN | BBA Shaneshia Shunta Dixson of Lexington, MS | BBA Noah James Douglas of Tupelo, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Bradley Valton Douglas of Sumrall, MS | MBA Laura Elizabeth Dowe of Midland, GA | BBA, Magna Cum Laude

Katie Renee Dufour of Bailey, MS | BBA Khaleb Duhon of Picayune, MS | BBA Sarah Talbot Duke of Pelham, AL | BBA Timothy James Durham of Southaven, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Christina Michelle Durr of Magee, MS | BBA Maya Alexandria Easter of Olive Branch, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Reagan Lee Edwards of Diamondhead, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Robert Matthew Edwards of Houston, MS | BBA Mary Caitlyn Ellis of Tupelo, MS | BBA Abigail Lee Erwin of Adamsville, TN | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Nelson Kenneth Fabrizius of Germantown, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Charles Wyatt Farrior of Decatur, AL | BBA Josie Lynne Favre of Seminole, FL | BBA Matthew Evan Fells of Prattville, AL | BBA Marlin Fields Ferguson of Columbus, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Victoria Paige Ferguson of Houston, MS | BBA Michael William Ferrer of Covington, LA | BBA William Gallagher Fessler of Starkville, MS | MBA Elijah Grant Fisher of Brandon, MS | BBA Gracie Marie Flippo of Amory, MS | BBA John Alexander Floyd of Booneville, MS | BBA Jazlynn Arianna Franklin of Tupelo, MS | BBA Amanda Leigh French of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Sebastian Alejandro Freyre Aguirre of Starkville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Abdul-Razzaq Farag Gaber of Starkville, MS | BBA Morgan L. Gamble of Mccalla, AL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Pavia M. Gooch of Winfield, IL | MBA Drake Douglas Gordman of Columbus, MS | BBA Ronald Bryan Goss of Germantown, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Kara Elizabeth Gould of Flower Mound, TX | BBA Peyton Joshua Gowen of Brandon, MS | BBA Kenneth Drew Graham of Meridian, MS | BBA Mallorie Elizabeth Gray of Madison, MS | BBA Chelsea Renee Green of Pachuta, MS | BBA Nikolas John Green of Roswell, GA | BBA Terrence Alvin Green of Southaven, MS | BBA Alexis Savannah Greenlee of Starkville, MS | MBA Jackson Wyatt Greer of Cordova, TN | BBA Graham J. Gremillion of Long Beach, MS | BBA Dlana Nicole Griffin of Meridian, MS | BBA Sara Nicole Grisham of Baldwyn, MS | BBA Jefferson Bayless Guenther of Memphis, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Margaret Barnett Gunn of Birmingham, AL | BBA, Cum Laude Tyler Douglas Hancock of Hattiesburg, MS | PHD Afshin Hariri of Laguna Hills, CA | MBA Toby Bryce Harrell of Forest, MS | BBA Olivia Claire Harris of Lake, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Katelyn Elizabeth Harrison of Mize, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Devin Harvey of Millersville, MD | MBA Thomas Alexander Heath of Olive Branch, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Amelia Catherine Hein of North Wales, PA | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Taylor Bree Hendrickson of Pass Christian, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Erin Ashley Henry of Germantown, TN | BBA Xavier Dejong Herrien of Gulfport, MS | BBA Katherine Marie Hess of Ridgeland, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Nicholas A. Heth of Mountain Home Afb, ID | MBA Amanda Margaret Hill of Bude, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Eva Lauren Hill of Madison, MS | BBA Maxwell Hamilton Hill of Colorado Springs, CO | MBA Diamond Prenia Hilliard of Memphis, TN | BBA Kyle Michael Hillyard of Vancleave, MS | BBA Hannah Nicole Hilton of Starkville, MS | BBA Tyler Ward Hinson of Meridian, MS | BBA Giulia Elizabeth Hintz of Columbus, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Alexis Morgan Hirsig of Hales Corners, WI | BBA Carly Elizabeth Hitchens of Decatur, IL | BBA Benjamin Wesley Hobbs of Griffin, GA | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Jonathan Holifield of Mccomb, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Sarah Elizabeth Holliman of Tupelo, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Kiana Gervia Holmes of Tylertown, MS | BBA Kendall Ann Hudnall of Huntsville, AL | BBA Jacob Edward Hughes of Belden, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Gabrielle Diane Humphrey of Sarah, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Lincoln Bryce Hunter of New Madrid, MO | BBA, Cum Laude Ja’Kaiya Renae’ Hynes of Clinton, MS | BBA Zachary Stuart Irby of Hattiesburg, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Marjorie Norelle Iscoa of Starkville, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Mary Hannah Jarman of Greenwood, MS | MBA Caleb Jefferson of Starkville, MS | MSIS Ryan Daniel Jeffries of Starkville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Helen Claire Johnson of Coldwater, MS | BBA Tiffaney Johnson of San Diego, CA | BBA, Cum Laude Jonathan Franklin Jones of Collierville, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Stephen Christian Jones of Troy, OH | BBA James Davis Josey of Starkville, MS | BBA Graham McCormick Joyner of Flowood, MS | BBA Meredith Renee Kardokus of Franklin, TN | MBA John Patrick Keeler of Jackson, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Kenneth Jarrett Keyton of Lawrenceville, GA | BBA, Cum Laude Justin Walker Kimbrough of Houston, MS | BBA

William Patrick Kindred of Starkville, MS | BBA Michael Caleb King of Brookhaven, MS | BBA Jordan Alexandria Kirk of New Albany, MS | BBA John McGee Koester of Memphis, TN | MBA Daria Koksal of Shreveport, LA | MBA Emelyn Rose Kurtycz of Southaven, MS | BBA Christalin Grace Lacour of Brandon, MS | BBA Tyler Joseph Ladner of Pass Christian, MS | MBA Julia Kathleen Langnes of Alabaster, AL | BBA Morgan Rachel Lauher of Springfield, IL | BBA, Cum Laude Blake Todd Lawrence of Franklin, TN | BBA, Cum Laude James Markham Lawton of Land O Lakes, FL | MBA Brien Mykel Lewis-Carter of Lawrenceville, GA | BBA Kelly Rosalia Linley of Aberdeen, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Chandler Lee Lipscomb of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA Laurie Maegan Lloyd of Olive Branch, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Matthew Austin Loeffler of Collierville, TN | BBA Christopher Bradley Lowe of Starkville, MS | BBA Turner Pratt Lucas of Ruleville, MS | BBA Danielle Elizabeth Lyons of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Luke Andrew Mackay of Starkville, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Daniel William MacLaren of Austin, TX | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Cameron Michael Maddox of Starkville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Seth Roberts Male of Madison, MS | BBA Thomas Patrick Mallory of Columbus, MS | MBA Sara Elizabeth Martin of Pontotoc, MS | BBA Elizabeth P. Martin of Hoover, AL | MBA Odalis Oriana Martinez Boquillon of Mississippi State, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Analicia Janay Maxwell of Mckinney, TX | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Michael J. McAuley of Tucson, AZ | MBA Byron Charles McClendon of Brandon, MS | BBA Ethan Tyler McCoy of Little Rock, AR | BBA Christopher Brian McDaniel of Arlington, TN | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Carlee Ann McDonald of Raymond, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Cynthia Claire McGehee of Madison, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Jere Sheffield McGuffee of Germantown, TN | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Owen Michael McGuire of Pensacola, FL | BBA Taylor Ethan McKnight of Ecru, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Michael Benjamin McLain of Philadelphia, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Joshua Perry McManus of Oxford, MS | BBA Zachary Thomas Meadows of Birmingham, AL | BBA Andrea Alberto Melchiorre of Starkville, MS | MBA Rebecca Diane Meussner of Parsons, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Allison Marie Michaels of Piedmont, SC | BBA Bruno Vincent Milanese of Biloxi, MS | BBA Jes Charles Miller of Spring, TX | BBA Tara Nicole Miller of Alabaster, AL | BBA Steven Craig Miller of Laurel, MS | MBA Michael Clayton Mills of Picayune, MS | BBA Stephanie Dawn Mimbs of Meridian, MS | BBA Alexandria Celeste Mizelle of Lucedale, MS | BBA Jacob Bowen Mlsna of Starkville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude John Gregory Moore of Ridgeland, MS | BBA Nicholas Brady Moore of Brandon, MS | BBA Garhett Jackson Moseley of Huntsville, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Alyssa Nicole Myers of Long Beach, MS | BBA Mallory Leann Myers of Flowood, MS | BBA Matthew A. Nash of Southlake, TX | MBA Conner Lee Nason of Woodstock, GA | BBA Alex Jordan Nations of Bogue Chitto, MS | BBA Craig Neko Nave of Scooba, MS | BBA Jerlicia Shaqual Neely of Aberdeen, MS | BBA Nicholas Eli Newton of Knoxville, TN | MBA John Evan Nichols of Cartersville, GA | BBA, Cum Laude Stephanie Nigrinis of Horn Lake, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Kayla Marie Nobles of Moss Point, MS | BBA Travis Samtwan Norals of Hazlehurst, MS | BBA John Oliver Hall Norris of Huntsville, AL | MSIS Anthony Keith Novillo of Van Alstyne, TX | BBA Devontae D. Oliver of Biloxi, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Gabriela Danielle Ortiz of Bailey, MS | BBA Patrick McKain Ortlepp of Collinsville, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Alejandro Ozornio of Meridian, MS | MBA Zachary Burns Pace of Decatur, AL | BBA Ilse Padilla-Tello of Kosciusko, MS | BBA Jessica Brooke Parker of Little Rock, MS | BBA William Raines Parrish of Flowood, MS | BBA Kelsey Hope Patterson of El Dorado, AR | BBA, Cum Laude James Russell Payne of Fulton, MS | BBA John Christopher Penuel of Woodstock, GA | MBA Tristan Joseph Pertuit of Tampa, FL | BBA Michael Moore Pettit of Tupelo, MS | BBA Clifton Hopkins Peyton of Madison, MS | MBA Charlton Wesley Phillips of Madison, MS | BBA Ryan Alexander Phillips of Starkville, MS | MBA Steven Paul Pico of Saucier, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Jordan Robert Pierce of Ooltewah, TN | MBA Anna Lynn Pilecki of Greenwood, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Ryan Woods Pitalo of Bay St Louis, MS | BBA Charles Danny Plunkett of Starkville, MS | BBA

Adam Harlander Poganski of Sauk Rapids, MN | BBA Olivia Ander Pongetti of Tupelo, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Laterika Arnell Presley of Columbus, MS | BBA Brett Ryan Prill of Bellevue, NE | BBA Jared James Pullen of Brandon, MS | BBA Taylor Leigh Ransom of Altamonte Springs, FL | MBA Jacob John Ray of Jackson, MS | BBA Jacob Steed Ray of Olive Branch, MS | BBA Nicki Lee Reeder of Kiln, MS | MBA Taylor Mack Reeves of Gautier, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Reilly Marie Reeves of Madison, MS | MBA Amanda Lee Remke of Birmingham, AL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Anastasia Rentouli of Starkville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Justin Brock Rentz of Coldwater, MS | BBA Luke Anthony Restall of Canton, GA | BBA Luke Jared Reynolds of Shubuta, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Kertese Catera Richard of Lamar, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Brice Christian Richardson of Meridian, MS | BBA Evan Cole Rideout of Columbus, MS | BBA Blair Alaina Robinson of Quitman, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Grant Thomas Robinson of Madison, MS | BBA Matthew Jon Rogers of Biloxi, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Montana Kae Rogers of Richland, MS | BBA Andrew Ryan Roux of Olive Branch, MS | BBA Justin Michael Ruiz of Olive Branch, MS | BBA Charles Haden Rumsey of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA James David Runnels of Toomsuba, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Hayden Glenn Sanders of Brandon, MS | BBA Madison Clark Sanders of Gulf Shores, AL | BBA Shyicambree N. Sanders of Artesia, MS | BBA Victoria Leigh Sanders of Forest, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Walker Louis Sayle of Collierville, TN | MBA Jailyn Tiara Sayles of Pearl, MS | BBA Joachim May Schmidt of Biloxi, MS | MBA Alexander Kennedy Seaton of Adamsville, TN | BBA Sangbeom Seo of Starkville, MS | BBA Nathan John Seymour of Arlington, TN | BBA Tarek Shaaban of Spring, TX | MBA Joshua Baker Shank of Savannah, TN | BBA Scotty L. Sharp of Sturgis, MS | BBA David Henry Sides of Birmingham, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Brett Everett Siegrist of Overland Park, KS | MBA Hali Marie Sills of Sikeston, MO | BBA Cathy Janet Sims of Meridian, MS | BBA Helen Peake Sims of Meridian, MS | BBA John Alexander Sims of Madison, MS | BBA Jonathan Caleb Singletary of Mandeville, LA | BBA, Cum Laude Brady Tyler Sistrunk of Starkville, MS | MBA Dylan Thomas Sliwinski of Gulf Shores, AL | BBA Benjamin Parker Smith of Lauderdale, MS | BBA Brandon Adam Smith of Senatobia, MS | BBA Candace Nia Smith of New Orleans, LA | BBA David Halston Smith of Madison, MS | BBA John Matthew Smith of Germantown, TN | BBA Joseph Eugene Smith of Lucedale, MS | BBA Steven Elliot Smith of Snohomish, WA | MBA Paul Wesley Snellgrove of Oxford, MS | BBA Mary Catherine Sobiesk of Hattiesburg, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Luke W. Spencer of Saint Charles, IL | BBA Kristen Denae Sprayberry of Carthage, MS | BBA Ryan Michael Stacker of Duncan, SC | MBA John Neil Stanback of Columbus, MS | MBA Kristen R. Stedman of Eads, TN | BBA Justus Nathanael G. Steele of Meridian, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Gianni Seville Stennis of Columbus, MS | BBA Kory James Stephens of Madison, MS | BBA Peyton Curtis Stewart of Jackson, MS | BBA Ann Douglas Stone of Tupelo, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Kaitlin Creeth Stone of Starkville, MS | BBA Bradford Morris Stringer of Jackson, MS | BBA Payton Reece Stringer of Bay Springs, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Harold Joseph Sullivan of Hoover, AL | BBA Patrick Joseph Sullivan of Eagan, MN | MBA Rebecca Eden Sullivan of Eagan, MN | MBA Zavien Jamez Sutton of Brandon, MS | BBA John G. Swann of Chunky, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Jacob Allen Swartz of Columbus, MS | BBA Rebecca Tackett of Mooreville, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Rebecca Marie Talmadge of Fredericksburg, VA | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Lara Rose Tanner of Hazel Green, AL | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Ansley Leyton Tapscott of Cullman, AL | BBA, Cum Laude Malcum Rashad Tatum of Charlotte, NC | BBA Tyler Edward Tatum of Madison, MS | MBA Austin Ray Thelen of Tinley Park, IL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Claire M. Thomas of Collierville, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Gregory Lynn Thomas of Clinton, MS | BBA Connor Stephen Tinkle of Ball Ground, GA | BBA Luke Morehouse Toler of Oxford, MS | BBA Laney Van Tran of Brandon, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Corey Nicholas Trice of Hamilton, MS | BBA

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 35

Alex Thai Trinh of Huntsville, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Alden Elizabeth Turner of Gainesville, GA | BBA Allison Mikaela Vick of Philadelphia, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Hannah Gayle Wagner of Gulfport, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Bailey Langston Walhood of Olive Branch, MS | MBA Samuel Wallace of Brent, AL | MBA Brandatavis Breshawn Ward of Jackson, MS | BBA Marcus Allyn Ward of Houston, MS | BBA Brady Keith Warden of Cullman, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Trevor Glenn Wasden of Helena, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Di’Arica Karie Washington of Olive Branch, MS | BBA Temeira Aaliyah Ashani Washington of Yazoo City, MS | BBA William Parks Watson of Tallulah, LA | MBA Charles Patrick Webb of The Woodlands, TX | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Andrew William Weddle of Saltillo, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Jeffrey C. Welch of Lexington, KY | BBA Reagan Simine Welden of Meridian, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Andrew James Williams of Haddock, GA | BBA Austin C. Williams of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Jakarta S. Williams of Starkville, MS | BBA Jet Logan Williams of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Jonathan David Williams of Fort Wayne, IN | BBA, Magna Cum Laude Joshua Swilley Williamson of Brandon, MS | BBA, Cum Laude Marilyn Jane Wilson of Starkville, MS | BBA Trey Michael Witkowski of Peachtree City, GA | BBA Grant Michael Wolfe of Starkville, MS | BBA, Magna Cum Laude James Steven Womack of Brandon, MS | BBA Sydney Christian Wooten of Vicksburg, MS | BBA Jessica Diane Word of Booneville, MS | BBA Alexandra Doran Workman of Puryear, TN | BBA, Cum Laude Trenton Connor Yawn of Hattiesburg, MS | BBA Tykeidra Laray Young of Pinson, AL | BBA, Summa Cum Laude Madison Nicole Zuber of Ocean Springs, MS | BBA, Summa Cum Laude

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Emma Danielle Abessinio of Starkville, MS | MS Alexis Gabrielle Alexander of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Regina Michelle Alexander of Starkville, MS | BS Kelsey Kymyuana Allen of Byram, MS | BS Maresha Evett Allen of Dallas, TX | PHD Jinna Alston of Rose Hill, MS | BS Lillian Samler Ames of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kaylee Reese Anderson of Union, MS | BS Laura Elizabeth Anthony of Brandon, MS | EDS Madeline Ivy Arbogast of Purcellville, VA | BS, Cum Laude Tyler Miguel Armistad of Caledonia, MS | MATS Harrison Taylor Armour of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Cum Laude Alana Brooke Atkison of Forest, MS | BS Amanda Josephine Austin of Winona, MS | MS Thomas Ryan Axton of Amory, MS | BME, Summa Cum Laude Amy Rachel Azwell of Maryland Heights, MO | BME, Summa Cum Laude Sophia Bailey-Suggs of Columbus, MS | PHD Tyler James Barnes of Starkville, MS | BS Baylee Ann Barnette of Ponte Vedra, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tevin Tyrone Baskin of Stamford, CT | MS Britny Lucretia Bassett of Petal, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kristina Michelle Battaglia of Clanton, AL | BS, Cum Laude Sydney Nicole Baucum of Decatur, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matthew Ralph Beasley of Walnut Grove, MS | BS Brittany Nicole Beauchamp of Kosciusko, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Skylar Dean Belton of Perkinston, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Erinn Lee Benge of Columbus, MS | BS Valerie Anne Berg of Southaven, MS | BS, Cum Laude Danielle Renee Bergeron of Vancleave, MS | MATS Patti Elisabeth Berryhill of Smithdale, MS | BME, Summa Cum Laude Tanner Elizabeth Bevill of Fulton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sadiedra J. Black of Philadelphia, MS | MS Jennifer Blair of Sumrall, MS | BS Olivia Hope Blansett of Mooreville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kelly Nicole Blary of Miami, FL | BS Brett Patrick Boland of Cuba, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jacob Hayden Bolton of Milan, TN | BS Richard Austin Bouchillon of Tupelo, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jasmine S. Bowie of Clarksdale, MS | BS Brandon Tyler Bowles of Starkville, MS | BS Brandy Rose Box of Bruce, MS | BS Leah Ann Boyd of Madison, AL | BME, Summa Cum Laude Jaylen Calandrias Boyd of Bailey, MS | BS Jamal Marquez Braddock of Ripley, MS | BS Charity Kate Bradford of Jasper, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Meredith Ann Bradford of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Victoria Aimee Bradley of Columbus, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brittany Rose Brady of Pelahatchie, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Alana M. Branch of Cordova, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lindsi Nicole Breaux of Greenwood, MS | BS Kaylin Renee Brennan of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Rachel Claire Broom of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Baylee Elise Bryant of Summit, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Damion Cade Bryant of Brandon, MS | BS, Cum Laude Conner Randall Buchanan of Philadelphia, MS | BS

36 SUMMER 2020

McKenzie Lea Buckner of Pontotoc, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Erin Beth Burchfield of Bessemer, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Austin Burdine of Houston, MS | BS, Cum Laude Krystal Justina Burton of Picayune, MS | BS, Cum Laude Karoline Hope Butler of Laurel, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Taylor Nicole Buxton of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Aaron Tyler Cagle of Ackerman, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Samuel Jonathan Cain of Kosciusko, MS | BS Reilley Rose Calder of Mississippi State, MS | BS Chance Levan Carden of Maben, MS | MATS Bethany E. Carraway of Wesson, MS | BS Anna Kate Carter of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Courtney Elizabeth Carter of Mccomb, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Carmen Lindsay Carter of Jackson, MS | MS Brett Allen Causey of Clinton, MS | BME, Summa Cum Laude Dylan Alexander Ceide of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Jennifer Reagan Chambers of Saltillo, MS | BS Amanda Taylor Chambliss of Gulfport, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Faith Mae Chamness of Jackson, MS | MATS Ketara Evaone Asairyia Chapel of Temple, TX | MAT Camille Janai Charleston of Naperville, IL | MS Annette Pamela Chickaway of Philadelphia, MS | BS Leah Clark of Duck Hill, MS | MATS Jennifer Leanne Clay of Noxapater, MS | BS Katherine McRae Clay of Meadville, MS | BS Christopher Alan Clifton of Starkville, MS | BS Krislyn Monique Clinton of Biloxi, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Nicholas Cobb of Madison, MS | MS Shadaria Laquantas Coffey of Calhoun City, MS | BS, Cum Laude Anthony Gabriel Coffman of Auburn, IL | BS, Cum Laude Dustin Levi Coker of Lumberton, MS | BS Lauren Elizabeth Cole of Daphne, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Katherine Collins of Philadelphia, MS | BS Stacie D. Collins of Philadelphia, MS | PHD Grace Aneta Compton of Oneonta, AL | BS, Cum Laude Meagan Nicole Cook of Gautier, MS | BS, Cum Laude Daniel Hal Cooper of Corinth, MS | BS Macy Laray Cooper of Hamilton, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hailey Olivia Corbett of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Amanda Grace Corey of Meridian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Reagan Faith Cothern of Jackson, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Elizabeth Lauren Counts of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude John Donald Cousar of Booneville, MS | BS Christy Lynn Covington of Columbus, MS | BS Lyndsey Loring Cowart of Vicksburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Christian Haven Cox of Clinton, MS | BS Hannah Taylor Cox of Hattiesburg, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Levi Michael Cox of Booneville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Nathan Thomas Cox of Tupelo, MS | BS Robert Benton Cox of Jackson, MS | BS Bettye Jo Crenshaw of Chunky, MS | MAT Ryan Andrew Crone of Old Hickory, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Adyson Elizabeth Crowe of Clinton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Desmond Lamar Cunningham of Aberdeen, MS | BS Emma Rachel Dahl of Franklin, TN | BS, Cum Laude Bailey Marie Daughtry of Pace, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Keelin Tychun Davison of Olive Branch, MS | BS Camryn Bailie Dees of Tomball, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Wesley Tanner Dement of Greenwood Springs, MS | BS Justin Beau Develle of Flora, MS | BS Rachel Suzanne Dixon of Wauchula, FL | BS Mallie Nell Donald of Edwards, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Karli Elizabeth Dorsett of Saltillo, MS | BME, Magna Cum Laude Corey Dashun Dorsey of Tylertown, MS | BS, Cum Laude Cameron Blake Douglas of Vardaman, MS | BS Matthew Jacob Driskill of Morton, MS | BS, Cum Laude Elizabeth Elaine Duncan of Houston, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Emily Lauren Duncan of Philadelphia, MS | BS Natalie Ann Duncan of Plattsmouth, NE | BS, Magna Cum Laude Clover Rayeann Eakes of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Allyn Claire Edmonson of Madison, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jesse Kyle Edwards of Pelahatchie, MS | BS Miranda Carrie Edwards of Flowood, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jacqueline B. EGDORF of Water Valley, MS | MAT Alicia Lee Elliott of Cantonment, FL | BS, Cum Laude Nicholas Pierce Elrod of Brandon, MS | BS Jordan Travis England of Calhoun City, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Jacob Ethridge of Collinsville, MS | BS Stephanie Danielle Everett of Madison, MS | BS Emily Lauren Ezell of Newton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Madeline Claire Ezelle of Morton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Andrew Vincent Fandel of Belden, MS | MS Davis K. Faulkner of Helena, AL | MS Zachary Kade Feather of Buckatunna, MS | BS Wyatt Edward Felt of Franklin, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kaylee Alexandra Ferguson of Dekalb, MS | MS Olivia Lena Feruglio of Germantown, TN | BS, Cum Laude Hannah Katherine Finch of Madison, MS | MATS Eric Fisher of Colorado Springs, CO | MS Riley Savely Floyd of Corinth, MS | BS, Cum Laude

Hannah Elizabeth Flynt of Huntington, TX | BS, Summa Cum Laude Miriah Angelil Ford of Louisville, MS | BS Monique Judy Foster of Kirkwood, MO | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kevin O’Neal Frazier of Raymond, MS | MS Michael Cole Freely of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kasey R. Freeman of Ellisville, MS | BS Cristina Grace Friend of Sumrall, MS | BS, Cum Laude Meredith E. Friloux of Tupelo, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kent David Friloux of Tupelo, MS | MS Chantorri Renee Gallion of Greenwood, MS | BS Rylie Katherine Gant of Benton, MO | BS, Summa Cum Laude Lindsey Kathryn Garcia of Thomasville, AL | BS Miguel Luis Garcia of Kosciusko, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Caroline Garrard of Jackson, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Victoria Hope Gates of Collinsville, MS | BS Victoria Samone Joy Gathings of Houston, MS | BS Cora Noel Geno of Booneville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Supreete Ghosh of Starkville, MS | MS Mary Everett Giles of Madison, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Morgan Lindsey Gill of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Terrell Justin Gilmore of Tupelo, MS | BME, Cum Laude Jordan Lee Ginn of Pearl, MS | BS, Cum Laude Netykianna Zakia Gladney of Louisville, MS | BS Amber Nichole Godwin of Hamilton, AL | BS Sarah Creagh Goings of Birmingham, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jacob Thomas Golden of Carthage, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Leigh Ashton Goldman of Enterprise, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kristen Bailey Googe of Meridian, MS | BS Ivy Goring of Encino, CA | MS Margaret Lenzee Grant of Biloxi, MS | MAT Quinlan Xavier Gray of De Kalb, TX | BME, Summa Cum Laude Ronnie Lavelle Gray of Brooksville, MS | BS Payton Lee Grogan of Meridian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Hannah Reagan Grubbs of Brandon, MS | BS Bryson Rendell Gunn of Maben, MS | BS Anna Guntharp of Pontotoc, MS | EDS Tavonta Scott Hadley of Tupelo, MS | BS Sarah Elaine Hagwood of Meridian, MS | MS Hannah Carolyn Hall of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Allison Ann Hallmark of Brentwood, TN | MS Kady Ann Hand of Madison, MS | BS, Cum Laude Peyton Elizabeth Hardin of Brandon, MS | BS Regan Nichole Harrell of Brandon, MS | BS Jada Nicole Harris of Meridian, MS | BS Rushunna Mishell Harris of Canton, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lauryn Taylor Hartness of Nashville, TN | BS Kaylyn Lee Harvey of Lake, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kinsey Blake Haynes of Gallion, AL | MAT Emileigh Lauren Hearn of Terry, MS | BS, Cum Laude Donald J. Heath of Jackson, TN | BS Anna Grace Hemphill of West Point, MS | BS, Cum Laude Crystal T. Henry of Utica, MS | PHD Timothy C. Herlong of Lauderdale, MS | MAT Alyssa Marie Hickey of Ridgeland, MS | BS Kristin Leigh Hicks of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Chyna Jenaya Hill of Beaumont, MS | BS Noah Christopher Hinkley of Mendenhall, MS | BS, Cum Laude William Cole Hodgins of Philadelphia, MS | BS Michael Gage Hogan of Cropwell, AL | BS Paxton Holmes of Morton, MS | BS Riley Grace Holmes of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Savanna Reed Holmes of Grenada, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brendan Tyler Hooper of Brandon, MS | BS Kayla Michelle Hough of Eupora, MS | BS Travis Jordan Houston of Las Vegas, NV | MS Alyssa Brooke Hovater of Hernando, MS | BS Shaye L’Herisson Howell of Shreveport, LA | BS, Cum Laude Cass Marie Hudson of Vicksburg, MS | BS Connor Holland Hudspeth of Tupelo, MS | BS Meng Te Hung of Starkville, MS | PHD Damian Wayne Hurd of Englewood, CO | BS Kaylie Marie Hyde of Diamondhead, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Taylor Morgan Jenkins of Vero Beach, FL | BME, Cum Laude Lindsey Nicole Jenkins of Ellisville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Taylor Mackenzie Johnson of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kristian Johnson of Columbus, MS | MATS Steven Brian Johnson of Wildwood, MO | MS Camille Middleton Jones of Inverness, MS | BS, Cum Laude Davie Lee Jones of West Point, MS | BS Dennon Ray Jones of Starkville, MS | BS Tyler Lydell Jones of Madison, MS | BS Daniel Kirby Joyner of Alamo, TN | BME, Magna Cum Laude Taylor Grace Kelly of Calhoun, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hamza Nasir Khan of Booneville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Tierra Chandre Kilbert of Littleton, CO | EDS Sara Delaney Kilgore of Newton, MS | BS Matthew Connor Killen of Wiggins, MS | BME, Magna Cum Laude Kendall Paige Kimberlin of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kellie Denise Kimery of Falkner, MS | BS Timothy Hunter King of Southaven, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude

Tracie A. King of Union, MS | BS Dena Robison Kinsey of Clinton, MS | PHD Kelsey Ryan Kirk of Muscle Shoals, AL | BS, Cum Laude Samuel Grant Kirksey of Mantachie, MS | MAT Carl L. Knight of Natchez, MS | BS Melissa Anne Knight of Montgomery, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Amanda Sue Knight of Philadelphia, MS | MAT Jena Marie Koren of Olive Branch, MS | MATS Britta Irene Kramer of Huntsville, AL | BS, Cum Laude Nicole Eva Erica Kreitel of Columbus, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Maxine K. Krol of Mississippi State, MS | MS Sarah Ann Ladnier of Saucier, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kandace C. Lasiloo of Philadelphia, MS | BS Lindsay Grace Lauderdale of Blue Mountain, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Justin Nguyen Le of Flowood, MS | BS Lenon Jace Leachman of Calhoun City, MS | BS, Cum Laude Madeline Michele Leblanc of Union, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Savanna Renee Lee of Shreveport, LA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Aaron Lee of Columbus, MS | PHD Alexa N. Lewis of Rose Hill, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ross Gray Lewman of Bogue Chitto, MS | BS Jillian Mae Lloyd of Cumming, GA | BS, Cum Laude Amy Caroline Loftin of Red Banks, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude James Blake Loper of Olive Branch, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kelly Elise Lopez of Frisco, TX | BS Leah Marie Lott of Meridian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Leah N. Lott of Virginia Beach, VA | MS Kathryn B. Lucas of Lawrence, MS | BS, Cum Laude John R. Luck of Starkville, MS | MS Elizabeth Marie Lynam of Knoxville, TN | BS Callie Lane Lyon of Greenwood, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kathryn Hope Mackey of Columbus, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Matthew Joseph Mackey of Meridian, MS | BS Tracy Denise Mallett of Sallis, MS | MS Emily Brooke Malone of Greer, SC | BS, Magna Cum Laude Madison Brooke Mann of Hickory, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Billy Jared Marshall of Sebastopol, MS | BS Madison Leigh Martin of Brownsville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Margaret Anne Martin of Woodstock, GA | BS Stephanie Alaina Mason of Walls, MS | BS Jared Scott Massey of Decatur, MS | BS Megan Leigh Mauney of Ripley, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Emily Louise Maxime of Mobile, AL | BS, Cum Laude Lauren Elizabeth Mayfield of Long Beach, MS | BS Kelley Cassandra Mazzola of Starkville, MS | MATS Aerial Journey Mccalister of Corinth, MS | MATS Meredith Allyn McCaskill of Sunflower, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Manda L. McClure of Ackerman, MS | MATX Grace LeighEllen McCommon of Southaven, MS | BME, Magna Cum Laude Lynnette Rachelle Mccoy of Booneville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Stephanie M. McCrary of Pelahatchie, MS | MATS Valerie M. McDonald of Corinth, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bristina Alana McElhenney of Union, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Farah Alexis McGaughy of Saltillo, MS | BS Kevin Michael McGill of D’Iberville, MS | BS Robert Lake McGough of Starkville, MS | BS Meghan Elizabeth McGowan of Milton, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Elizabeth Yvonne McInnis of Jackson, MS | PHD Alexa Kay McKinnion of Meridian, MS | BS Meredith Anne McLaurin of Tupelo, MS | BS Kenley Madison McMullan of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Madison Lynn McRight of Iuka, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Mary Elizabeth Meyer of Madison, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ragan Danielle Middleton of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Synthia Damron Ming of Caledonia, MS | MS Emily Victoria Mitchell of Cumming, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Katherine Holcomb Mitchell of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Caroline Ayn Mitchell of Biloxi, MS | MATS Megan Leigh Moffett of Collinsville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Samantha Lauren Moffett of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Yasmin Ziyad Monayair of Starkville, MS | BS Benjamin Jared Moore of Corinth, MS | BME, Summa Cum Laude Haley Morgan Moore of Brandon, MS | BS Makenzie Ann Moore of Harvest, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Marleigh Rose Moran of Vancleave, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lindsey Nicole Newman of Rienzi, MS | BS Joshua Adam Nichols of Covington, GA | BS, Cum Laude Kristen Simmons Nichols of Starkville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Breann Leigh Nicholson of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Heather Marie Nieto of Waveland, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Alaina Clayton O’Bryant of Winona, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Morgan Leigh O’Callaghan of Saltillo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sydney Aiden Ogletree of Carthage, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tristan Cain Orman of Oxford, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Ashley Brooke Orr of Mc Call Creek, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Eric Thomas Orsini of Starkville, MS | BS Madison Bradi Oswalt of Mantachie, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jared Taylor Ousley of Starkville, MS | BS Hannah Alyss Owen of Summit, MS | BS, Cum Laude August Claire Parker of Heidelberg, MS | BS, Cum Laude

Marlee Gail Parkes of Louisville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Carmen Maryanna Perkins of Hamilton, MS | BS Ariel Yvonnte Perry of Starkville, MS | MS Olivia Grayson Phillips of Germantown, TN | BS, Cum Laude Kendall N. Pickens of West Point, MS | PHD Anna Maria Pierce of Meridian, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Gerold Trevor Pinson of Crystal Springs, MS | BS Brittany Jaudon Plunkett of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jared T. Potter of West, MS | BME, Magna Cum Laude Ashtan RayAnn Prather of Brookhaven, MS | BS Deja Danae Price of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Shavonn Lanise Pruitt of Meridian, MS | MS Ryan Curtis Pugh of Flowood, MS | BS Abbey Katherine Ragan of Germantown, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Michael Raines of Guntown, MS | BS Antonina Rakhmatova of Starkville, MS | MS Merill Jane Ray of Pelham, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Martha Elizabeth Rayner of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Brooke Michelle Reynolds of Starkville, MS | MATX Hannah Nicole Rhodes of Pelahatchie, MS | BS Kara Marie Rhodes of Kosciusko, MS | BS Peyton L. Rhodes of Pelahatchie, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jamie Kimberly Richards of Boca Raton, FL | BS, Cum Laude Sara Hays Rimmer of Brandon, MS | BS Margaret Adelle Robinson of Huntsville, AL | BS Lisa Nicole Robinson of Starkville, MS | MS Shaquinta F. Robinson of Starkville, MS | MS Elizabeth Marisha Rosenbach of West Hills, CA | MS Emma Christine Rucker of Nolensville, TN | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hannah Marie Ruckner of Manassas, VA | BS, Summa Cum Laude William Henry Sanders of Meridian, MS | MATS Enrick Santos of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Abbie Lea Scott of Carthage, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Peyton Leigh Scrivner of Starkville, MS | MS David M. Seabaugh of Walshville, IL | BS, Cum Laude Sarah Grace Senn of Nashville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Mary Frances Sessions of Natchez, MS | BS Dana Elaine Seymour of Starkville, MS | PHD Claire Olivia Shannon of Little Rock, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sarah Gwen Sharp of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Alex Tate Shepard of Carthage, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lyn Aubry Shepard of Northport, AL | BS, Cum Laude Bryce Jaray Shirley of Columbus, MS | BS Savannah Rae Shirley of Myrtle, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Sasha Renee Shurden of Starkville, MS | BS Joseph Lee Simpson of Vicksburg, MS | BS Kristi R. Sims of Toomsuba, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Megan Elizabeth Skelton of Cleveland, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brandi Lauren Smith of Tishomingo, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Carmen Lynn Smith of Booneville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Clevontaie Alviequesz Smith of Mccomb, MS | BS Haylee Victoria Smith of Louin, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tanner Brooke Smith of Brandon, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jennifer Michele Smith of Starkville, MS | MS Abigail Catesby Snow of Moss Point, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Rachel Ann Sollie of Meridian, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Destinee Sarina Soto Medrano of Palmdale, CA | MS Callie Elizabeth Spain of Lamar, MS | BS, Cum Laude Gabrielle Mclain Sparnecht of Philadelphia, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Christian Taylor Speeney of Dallas, GA | BS, Cum Laude Keyauna Charrese Spencer of Starkville, MS | BS Brianna Suzanne Spragio of Biloxi, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brittany Alexis Stansel of Austin, TX | MS Jenna Maryann Starks of D’Iberville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rachel Marie Steinwinder of Biloxi, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Janice Nacole Stidman of Macon, MS | EDS Kelly Elaine Stockton of Hernando, MS | BS Rebecca Ann Stokes of Louisville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Rachel Abigail Storey of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Justin Gregory Stovall of Senatobia, MS | BS Steven Michael Strehle of Starkville, MS | BS Elizabeth Sanford Strickland of Jackson, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Mitchell Clark Strider of Sumrall, MS | BS Elizabeth Caroline Struna of Starkville, MS | EDS Katherine Elizabeth Suchanick of Nashville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Laura Graeber Sullivan of Destrehan, LA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hillara Katelyn Summerford of Golden, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Abby Michelle Taggart of Pearl, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Michael Langhston Tate of Macon, MS | BS Austin Noel Tello of Vicksburg, MS | MS Breanna Nikhol Temple of Starkville, MS | MS Isaiah Keith Thompson of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Kinsey Faye Thornton of Biloxi, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brady Lee Thrash of Walnut Grove, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Lauren Dawn Tidwell of Sturgis, MS | BS Payton Michelle Tillman of Long Beach, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Susan Hope Tipton of Brandon, MS | PHD Madeline Olivia Tisdale of Summit, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Kelsey Rene Totty of Saint Louis, MO | BS, Cum Laude Nekia Renee Travis of Biloxi, MS | BS, Cum Laude

Ryan James Travis of Madison, MS | BS, Cum Laude Savannah Marie Nicole Trice of Shannon, MS | EDS Abby Wood Triplett of Ackerman, MS | MS Kelci Nicole Tucker of Columbus, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Hayden Dale Upperman of Starkville, MS | BME, Cum Laude Lina Blake Vegas of Mantachie, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Taylor Allen Wagner of Biloxi, MS | MATS Dylan Anthony Waldrip of Hernando, MS | BS, Cum Laude Lindsay Ruth Walker of Olive Branch, MS | BS Mercedes Kierra Walker of Pascagoula, MS | BS Maricus Antwan Walker of Starkville, MS | MS Aurora Christine Walsh of Beaverton, OR | BS, Magna Cum Laude Timothy J. Washington of Yazoo City, MS | MS Abby Marie Watson of De Kalb, MS | MS Aleah Denise Watt of Starkville, MS | BS Alexa Shea Watts of Taylorsville, NC | MS Cydni Tara Weathersby of Mendenhall, MS | BME, Magna Cum Laude John Michael Weeks of Madison, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Holley Victoria Weil of Meridian, MS | BS Karla Lummus Weir of Newton, MS | PHD Paxton Brooke Weisbrod of Cumming, GA | BS, Magna Cum Laude Joshua Trey Weith of Mooreville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Callie Lenox Wells of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jonathon Cole West of Hamilton, MS | BS Margie G. Westmoreland of Hamilton, MS | PHD Karilyn Taylor White of Birmingham, AL | BS Kenneth Franklin White of Olive Branch, MS | BS Morgan S. White of Gainesville, GA | MS William Mitchell Whitfield of Perkinston, MS | BS Mariah Jade Whitlock of Okolona, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Brenna Lilly Whitton of Newtown, CT | MS Olivia Danielle Wilbanks of Corinth, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Nicholas Alexander Wilkins of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Cole O’Neil Williams of Smithville, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Elizabeth Renee Williams of Bartlett, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Olivia Isabella Williams of Pensacola, FL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Tiffany Leigh Williams of Little Rock, MS | MAT Ariel Ray Williamson of Collinsville, MS | MATS Amanda Layne Wilson of Arlington, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Allison Maria Windham of Booneville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Landrie Jordan Witcher of Plantersville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Claire Elizabeth Wiygul of Amory, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Darbie Elizabeth Woods of Vicksburg, MS | BME Micah Brooke Woods of Duck Hill, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Hannah Lane Wootton of Ridgeland, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Antwon Xavier Word of Plantersville, MS | BS Sally Lynn Worst of Brooks, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Maggie Elizabeth Worthy of Gore Springs, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Benson George Wright of Water Valley, MS | BS Brian Logan Wright of Pascagoula, MS | BS Austin Trae Yelton of Phenix City, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Anna Caitlyn Young of Brandon, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Patricia LeeAnn Youngblood of Clarksdale, MS | BS, Cum Laude Derrick Dewayne Zimmerman of Monroe, LA | MS Kristina Grace Zouboukos of Jackson, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude

COLLEGE OF FOREST RESOURCES

Ram Kumar Adhikari of Starkville, MS | PHD Samuel Drew Akers of Huntsville, AL | BS, Cum Laude John Conner Almond of Starkville, MS | MS Owen Karl Andrews of Lake Zurich, IL | BS Blake Alan Bagwell of Birmingham, AL | BS Kyler Crane Barnett of Golden, MS | BS Craig Dewayne Bell of Eupora, MS | MS Elise Jordan Benson of Guntown, MS | BS Alison Dawn Berger of Jonesboro, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jacob Edwin Breeden of Vicksburg, MS | BS Sara Gabrielle Burran of Brandon, MS | BS Jamie Michelle Cantey of Collinsville, MS | BS Marly Gabriela Carmona Uzcategui of Madison, MS | MS Kacy Ann Chapman of Starkville, MS | BS Alison Brooke Childs of Calhoun City, MS | BS Darcey Alyce Collins of Bauxite, AR | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bojan Cosovic of Starkville, MS | MS Joni Marie Creel of Lucedale, MS | BS, Cum Laude Russell Cole Wayne Davis of Elaine, AR | BS James Dylan DesRochers of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Gabrielly Dos Santos Bobadilha of Starkville, MS | PHD Natasha Ann Drotar of East Falmouth, MA | MS Charles Hilton Dye of Birmingham, AL | BS Bradley Wayne Ezekiel of Pace, FL | BS, Cum Laude Michael Edward Falls of Tuscaloosa, AL | BS Austin Shea Gentry of Pontotoc, MS | MS Payton Keeler Gilmore of Sulligent, AL | BS Mallory Taylor Grady of Olive Branch, MS | BS David Reid Grant of Pace, FL | BS John William Griffin of Philadelphia, MS | MS Mackenzie Ann Gunn of Starkville, MS | MS

Dylan Alan Hann of Doddridge, AR | MS Branden Lee Hannah of Saint Petersburg, FL | BS Raven Danielle Hartley of Carrollton, AL | BS Austin Grant Hartman of Collinsville, MS | BS Bryan Patrick Herron of Senatobia, MS | BS Lilly Grace Hill of Brighton, TN | BS Savannah Kathe Holcombe of Simpsonville, SC | BS Daniel Zane Holder of Booneville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Ty Gregory Lollar of Haleyville, AL | BS John Andrew Lowery of Laurel, MS | BS Ryan Anthony Lurk of Yorkville, IL | BS Alison Marie Marchant of Coldwater, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Audrey Katherine McCrary of Starkville, MS | MS Jazmine Ajetta McGinnis of Daphne, AL | MS Haley Alyssa Moore of Philadelphia, MS | BS William Morgan Nettles of Fayette, MS | BS Zachary Tyler Nettles of Pelahatchie, MS | BS, Magna Cum Laude Leigh Ellen Noe of Amory, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude David M. Norris of Vicksburg, MS | MS Kelly Marie Olson of Alpharetta, GA | BS Samuel Eli Patrick of Tupelo, MS | BS Joseph Lee Patterson of Star, MS | BS Evelyn Marie Perrigin of Starkville, MS | BS Allison McHenry Purdue of Powder Springs, GA | BS Kiera Meg Reardon of Mandeville, LA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Madeline Elizabeth Redd of Brandon, MS | BS Tyler Wesley Rogers of Madison, AL | BS, Cum Laude Preston Thomas Clark Rushing of Cherokee, AL | BS Taylor Elizabeth Saucier of Starkville, MS | BS Nathan Alexander Schroeder of Starkville, MS | BS Samantha Kay Seamon of Prattville, AL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Anusha Shrestha of Hilliard, OH | PHD Caleb Till Simnicht of Hattiesburg, MS | BS Dalton Blake Smith of Parrish, AL | BS Robert McKibbon Smith of Atlanta, GA | BS Nicholas Ramsey Sprinkle of Fairhope, AL | BS Lucas Cole Stewart of Philadelphia, MS | BS Elliot Carrington Stockett of Jackson, MS | BS Emily Carole Stolz of Diamondhead, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jennifer Michelle Sublett of Pensacola, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude James Dalton Sullivan of Pearl, MS | BS, Cum Laude Daniel Roane Taylor of Pass Christian, MS | BS, Cum Laude Thomas M. Terral of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Ryan Thomason of Starkville, MS | BS Kelsey Lynn Torres-Schroeder of Starkville, MS | BS Adam Carter Wade of Scooba, MS | BS Joseph Cole Walters of Soso, MS | BS Autumn Rana Watrous of Gardendale, AL | BS Geneva Mae White of Mantee, MS | BS Lauren Elizabeth Whitmire of Old Hickory, TN | BS, Summa Cum Laude Bayley Michelle Wilmoth of Ocean Springs, MS | BS, Cum Laude Emily Faith Wilson of Chatom, AL | BS, Cum Laude Corey Dalton Yarber of Starkville, MS | BS Marcus F. Young of Tampa, FL | BS

COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Brandie Rae Amos of Starkville, MS | DVM Paige Nicole Anderson of Starkville, MS | DVM Harlie Barkley Arndt of Florence, AL | DVM Ethan Lane Baggett of Killen, AL | DVM Carol Louise Baker of Jackson, MS | DVM Catherine Hunter Barton of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Jason Robert Belcher of Quitman, MS | DVM Heath Alexander Belk of Jasper, TN | DVM Barbara Blair Bennett of Spearsville, LA | DVM Katie Claire Bibb of Starkville, MS | DVM Samantha May Blossom of Eglon, WV | DVM Lauren Michelle Bonee of Powell, TN | DVM Thomas Joseph Brady of Columbia, SC | DVM Breanna Caitlin Brown of Jane Lew, WV | DVM Whitney Nicole Brown of Moore, SC | DVM Cassandra Joelle Cain of Starkville, MS | MS Mary Beth Caldwell of Columbus, MS | BS Skyler Hensarling Caldwell of Starkville, MS | DVM Martianna Marissa Cameron of Jackson, MS | BS Christopher Brian Campbell of Hattiesburg, MS | DVM Kelsie Marie Campbell of Starkville, MS | DVM Kellen Aline Choate of Summit, MS | DVM Krystle Dawn Clayton of Potts Camp, MS | DVM Erin Carol Close of Berkeley Springs, WV | DVM Acacia J. Cooper of Pearl, MS | DVM Gianna Angelina Covelli of Charleston, WV | DVM Ronald Blake Crawford of Starkville, MS | DVM Harry Cridge of Starkville, MS | MS William Byrn Crosby of Parsons, TN | DVM Brandon Scott Dailey of Sherwood, AR | DVM Joquarius Keith Dancy of Meridian, MS | BS Madison Marie Dunlap of Taylor, MS | DVM

Kristin Renee Ellis of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude McKenzie Morgan Ethridge of Starkville, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Elissa Beth Eyrich of Long Beach, MS | DVM Kristen Suzanne Frank of Murrieta, CA | DVM Julianna Frum of Starkville, MS | MS Matthew Thomas Garrett of Memphis, TN | DVM Mary Allison George of Memphis, TN | DVM Carly Rae Glinski of Rockford, MI | DVM Amanda Morgan Goodson of Brandon, MS | BS Jillian Marie Greenwood of Brandon, MS | BS Kody Wayne Griffin of Tilly, AR | DVM Macy Elizabeth Hanson of Goodlettsville, TN | BS, Cum Laude Katie Elana Harris of Starkville, MS | BS Jordan Taylor Hatfield of Mississippi State, MS | MS Kaitlyn Elizabeth Hennessey of Starkville, MS | DVM Anne Elise Kristine Hertl of Hernando, MS | DVM Gracie Mikayla Holbrooks of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Jordan Nicole Holding of Starkville, MS | BS Rachel Kelly Holman of Menifee, CA | DVM Emily Wednesday Hopson of Starkville, MS | BS Anna Olivia Hubbell of Fort Worth, TX | DVM Alexis Gabrielle Hughes of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Samantha Mae Hughes of Hookstown, PA | DVM Jenna Hoden Krizak of Starkville, MS | DVM Rebecca Dawn Leach of Starkville, MS | DVM Emily Kate Lloyd of Aiken, SC | DVM Alexandra McClure Loftis of Charleston, SC | DVM Jeremy Alan Long of Hiram, GA | DVM Robert Thomasson Loper of Starkville, MS | DVM Whitney Anne Maloney of North Little Rock, AR | DVM Jessica Janet Matta of San Juan, PR | DVM Bridget Siobhan McDerby of Madison, AL | BS, Magna Cum Laude Sarah McNair of Richland, MS | DVM Alexandria Dianne Moore of Houston, MS | DVM Maj Elizabeth Morgan of Texarkana, TX | DVM Jalin Ashley Myrick of Starkville, MS | DVM Jessica Gayle Nelson of Woodbridge, VA | DVM James Nichols of Starkville, MS | PHD Eric Orozco of Brandon, MS | MS Caitlyn Elizabeth Outlaw of Hot Springs, AR | DVM Bridgit Abigail Patten of Platteville, CO | BS, Magna Cum Laude Kelsie Nicole Penny of Starkville, MS | DVM Elizabeth Virginia Peterson of White Oak, TX | BS Carly Elizabeth Pierson of Newton, NJ | DVM English Simone Pratt of Starkville, MS | BS, Cum Laude Brooke Christianne Quick of Morton, MS | BS, Summa Cum Laude Courtney Michelle Ransom of Russellville, AL | DVM Logan Christopher Real of Cape Coral, FL | DVM Malorie Schwartz Rice of Ponchatoula, LA | BS Laurel Shannon Riebock of Starkville, MS | BS Reece Watts Robertson of Madison, MS | DVM Bastiana Mulckhuyse Rodebaugh of Clear Brook, VA | DVM Gabrielle Marie Ruble of Parkersburg, WV | DVM Jaime Kristen Rutter of Hanover, PA | DVM Juliana Maria Santiago of Hermitage, TN | DVM Jessica Nicole Saunders of Hurricane, WV | DVM Margaret Mary Saverance of Florence, SC | DVM Haleigh Brooke Schreckengost of Princeton, WV | DVM Alexander Paxton Shealy of Starkville, MS | DVM Jessica Elaine Sherman of Starkville, MS | DVM Kimberly Marie Simpson of Anaheim, CA | DVM Thad Ellis Skinner of Union, MS | DVM Abigail Lynette Small of Ocean Springs, MS | BS Brooke Taylor Smith of Waterford, VT | BS, Summa Cum Laude Diana Solito of Nesbit, MS | BS Ashley Breann Ross Stephens of Starkville, MS | DVM Ellen Ashley Tarrant of New Albany, MS | DVM Madison Leigh Taylor of Sandy Springs, GA | BS, Summa Cum Laude Alexis Renee Tentler of Highland Village, TX | DVM Sarah Frances Thurmond of Starkville, MS | BS Kelsey Marie Traylor of Chester, VA | DVM Hannah Elizabeth Urig of Starkville, MS | DVM Taylor Doyle Vernon of Niceville, FL | BS, Summa Cum Laude Megan Marie Violand of Moorpark, CA | DVM Amanda Joy Waddle of Hattiesburg, MS | DVM Thomas Chase Waldrip of Southaven, MS | DVM Amber M. Walker of Warminster, PA | DVM Kiley Miranda Walker of Cabot, PA | DVM Christina Thomas Weise of North Augusta, SC | DVM Michael Austin Whitmon of Mantachie, MS | DVM Carley Alise Wigley of Petal, MS | DVM Jessica Lynne Wigley of Williamsburg, VA | DVM Amy Lynn Wilcosky of Seminary, MS | DVM Rachel Marie Wilson of Pearl, MS | DVM Joshlyn Martin Winstead of Lexington, MS | DVM James Lucas Yates of Starkville, MS | DVM Jessica Sumner Zehr of Jackson, MS | DVM Tara Nadine Zentner of Alburtis, PA | DVM

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 37

MSU President Mark E. Keenum speaking with senior campus leaders and key personnel. The group met regularly while practicing social distancing guidelines to assess the COVID-19 threat and guide the university through changes dictated by the pandemic.

LEADERS IN ACTION Task Force team guides MSU through COVID-19

By Sid Salter ike the rest of the nation, Mississippi State University had not encountered the onslaught of a true global pandemic since 1918-19 when the worldwide outbreak of the so-called “Spanish Influenza” claimed 9,232 lives in Mississippi. Sadly, 38 students at what is now MSU died during that outbreak with an estimated 1,200 students infected with the flu.

Against that historical backdrop, modernday MSU President Mark E. Keenum and key members of the university’s leadership team were called into action when the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in late January due to the novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 usually triggers a respiratory tract infection and can impact the sinuses, nose, and throat in the upper respiratory tract and the windpipe and lungs in the lower respiratory tract. The disease spreads through person-to-person contact and is believed to be airborne. Infections can range from asymptomatic to life-threatening,

L

38 SUMMER 2020

depending on age and underlying individual health histories.

Events spiraled downward in February and the WHO formally declared a global pandemic on March 11. By April, more than 1 million global patients had tested positive for COVID-19 and over 100,000 died. By July, more than 11.3 million global COVID-19 cases had been diagnosed with over 532,000 deaths—and both numbers were still growing by the day at the time of publication.

Keenum and his leadership team were tasked with seeking and complying with guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mississippi State Department of Health, the Mississippi Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning and state elected officials including Gov. Tate Reeves and the leadership of the Mississippi Legislature. There was also the need to maintain cooperation with Oktibbeha County and City of Starkville governments and first responders as the pandemic grew and spread.

Commenting during the early days of MSU’s COVID-19 response, Keenum said to his colleagues, “Since Mississippi State first engaged in assessment of impacts of the coronavirus and planning for operational changes by our leadership team, the one constant has been that there are no constants.

“Information is changing and taking on different nuances on an almost hourly basis,” he continued. “With guidance from federal and state leaders, from global and national medical and epidemiological advisers, and from our own capable students, faculty and staff, MSU’s leadership team has taken this evolving information and is developing a measured response. Yet make no mistake, this is a new and unprecedented challenge playing out on a massive scale.”

A RAPID RESPONSE MSU established a webpage for COVID-19 resources in February, when there were still no known cases in Mississippi. The university began to restrict

employee travel and screen university stakeholders returning from travel to places where the virus was present.

By March 11, travel restrictions increased, and the university began to plan for a transfer to online classes should conditions warrant. Days later, the university announced that classes were suspended for the week after spring break, March 16-22, as MSU continued to monitor the potential impacts of COVID-19. Keenum instructed the faculty to begin preparing to move all classes online for the rest of the semester.

Mid-March saw the university comply with the shelter-in-place order from the governor, and the university made the painful decision to postpone commencement. As the crisis continued, MSU moved all summer classes to online delivery.

Through all the developments, Keenum maintained regular meetings with his leadership team, the MSU COVID-19 Task Force, faculty, student leaders and the IHL board—all conducted while observing social distancing and other CDC guidelines.

The MSU leadership team was tasked with a myriad of challenges, complexities and contradictions. First and foremost was Keenum’s charge to his leadership team to help make decisions that safeguarded MSU students, faculty and staff. Second was his insistence that every possible step be taken to help MSU students stay on their academic paths.

Third, Keenum reminded the leadership group that MSU was committed, even in times of crisis, to the concept of shared governance with leadership of both the Robert Holland Faculty Senate and the MSU Student Association.

WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE MSU COMMUNITY With those guiding principles reinforced, the leadership teams deliberated on diverse topics. The challenges ranged from the financial stability of the institution to enrollment impacts to human resources policies for faculty and staff, immediate needs of students remaining on campus, technology and other concerns regarding the move to online delivery of academic content, and dozens of other mission-critical topics.

Vice President for Student Affairs Regina

Hyatt led the MSU COVID-19 Task Force and served with MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw on the 16-member Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s Safe Start Task Force as the state’s university system considered opening campuses in a safe and effective manner. Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education and MSU alumnus Alfred Rankins Jr. appointed Shaw to chair the IHL task force.

Shaw pointed to faculty and student input into the planning processes at both the state and campus levels as critical to crafting solutions, particularly at MSU. “The partnership between administration and faculty in a shared governance approach is a hallmark of Mississippi State, and challenging times such as this make it critically important that we use every avenue possible to foster dialogue,” Shaw said.

Hyatt, who also chairs the standing MSU Crisis Action team, said the planning process at both the campus and state levels for COVID-19 has been extremely challenging.

“The COVID-19 crisis is different than any other type of crisis we’ve faced,” she explained. “Instead of something that lasts a few hours or even a few days like a weather event, this has continued to impact every facet of our day-to-day university operations for days, weeks, months.”

MSU Student Association President Tyler Packer, who succeeded Jake Manning midway through the COVID-19 outbreak in Mississippi, said his service on the COVID-19 Task Force has been educational in ways he never imagined.

“From the moment I was inaugurated as Student Body president, the year was set to be one that was very different,” Packer said.

“Normally, the president would be spending the summer welcoming future Bulldogs and making sure that they are ready for their first semester on campus. Instead, I have been working daily with the university’s top leadership to help coordinate our response to COVID-19 while planning for the fall semester. The meetings have been very productive, and I was so incredibly grateful to have a seat on the task force to advocate for the needs of our students.”

Brent Crocker, the university’s emergency manager, said the COVID-19 Task Force sessions have been difficult but positive in that they highlight the university’s strengths.

“Being involved in the COVID-19 Task Force provides me with a great amount of information and helpful resources,” Crocker said. “The group meets regularly to discuss the current situation and develop a path forward. We can outline our priorities, divide responsibilities and develop plans.

“I learned how dedicated the leadership at Mississippi State is to the safety and well-being of the university community,” he continued.

“Serving on these working groups helped me stay informed of the university’s current situation and what everyone was working on.

These groups have helped us focus our work and combine our efforts. The regular online meetings gave everyone an opportunity to get together while staying in our offices or at home. Everyone feels comfortable enough to voice concerns or share new ideas.”

PLANNING FOR CHALLENGES TO COME Vice President for Finance and Administration Don Zant is responsible, along with his staff, for both “the fiscal and physical aspects of campus.”

“On the fiscal side, the challenges have been trying to maximize revenue and funding, including CARES Act Funding, FEMA and student tuition, while also trying to forecast the impact of the crisis on enrollment, sports revenue, housing and appropriations,” Zant said. “On the physical side the challenges have been trying to boost the morale of essential employees that must be here every day to maintain, clean and sanitize; and, make sure they had the proper protective equipment and are adequately supplied.”

Interim Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine Reuben Moore admitted encountering worries that kept him up nights, but also that he found reassurance in watching the hard work of his colleagues in DAFVM. “My vision for the future is that we will be facing a new normal,” Moore said.

“We have learned from this experience that we can be productive in different ways— more video conference meetings, more educational content delivered online. The use of technology will only increase. We will be developing more ‘how-to’ videos which is a preferred learning method of our younger generations.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 39

“We will continue to emphasize more need for grants and contracts so that our budget can be supplemented with the overhead,” Moore continued. “More technology will be used in our two colleges along with new teaching methods that can be effective with less classroom time. We will continue to have students on campus because a college education is much more than just learning the material taught in classrooms. It is learning soft skills like leadership, how to work together to accomplish something, how to get along with others, problem-solving and conflict resolution to name a few.”

MSU Vice President for Development and Alumni John Rush is also looking to the future and how Mississippi State will overcome the financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic.

“During my tenure with the MSU Foundation, I’ve witnessed severe events that have impacted the MSU family in different ways—the 9/11 attacks and the dot-com bubble burst, Hurricane Katrina and the financial collapse of 2008-09,” Rush recalled.

“During these terrible times, we found that there were pockets of alumni who were not as impacted, and they rallied to support MSU and our students.

“The fiscal years coming out of Katrina and 9/11 were some of the largest in terms of support in our history at the time. However, this pandemic coupled with the oil market collapse has led to greater instability across sectors of the market,” he added. “Additionally, we’ve never faced a scenario where our staff could not actually visit our alumni and discuss opportunities to move MSU forward from this. We are blessed that many of our staff have

40 SUMMER 2020

been with us for over a decade and have long relationships with donors.

“As a result, we are able to have open conversations via technology about gifts to MSU,” Rush continued. “Typically, technology does not allow for the human

“Information is changing and taking on different nuances on an almost hourly basis. With guidance from federal and state leaders, from global and national medical and epidemiological advisers, and from our own capable students, faculty and staff, MSU’s leadership team has taken this evolving information and is developing a measured response. “ ~ Mark E. Keenum connection needed but due to these long relationships, we are able to advance past those limitations.”

SECURING DIGITAL SPACES The security of MSU’s online academic effort has been vital to the COVID-19 response. MSU Chief Information Officer Steve Parrott explained, “MSU was prepared in many ways for the pandemic with a cyber security-conscious workforce and a significant number of faculty and staff who travel and work remotely. This was something that has not happened overnight but rather is a security awareness culture we have tried to cultivate at Mississippi State University over time.

“A remote workforce highlights the importance of two-factor authentication,” Parrott continued. “Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of security when logging into MSU systems. The first factor is something you know, your NetID or password. The second factor is something you have, your mobile device or a security token.

On July 24, 2017, ITS enabled two-factor authentication for faculty and staff, and on January 15, 2019, two-factor authentication was made mandatory for all students.”

MOVING FORWARD MSU Extension State Health Specialist David Buys likewise expressed confidence as the university seeks to move forward into the “new normal”—whatever that might be.

“Being a part of not just seeing ‘the sausage being made’ but also ‘making the sausage’ at some level has been a remarkable learning and leadership experience,” Buys said. “I’ve learned a lot about the value of a multidisciplinary team and the importance of meaningful meetings with a solid agenda, mutual respect for what everyone brings to the table, and the importance of frequent and open communication. What’s more, the opportunity to sit at a meeting table with Dr. Keenum at the helm is a humbling experience.”

Hyatt said she sees challenges looming but is hopeful for a return to the “student experience” that makes college special.

“There is much work to be done in the realms of teaching and learning, campus life, business functions, athletics, health and safety considerations—and within these broad areas a whole list of questions about how to do these things safely, efficiently and affordably,” she said. “There are many questions, too many options and few answers.

“My vision for moving forward is to be able to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students and their success and

well-being,” she continued. “I want a student experience filled with the kinds of programs, services and activities that enrich their lives. I want our faculty to work from a position of confidence and not fear and reasonableness and with grace and flexibility.”

At press deadline for Alumnus, MSU plans to return to full campus operations and in-person instruction in August 2020. To do so, the safe operations plan will promote healthy operations and mitigate some risks of COVID-19 infection and spread among our students and employees. university has created the Cowbell Well health and safety awareness campaign to engourage behaviors proven to limit the spread of disease. MSU has also outlined plans for screening, testing and contact tracing.

Screenings are non-intrusive health checks on a consistent basis, and will include temperature checks and self-reported health questionnaires based on CDC and Mississippi State Department of Health suggestions.

Screening activities will be facilitated by the new Everbridge Safety Connection platform, a mobile system that will allow for contact tracing and can provide realtime notifications.

Though use of this technology is only required for residential students, its use is highly encouraged for the whole university community as the information it provides will allow health professionals to reach more people faster in the event of a confirmed exposure. Designed to protect individual user privacy, the app will alert participants if they have been in close contact with a person who has reported a positive COVID-19 test.

This application will be used in addition to temperature check-in stations. All residential students will be required to complete a temperature screening every 24 hours along with the self-reported health questionnaire.

Non-residential students will be strongly encouraged to complete a temperature screening and health questionnaire daily.

All employees will be required to conduct a selfscreening daily prior to coming to work. This should include an at-home temperature check and a review of potential symptoms of COVID-19 including cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and a new loss of taste or smell. A self-screening tool is available on the CDC’s website for employees who prefer it to the Safety Connection platform.

Testing for COVID-19 has been and will continue to be facilitated through the Longest Student Health Center.

PCR nasal swab is currently the standard for diagnosing acute infections and is considered the most accurate at this time.

Where screening indicates a spread of COVID-19, community testing may be required. The Longest Student Health Center can facilitate additional types of COVID-19 testing when medically necessary. n

MEMBERS OF THE MSU COVID-19 TASK FORCE: Jeremy Baham, Assistant Vice President, Student Affairs Jason Barrett, Assistant Extension Professor, Water Resources Institute Thomas Bourgeois, Dean of Students David Buys, Extension State Health Specialist Annika Campbell, Assistant Director, Office of Study Abroad Brent Crocker, Emergency Manager John Cohen, Director of Athletics John Dickerson, Assistant Vice President, Enrollment Randy Follett, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Ra’Sheda Forbes, Associate Vice President, Multicultural Affairs Daniel Hale, Business Administrator, Longest Student Health Center Carla Huston, Director, CVM Enhanced Clinical Education Regina Hyatt, Vice President for Student Affairs Brandon Jolly, Associate General Counsel Mary Ann Jones, Associate Professor, Library Julie Jordan, Interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development Mark E. Keenum, MSU President Joan Lucas, General Counsel Mary McLendon, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Sports Medicine and Performance Reuben Moore, Interim Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine Elizabeth Gregory North, Head, Agricultural Communications Tyler Packer, President, Student Association Steve Parrott, Chief Information Officer Jordan Ramsey, Associate Director, Alumni Association Andrew Rendon, Director, Assessment Office, Student Affairs Rebecca Robichaux-Davis, Professor, Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education John Rush, Vice President for Development and Alumni Peter Ryan, Executive Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Sid Salter, Chief Communications Officer Susan Seal, Executive Director, Center for Distance Education Nancy Siegert, Chief Human Resources Officer David Shaw, MSU Provost and Executive Vice President David Smith, D.V.M., Professor, CVM Pathobiology and Population Medicine Kyle Steward, Executive Director, External Affairs Cliff Story, M.D., Executive Director, University Health Services Lee Weiskopf, Director, University Governmental Support Don Zant, Vice President for Finance and Administration The Mississippi State University Safe Return booklet can be found at www.msstate.edu/safe-return-booklet.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 41

INFINITE IMPACT $1.07 BILLION TOTAL RAISED

Campaign achieves historic success

By Amy Cagle

A decade has passed since Mississippi State University boldly launched an unprecedented comprehensive campaign that would become the most ambitious in the institution’s 142-year journey. Now, MSU is making history with the Infinite Impact Campaign as it concludes with more than $1.07 billion in private support, including $285.2 million raised in planned gifts, distinguishing the university as the first institution in Mississippi to realize this monumental landmark of philanthropic support.

Infinite Impact began in July 2010 with a $600 million goal sought by the calendar end 2018. In an outpouring of support, MSU exceeded its initial goal three years ahead of schedule as nearly 52,000 benefactors, of which 20,500 were first-time contributors, made commitments. Because of this overwhelming support, in April 2016, the MSU Foundation board of directors and MSU President Mark E. Keenum formally extended the campaign’s goal to $1 billion, the largest goal ever set forth by the university.

As leadership forged ahead with Infinite Impact, spreading the message through alumni, friends, parents, faculty and students, there was a shared desire to build on the institution’s achievements and positively impact every aspect of university life. In particular, the campaign name Infinite Impact reflected the strength of MSU’s 42 SUMMER 2020

eight academic colleges and their collective number, which turned horizontally, gave symbolic meaning for the university’s quest—infinity. It is through its academic colleges that MSU accomplishes its mission with its core people—dedicated and talented students and creative and esteemed faculty.

Over its course, Infinite Impact revolved around five central themes—success, discovery, outreach, globalization and experience. And MSU made great strides with these overarching concepts as it pursued gifts for areas universitywide, including the academic colleges, the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, MSU Libraries, MSU-Meridian, and athletics.

The success of this historical campaign could not have been possible without the philanthropic support of 72,747 dedicated alumni, friends, corporations and other organizations. It is evident through these gifts that Mississippi State is a valuable asset to the state of Mississippi and the nation. Mississippi State is an exceptional place where students gain a unique combination of academics and outstanding professional preparation and where high-caliber faculty place top priority on teaching students. And an institution that places an active, integral role in the quality and economic growth of its home state and nation.

PRIMARY CAMPAIGN GOALS

$626.5 Million

$247.4 Million Scholarship Support

Annual & Programs Support

$121.4 Million Facilities Support

$78 Million Faculty Support

$4.4 Million $6.5 Million 2016/2017 2019/2020

Impact in Scholarship Awards 72,747

Campaign Donors

46

New Including

37,009 New Donors

18.2%

Average Alumni Participation (Over Infinite Impact)

96

Total

Chairs & Professorships Universitywide

$285.2 Million

Total Deferred Commitments ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 43

A CLOSER LOOK AT INFINITE IMPACT Support for Scholarships •

•

New endowed scholarships were increased by 75%. From the beginning of Infinite Impact until present, the number of endowed scholarships has grown from 1,038 to 1,815.

Furthermore, endowed scholarship assets grew from $102.3 million to $179.2 million in FY19.

The Promise Student Support Program is designed to offer financial and mentorship assistance to students from economically challenged backgrounds. The program depends on private support for its success, and campaign gifts have totaled $7.8 million for this effort. To date, 1,326 students have been accepted into this program, and 580 have graduated.

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The Presidential Endowed Scholarship program is one of the most competitive programs at MSU. The scholarship award provides financial support and mentorship to students over their four-year educational experience. Funds raised for this program totaled $6.9 million.

•

The Compass Scholars program provides awards to students who are proven high achieving academic performers in high school or community college. MSU annually matched funds raised up to $500,000 for this program. In all, $2.1 million was raised for the program.

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The Legacy and Loyalty Scholarships began with a partnership with MSU Athletics. These awards are given to academic achieving students. Funds raised up to $500,000 a year were matched by the Bulldog Club. Campaign gifts totaled $10.7 million for this program.

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Gifts in support of the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program (METP) bring scholarships to future educators in Mississippi. The scholarship has awarded 105 students the opportunity to succeed. In addition, 67 graduates are now teaching across the state of Mississippi because of METP.

•

Universitywide scholarship support for Infinite Impact totaled $247.4 million.

Support for Faculty •

During Infinite Impact, the number of endowed positions in the form of chairs and professorships, which assist in retaining and recruiting high-caliber faculty members, increased by 88% raising the number to 96.

•

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences gained the Milton Sundbeck Professorship in Southeastern Cattle Management in the Department of Animal and Dairy

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Sciences for research and the development of sciencebased solutions for cattle producers in the state and region to enhance their profitability. During the campaign, the college raised $10 million for eight endowed positions and other faculty support.

•

The College of Architecture, Art and Design secured the Mark S. Jordan Endowed Professorship to advance the mission of the School of Architecture and its nationally accredited program. At campaign’s end, the college tallied $1.2 million for endowed positions and other faculty support.

•

The College of Arts and Sciences secured its first endowed professorship position—the Dr. Donald L. Hall Distinguished Professorship in Biological Sciences. The holder of the position will mentor and challenge students extensively and further the college’s groundbreaking research. Another endowed position, the George Bishop Professorship in Geosciences, will be part of the Department of Geosciences, a recognized Center of Academic Excellence in Geospacial Sciences. The college raised $5 million in campaign gifts for three endowed positions and other faculty support.

•

The College of Business secured the Jack R. Lee Endowed Chair in Financial Institutions and Consumer Finance that provides students real-world insights. The position serves as a significant resource for the state of Mississippi and the nation regarding research, consultation and outreach in the increasingly complicated financial sector.

Overall, the college raised $10.4 million for eight endowed positions and other faculty support.

•

The College of Education received its first professorship, the Dr. Susan McLaren Brooks Endowed Elementary Education Professorship to provide a mentor and adviser for elementary education majors. Over the campaign, the college raised $2 million in faculty support.

•

The James Worth Bagley College of Engineering received its first endowed professorship that encourages diversity among faculty. The Dr. Oswald Rendon-Herrero Diversity Professorship works closely with the college’s Office of Diversity to further cultivate an environment of inclusiveness and academic excellence. Additionally, the college gained the Mary Lyn and Niles Moseley Endowed Chair of Cyber Security in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering to conduct research and work with the university’s Center for Cyber Innovation. During the campaign, the college raised $31.4 million to establish 18 endowed positions and other faculty support.

Brandi Karisch, Sundbeck Endowed Professor

Presidential Scholars

Promise Student Support Program

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 45

Taylor Solid Mechanics Laboratory

Angus Dawe, Hall Endowed Professor

Richard A. Rula Engineering and Science Complex

46 SUMMER 2020

•

•

•

The College of Forest Resources gained the Taylor Chair for Applied Big Game Research and Instruction that ensures the training of tomorrow’s leaders in wildlife biology while supporting meaningful research for landowners. Another endowed position, the James C. Kennedy Endowed Chair in Upland Bird Ecology, supports conservation efforts in waterfowl, wetland and upland gamebird ecology and plays a crucial role in understanding population declines of species like quail and turkey across their native range. The college raised $10.1 million for four positions and other faculty support during the campaign.

The College of Veterinary Medicine secured funding for faculty positions. The Terri Nusz Endowed Equine Professorship supports efforts to educate CVM students, interns and residents; serves the clinical needs of horse owners and referring veterinarians; and represents MSU at a national level. Another position, the Dr. P. Mikell Davis and Mary Cheek Hall Davis Endowed Professorship in Beef Cattle Herd Health and Reproduction Management, focuses on advancing beef cattle production in the state and the Southeast. At campaign’s end, the college tallied $5.7 million in campaign gifts for three endowed positions and other faculty support.

Universitywide faculty support for Infinite Impact totaled $78 million.

Support for Facilities •

•

•

•

The Old Main Academic Center was built to expand classroom and study spaces for a growing university.

The building, used by an estimated 11,000 students on its busiest days, provides an exceptional teaching and learning environment with some 20 classrooms, an auditorium and other areas.

Recognized nationally for its veteran-friendly campus, MSU used contributions to build Nusz Hall, a home for the G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans and service center for the community. Including dependents, the university’s veteran community comprises some 2,980 students.

The newly opened Partnership School is a collaboration between MSU and the Starkville Oktibbeha School District. The school will serve the local community and MSU while creating a long-term impact on the education of sixth and seventh graders. The school will be an innovative research site for current and future educators. Private support helped to provide the needed construction cost.

The True Maroon fan experience has been reenergized with Nusz Park at Dudy Noble Field. Many student-

athletes can better train for competition at the Leo Seal Jr. Football Complex for indoor practice, the Mike Sanders Track Complex for men’s and women’s track teams, and the under-construction Mississippi State Tennis Pavilion indoor complex for men’s and women’s practice.

•

Financial support of the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach housed in the College of Business provides valuable assistance for business start-ups, competitions, student and faculty travel, guest speakers, and additional administrative and operational support to promote and enhance programming and outreach as a universitywide resource. Beyond the center, The Idea Shop, which consists of the Turner A. Wingo Maker Studio and the MSU Retail Product Accelerator, are operated by the College of Business with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Human Sciences, giving the Starkville community a place to promote entrepreneurship in the marketplace.

•

The Richard A. Rula Engineering and Science Complex will house the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The complex will provide offices, classrooms, teaching, research and chemistry labs, and high bay areas, encompassing a cutting-edge learning and research facility for science and engineering students studying in the Bagley College of Engineering.

•

The Dr. A. Randle and Marilyn W. White Health Professions Resource Center in Harned Hall is a new academic service housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. The center is dedicated to offering experienced guidance for undergraduate and graduate students and MSU alumni who aspire to gain entry into a health professional school.

•

The Taylor Solid Mechanics Laboratory in Carpenter Hall assists with training the next generation of mechanical engineers through endowment-level support. The lab houses state-of-the-art equipment, enabling mechanical engineering undergraduates to gain hands-on experience with modern material-testing techniques.

•

An endowment provided for the renovation and upgrade of the Nutramax Laboratories Veterinary Sciences Pharmacy that accompanies the College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Health Center. The pharmacy assists the college daily, as it dispenses prescriptions for teaching-hospital patients and provides drug information consultations for faculty, staff and students, as well as veterinary practitioners and community pharmacists.

•

Universitywide support for new facilities and improvements for existing facilities through Infinite Impact totaled $121.4 million.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 47

Support for Programs: •

More than $1 million has been secured for an endowment to perpetually support MSU’s Phi Beta Kappa Chapter. The realization of this long-sought goal to shelter a chapter for this prestigious honor society came in 2018, enhancing the university’s national reputation.

•

A Study Abroad Excellence Endowment in the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College assists with travel expenses for full-time honors students who participate in the Shackouls Summer Study at the University of Oxford in England.

•

•

•

An endowment for a precision agriculture certificate program enables student participation in field research and related environmental factors, crop inputs, equipment, and IT software and hardware. The certificate program stems from the joint collaboration within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, with partnerships in the Bagley College of Engineering, the Geosystems Research Institute, the university’s extension centers and stakeholders from industries.

Many contributors continuously infuse the Mississippi 4-H Youth Development Program with annual support for the development of tomorrow’s leaders. By investing, contributors provide valuable resources and once-in-a-lifetime experiences for students that foster important outreach and service and keep the organization relevant for today’s participants from across Mississippi, ages 5-18.

MSU Libraries was gifted the largest privately owned Abraham Lincoln collection in America, allowing the university to pair it with the Ulysses S. Grant Collection. These state-of-the-art museum exhibits on the 16th and 18th U.S. presidents make Mississippi State one of only six universities in the nation to house a presidential library.

•

A number of contributors have gifted land and timberland, creating Legacy Forests within the MSU Bulldog Forest in the College of Forest Resources to provide research and education opportunities for students and faculty. Campaign gifts of real estate and timberland are benefiting areas across the university.

•

A new kinesiology program in the College of Education is now housed in the Kress Building at the MSU-Meridian Downtown Campus. The studentfocused learning environment prepares students at a high level to enter and make an immediate contribution to the local workforce and prepare for more advanced health care areas.

48 SUMMER 2020

•

The campaign brought support for mass-timber designs in the College of Architecture, Art and Design to educate School of Architecture students about the value of building with wood through the design of a proposed state-of-the-art wood structure for public outreach and education. Additional support assists the College of Forest Resources’ Department of Sustainable Bioproducts with travel, research, conference participation and hosting, and other activities that further work with cross-laminated timber and masstimber-related technology.

•

The College of Veterinary Medicine received support for the purchase of a second mobile unit, along with support that helps cover many of the expenses incurred as personnel of the Mobile Veterinary Clinics pay regular visits to 20 North Mississippi animal shelters where MSU veterinary students spay and neuter homeless animals and learn as they help communities.

•

Universitywide program support for Infinite Impact totaled $626.5 million.

THE LEGACY OF INFINITE IMPACT There is truly no end to Infinite Impact’s legacy at Mississippi State. Infinite Impact strengthened the connection of contributors by capitalizing on the desire of alumni and friends to both assist and inspire fellow Bulldogs and people everywhere through their giving.

Building on that momentum, MSU will continue to seek resources to further enhance its trifold mission of teaching, research and service, as well as its stature and reputation. Day in and day out, mutually beneficial partnerships with alumni, friends and corporations can expand shared capabilities and resources. There will always be a place for philanthropy at MSU, and Infinite Impact will be remembered as a pivotal chapter in the continued pursuit of excellence. n

TILL THE COWBELLS COME HOME

Mississippi State Athletics readies playbook for post-COVID sports

By David Murray

M

ississippi State University athletics is not merely a part of life. It is a way of life.

So as campus life resumes, MSU will be ready to play and Bulldog fans eager to cheer—a message athletics director John Cohen wants to ring cowbell-clearly.

“There’s a comfort, a love for your institution,” Cohen said. “I really believe intercollegiate athletics and love of your school is incredibly comforting.”

Perhaps the most comforting word Bulldog faithful can hear, after an unprecedented public health crisis hit pause for athletics, is that games will again be played.

Though much remains unsettled as higher education everywhere adapts, college sports will play its part in restoring institutional life at Mississippi State and to the state of Mississippi.

“When we go through these situations, it really tests our appreciation level for what we have,” Cohen said.

“When you don’t have sports, the appreciation grows.”

The situation that tested the state and nation in spring 2020 was like nothing experienced in many a Mississippi State generation. Not since the mid-20th century had international events brought college life and thus sports to a full stop. School was not merely out but campus closed down.

Fortunately, the semester was completed at safe distances, although graduation’s traditional rites were lost to the Class of 2020. Sports ceased entirely with senior seasons never to be finished.

“This has been a real educational experience for all of us,” Cohen said.

Indeed, the university and athletic department alike have learned unexpected lessons that should bode well for Bulldog futures.

As Cohen said, “Any leader knows you’re going

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 49

“It’s a little bit like the Ron Polk playbook. What it attempts to do is deal with every situation that can happen in the game of baseball. You’re trying to create a playbook.”~ John Cohen

50 SUMMER 2020

to have these tests that come up with important situations. We didn’t know this was going to happen. But we spend a lot of time dealing in the unknown. We are preparing for any type of environment surrounding intercollegiate athletics.”

Preparation is the key. Mississippi State is preparing to re-open for Bulldog business on whatever schedule is ultimately set for all fall and winter sports. While the obvious priority is resuming education and scientific study at the state’s largest and premier research institution, putting Bulldogs back on the field, court and course is assuredly a public service.

“I had a friend say that when they come into town, when they get about 10 miles outside of Starkville, they can feel their blood pressure lowering,” Cohen said.

If this sounds odd since games get hearts pumping and thumping, the former Diamond Dog coach and now administrator knows well how playing ball soothes State spirits everywhere.

“I hate to see that taken away,” Cohen said. “You want that restored. Students need that, alumni need that, fans need that. I’m really hopeful that will be restored.”

In fact, Mississippi State has been preparing for just this almost from the hour winter and spring sports stopped. Once 2019-20 athlete and teams’ immediate needs were addressed, thoughts turned to a new and unsettled athletic calendar.

“It’s challenging,” Cohen explained. “Everybody wants to know what we’re going to do. We’re all saying we don’t make decisions, the virus does.”

At the same time, Mississippi State decides when all is good to go without being pressured into premature action by peers. Like Kylin Hill hitting that hole, or a young Cohen clubbing a breaking ball, the key is correct timing.

“How do you know you’re right? You wait longer than everyone else,” Cohen said.

The great news is Mississippi State athletics could afford to wait, thanks to tough decisions by past directors.

“I really credit Larry Templeton, Greg Byrne and Scott Stricklin, all of whom were committed

to putting funds away so we could have resources for a rainy day,” Cohen said. “Now, there has been a monsoon. Every part of Bulldog athletics is going to be affected.”

The hardest hits are loss of NCAA Tournament distributions and refunding baseball ticket and seating revenues.

“But I will say our athletic department is in as good a situation as we can be financially,” he continued, “because we’ve been willing to put funds away for a situation like this.”

This surprises some. Though Bulldog athletics budgeting topped $105 million for 2019-20, with roughly 70% coming from Southeastern Conference and NCAA resources, MSU runs a lean and mean operation. Cohen and predecessors resisted the temptation to spend every cent, even on desirable items and personnel.

“We’ve made conscious decisions to put funds away,” Cohen said. “No question, we have some big projects in front of us.”

Those projects include a $50 million renovation of Humphrey Coliseum, and a less-pricey but much-needed addition to the south end zone of Davis Wade Stadium.

“But my first goal is to take care of our staff and student-athletes, and having some reserves helps us do that,” Cohen stressed.

Also helping ease the fiscal sting is strong support. Fans have held up their end of the Bulldog bargain for decades, in both great years and bad seasons. Crisis has not crimped their consistent contributions. In fact, when State revised the season ticket renewal schedule for spring circumstances, April 15 became one of the best sales days yet.

“I’m excited we’ve done well with our season ticket sales,” Cohen said. “It’s a real credit to MSU, and I can’t say enough how appreciative we are of our fans.”

This includes quite a few fans who chose not to have their baseball monies refunded but instead credited toward 2021.

This firm faith in university and Bulldog programs allows MSU to get back on track.

At least, as soon as the SEC and NCAA give the go-ahead for kickoff. Cohen called it all “a little bit of a race against the clock” in getting ready to get really ready. He said no one is going to analyze the situation more or deeper than SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

“He’s going to look at it from angles other people won’t.”

Or won’t want to, if say SEC country is in the COVID-19 clear, but other areas are locked down.

“I think it’s reasonable to assume different geographical regions are going to be ahead of others in terms of getting back to some sense of normalcy,” Cohen said.

Normalcy has different meanings to different groups. Conferences, networks,

“Every college student suffers from not being able to get in their routine, whether it’s going to the Sanderson Center or working on a research project. And we’re one of the great research institutions in the country.” ~ John Cohen bowls, cities and entire states have so much at stake in college sports and particularly college football returning to normal.

For Cohen, though, there is one constituency that counts above all others— the student-athletes. They look to coaches, Cohen and MSU President Mark E. Keenum for encouragement and the opportunity to do what they love. If college athletics is a comfort, for Bulldog student-athletes it is life itself.

“That’s not just the case with athletes,” Cohen said. “Every college student suffers from not being able to get in their routine, whether it’s going to the Sanderson Center or working on a research project. And we’re one of the great research institutions in the country.”

Still, the director’s direct charge is getting Bulldogs back in action—on and off the fall fields, that is.

“This is what they look forward to, the opportunity to practice and compete,” Cohen said. “As a former student-athlete, if you would have taken away not just the opportunity to play the game but to just

practice baseball, I know the 21-year-old version of myself would have problems dealing with this. That’s why I’ve been so impressed with the resiliency of our studentathletes when I’ve been part of a group meeting with every single team.”

These Bulldog teams have seasons to practice for and play in. And as for fans to cheer them on to victories, Mississippi State spent months honing an approach to regular seasons likely kicking off under irregular conditions. University, Starkville city, and state of Mississippi officials have done their homework.

This begins with the basics of any campus game day: safe yet efficient entry to Davis Wade Stadium; operating concession stands and maintaining rest facilities; servicing suites and boxes; and entertaining prospective players. Then, what about the extraordinary?

What happens when a capacity SEC crowd, a lightning alert and social distancing policies collide? Or any other condition fans don’t expect, but campus officials now must anticipate?

“We’re trying to cover every possible thing that can happen,” Cohen said. So perhaps it ought not surprise that this former outfielder seeks cues from his legendary coach in making a 2020 season fan-plan.

“It’s a little bit like the Ron Polk playbook,” Cohen said. “What it attempts to do is deal with every situation that can happen in the game of baseball. You’re trying to create a playbook.”

Well, it’s certain no contagion would rattle old No. 1. This generation of coaches, staff and administration has faced unique offfield challenges and will put Bulldogs back on eventual 2020 schedules. Even though teams don’t sport the university seal, its script “Learning, Service, Research” summarizes it well. Mississippi State has learned from a crisis, researched solutions and will continue serving stakeholders and audiences.

“The psychological part of it, it’s so hard to not bring back something that people look forward to,” Cohen said. “If you learn from this to make our university better, our athletic department better, it makes us all better.”

So, yes. Bulldogs will be playing again.

Playing to win.

It is a way of life, after all. n ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 51

Leach & McCray-Penson find their fit with Bulldog Programs

By David Murray

Before and besides the COVID-19 crisis, Mississippi State University Director of Athletics John Cohen faced what in normal years would count as dual crises. MSU unexpectedly had to replace a pair of coaches for high-profile teams.

Now, while new head football coach Mike Leach and Nikki McCray-Penson, who took the reins of MSU women’s hoops, lost some coaching time to the virus, both are already winning big for the Bulldogs.

In fact, the January presentation of Leach, college football’s most intriguing personality and a consistent success story, was the biggest “victory” of the football winter. Plenty of programs have pursued the “Pirate” over Leach’s explosive career, but he has dropped anchor in Bulldog Country.

“This one, I couldn’t turn down,” Leach said.

“I’m excited about this next step, this next chapter, and to be a Mississippi State Bulldog.”

So is McCray-Penson. Having achieved almost everything a women’s basketball star could on the court, and as a rising sideline star, she is excited about her next chapter as the newest head coach in the Southeastern Conference.

“I’m so grateful and blessed for this incredible honor to lead MSU women’s basketball,” the former Tennessee all-everything guard said.

Cohen has not simply hired the right persons. He believes these are the perfect personalities for the respective programs.

“Mississippi is unique in so many ways, and finding the right fit for Mississippi State is important,” Cohen said. “I think both coaches are great fits for Mississippi State, and for different reasons.”

Different definitely describes Leach. Architect of and leading advocate for “air raid” offense, he won big at Texas Tech and Washington State, neither an easy address for success. His all-attacking style is a profound change from Mississippi State’s traditional pace. Fans are thrilled and foes fearful of what this Bulldog buccaneer brings to the SEC. 52 SUMMER 2020

“We’re going to do some things here that are different. And we’re proud of that because we expect our results to be different,” Leach said.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun together, I can tell you that.”

The program McCrayPenson inherits is completely different than the Mississippi State teams she beat all four years, by an average 28 points, as a Lady Vol. Now, her new employer regularly defeats her alma mater, and Bulldog teams own SEC Championships and are NCAA Tournament fixtures.

“This is a national brand with a storied tradition and outstanding community,” McCray-Penson said.

“I’m confident and so happy to be part of the Bulldog family, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Bulldog fans hope Leach’s first season opens on time and in style, with a proverbial cutlass in one pirate’s paw and a real cowbell in the other.

“The cowbell represents a lot of pride that personifies this place,” Leach said.

“You feel it, and the commitment to football the state of Mississippi has and the entire Southeastern region. I wanted to be a part of it.”

Now both coaches are taking leading parts in Bulldog Country. The former coach who hired them is certainly sold.

Or as Cohen said, “I would want my kids to play for Nikki McCray-Penson and Mike Leach.” n

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 53

PROFILES

K-12 EDUCATORS FIND WAYS TO CONTINUE TO TOUCH LIVES IN TIMES OF GLOBAL HEALTH CRISIS

By Camille Carskadon

Sonya Adkins never thought she’d invite over 60 high school students into her home.

Still, this past March, she began doing just that, albeit virtually, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

54 SUMMER 2020

A N EW N O R M A L An educator for 10 years, Adkins, who is also a student in the educational specialist program at MSU’s College of Education, first heard of the new coronavirus during Newton Municipal School District’s spring break.

Even then, the high school biology and chemistry teacher didn’t realize that it would completely change how she would teach her students.

She explained that teachers typically use spring break to regroup and mentally

prepare for end-of-the-year state assessments and finals. The last thing she expected to do during that time was to move her classes, which rely heavily on hands-on learning, entirely online.

“I never expected not to see my school babies again,” Adkins explained. “It has been a challenge to incorporate the inquiry side of biology with limited resources at home. We’ve had to adapt by watching video demonstrations instead of hands-on activities.”

Adkins said she was grateful both she and her students love technology. They

were already using many online accounts to supplement learning, which made their transition less challenging.

Anna Oswalt was also quick to rise to the challenges presented by the pandemic. As an English teacher at Monroe County School District’s Advanced Learning Center, a mother and an MSU graduate student, she was used to the daily challenges that life threw at her. But after the governor ordered all schools to move to virtual learning in March—giving her just one week to move her dual-credit classes online—she knew she’d never faced a challenge quite like this.

“It never fails that when I’m in a Zoom meeting with my students, my 5-year-old runs up to me and whispers that she needs to go potty,” Oswalt, who is pregnant with her second child, explained with a laugh.

Her students, high school juniors and seniors, took it in stride. Oswalt said she is grateful that they are so understanding that this hectic time is hectic for everyone, including the teachers who usually have it together.

B RID GIN G T HE D IGITAL DIV IDE

“For the first time, I’ve felt at peace because I know that if the students can handle school during this pandemic, they can make it through whatever higher education throws at them. I am very, very impressed by how hard they’ve all worked.” ~ Anna Oswalt

Oswalt explained the biggest challenge to teaching students online is the technology disparity that many students across Mississippi face. While it’s no secret that not all homes in Mississippi have access to Wi-Fi, having enough devices in the house might pose a bigger problem.

When she first heard that schools might transition to distance learning for the rest of the semester, she began to wonder how that would be possible. She knew that not every student would have the means to learn online.

“I wanted to figure out not only if they had internet, but because of the number of people in their family, if they had enough access to devices,” Oswalt said. “So I, along with my colleagues, gathered the data to present to our administration.”

Oswalt, who also holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU, is currently pursuing an educational specialist degree. She credits that program with giving her the foresight to anticipate what challenges lay ahead for her students. She explained that since enrolling in the teacher leadership program, she has learned to identify needs that arise within her school and address them with support from her fellow lead teachers and the administration.

To combat the technology gap facing some of her students, Oswalt was able to loan her classroom’s Chromebook laptops to students who lacked internet-accessible devices. Paper packets were still

available to students just in case their internet went down and they were unable to access Canvas, the school’s cloud-based learning management system.

Some of Adkins’ students experienced the same disparity. Since they lacked devices, access to the internet or both, some students had to resort to accessing the Google Classroom with their cellphones. It also meant those without internet often couldn’t participate in any classroom Zoom meetings. When the administrators at Newton High School realized there was a need, they were able to provide electronic devices to those families that could access the internet.

LO O K IN G T O T HE F U T U R E

Oswalt said she isn’t sure how the next school year will look.

“You know as much as we know,” she said with a laugh.

The bright spot of the pandemic, if there is one, is that she already has a lot of her instructional materials online. She said she believes that all the work teachers have put into taking their classes online shouldn’t go to waste. If schools do meet face-to-face, the digital assets might still be useful for students who were absent or for supplemental instruction. Still, she is planning for every possible outcome.

“What I am really thinking is that I may just have more of an online approach next year because I have a lot of online stuff already. I think it could be useful no matter what format I end up teaching in,” Oswalt explained.

Similarly, Adkins is preparing for whatever this school year may bring. She explained that her bright spot is how her experience as both student and teacher during the pandemic taught her the need to adjust lesson plans to her students’ individual needs. She hopes to continue to implement this in future classes whether she is teaching face-to-face or online.

Though she hopes she’ll be back in the classroom, Adkins said she realizes that many safety measures need to be taken before face-to-face classes can work. But regardless of what comes next, both teachers say they know their students can handle it.

“I’m just so proud of my students,” Oswalt said. “For the first time, I’ve felt at peace because I know that if the students can handle school during this pandemic, they can make it through whatever higher education throws at them. I am very, very impressed by how hard they’ve all worked.” n ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 55

PROFILES

MSU ALUMNI-LED BLUE DELTA JEAN CO. PROVIDES COMFORT IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

By Sasha Steinberg, Photos Submitted

N

ews of the COVID-19 pandemic left Blue Delta Jean Co. CEO Josh West with two choices—indefinitely shut down the company’s Tupelo factory or find a way to keep the doors open, keep employees working and keep serving the community. It took a lot of planning and hard work, but the entrepreneur said the decision was a no-brainer.

“We decided to start making personal protective equipment, particularly face masks, because there was a need and we knew we had the talent under our roof to make this product,” said West, a Tupelo native who earned a master’s in public policy and administration from MSU in 2006. “With help from federal protection programs, we’ve also been able to hire more people to help make masks, and interestingly, we actually have more people in our factory today than we did pre-COVID. “When you’re doing something to help, you feel fulfilled,” he continued.

“Being able to keep a lot of people employed and help the people who need masks during this time has been a blessing for us.”

Founded in 2012 by West and fellow 2006 MSU graduate Nick Weaver, Blue Delta Jean Co. specializes in American-made custom raw denim.

56 SUMMER 2020

Since its inception, the apparel design and manufacturing operation has grown from one sewing professional to more than 50 employees.

Among them are Chief Design Officer Johnson Benjamin, a 2011 MSU landscape architecture graduate; and designers Michelle Jean and Brennan Byrne, who both graduated in 2019 with fashion design and merchandising degrees. West said he is grateful to members of the “BDJ family,” including employees and customers, who have remained loyal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve had a lot of people call in and order, and our customers have been so understanding about us limiting our jean production to focus on making face masks to help meet the demand,” West said.

“Customers said they’re happy with what we’re doing and just want to support us, so that’s been great.”

In early March, Blue Delta switched to 25% daily jean production to devote the remaining 75% of daily production to face masks—about 15,00020,000 a day—to support health care providers on the COVID-19 frontlines in Mississippi and across the country. West said BDJ’s largest customer has been the state of Mississippi, including the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and North Mississippi Medical Center. The company also has sold masks to help first responders in Memphis, Tennessee, and fire departments in New Orleans, Louisiana.

West said the most challenging aspects of shifting from jean to face mask production have been safely reconfiguring the factory’s physical layout and acquiring the type and volume of raw materials needed to make safe, effective masks.

“Mississippi State stepped up in a big way early on when we were designing mask prototypes,” he said. “We found a non-woven fabric produced here in Tupelo that we wanted to use for the masks, but we needed to test the material for its filtering capabilities. We knew MSU had research labs, so we called for help.”

West specifically contacted Eric Hill, director of MSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach, who connected him with researchers at the university’s Institute for Clean Energy Technology.

“Mississippi State bent over backward to help us. They opened up the lab the next day to do testing for us and several times after that,” West recalled, speaking of MSU ICET Director Charles Waggoner and John Wilson, chief test engineer.

“They have helped us in every way, not only with testing but just helping us learn and understand what we were doing because we’ve never worked with these types of products before. Mississippi State helped us get that product to where we knew it was going to help people before we even made our first mask.”

West said safety also was key in protecting employees throughout the pandemic. BDJ sought assistance from Relias Healthcare in Tupelo to implement various safeguards, including installation of temporary walls to section off the factory’s workstations. Sewing machines have been spaced out to ensure social distancing and employees undergo temperature checks upon entering the factory and throughout the workday. The staff is also required to wash hands upon entering and exiting the factory’s manufacturing area. Personal protective equipment, such as gloves, hairnets, face

“Mississippi State stepped up in a big way early on when we were designing mask prototypes,” he said. “We found a non-woven fabric produced here in Tupelo that we wanted to use for the masks, but we needed to test the material for its filtering capabilities.

We knew MSU had research labs, so we called for help.”

Josh West ~ When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Mississippi, Blue Delta Jean Co. wasted no time converting its high-end blue jean manufacturing floor into a socially distant, sewing space for creating personal protective equipment. Founded by MSU alumni, the company worked with MSU researchers to ensure the efficiency of the masks which have been distributed to frontline workers across the country.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 57

PROFILES “At Blue Delta, we’re always trying to develop talent for the future, and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without Mississippi State being there for us as an amazing resource.” ~ Josh West

masks and medical gowns, have been provided and must be worn in the work area as well.

“Our top priority is ensuring that we have a healthy workforce to assist in this effort, and we’re grateful to Relias Healthcare for helping us put those safeguards in place, so we can keep working to help those in need,” West said. “It’s been a lot of work—six, 12-hour days per week—to produce the volume of masks needed, but it’s neat to see our team work together on a completely different product.”

This servant leadership mentality is something West said he learned from two of his “favorite professors ever”—Marty Wiseman and Joe Adams.

Former longtime director of the university’s John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Economic Development, Wiseman taught West the importance of “getting the job done in a way that’s going to help your fellow man.” West said Adams, a former MSU lecturer in political science and public administration, often used the quote “Happiness smells like sweat.” West said he uses this quote as daily inspiration, proudly displaying it in a frame on his desk.

“Having these two professors alongside me was helpful in graduate school, and that ‘get it done’ mentality they taught me has definitely helped in

life and business,” he said. “At Blue Delta, we’re always trying to develop talent for the future, and we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without Mississippi State being there for us as an amazing resource.”

West said he is particularly grateful for the ongoing support of the School of Human Sciences’ fashion design and merchandising program and the College of Business’ Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach.

“Our co-founder Nick and I serve on one of Charles Freeman’s advisory boards in fashion design and merchandising, and we’ve had four interns that have come through that program, two of which we hired right when they finished school. The design talent pool that State has is directly impacting our business for the good,” West said.

“Eric Hill and Jeffrey Rupp with the entrepreneurship center at State also have been awesome in getting us into classrooms to interact with students and talk about what we do,” he continued. “There are some really sharp students in that entrepreneurship program that I would hire tomorrow. During COVID and normal times, being able to access that talent has been really good for us.” n

M S U S MALL BUSIN E SS DE VE LOPMENT CEN TER Success in business is all about relationships, and Mississippi State University’s Small Business Development Center has thrived on this principle for nearly four decades.

“It’s a real joy to help people by providing information to guide them in starting or expanding their business, and the main way we do that is through free, one-on-one business counseling,” said Chip Templeton, the center’s director. “Dean Sharon Oswald really believes in our center, one of the many, many wonderful things going on in the College of Business.”

Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and with offices at both MSU’s Starkville and Meridian campuses, the SBDC assists business owners across Choctaw, Clay, Kemper, Lauderdale, Lowndes, Monroe, Montgomery, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Webster counties. Small business owners and entrepreneurs can submit a counseling request 58 SUMMER 2020

form, read success stories from around the state and access other resources on the statewide SBDC’s website.

“W hen y ou’ r e in business for your self, ther e ar e rules y ou hav e to know a nd you hav e to know how to impr ov ise when you have the fr eedom to m ake choices. ” Chip Templeton ~ “When you’re in business for yourself, there are rules you have to know and you have to know how to improvise when you have the freedom to make choices,” Templeton said. “We think you’ll be more successful if you come to us

for a personable, confidential conversation.”

Templeton, who earned a bachelor’s in marketing from MSU in 1977, said he typically encourages clients to complete three workshops that the center offers. Designed to provide a “toolbox of information” prior to counseling, these workshops cover different topics, such as how to write a business plan, including a 36-month cash flow projection.

“You never know when a crisis is going to hit and no two crises are alike, so it’s important to plan as much as possible,” Templeton said.

“Sometimes, just thinking out loud and being able to ask some general questions is all people need before talking to bankers, accountants, lawyers and others who can help answer more specific questions about loans and things like that. If you’re outside of our 10-county footprint, we encourage you to contact an SBDC and see if they can help you wherever you are in your business.” n

MSU HEALTH CENTER CHIEF HELPS KEEP CAMPUS, COMMUNITY BULLDOG STRONG

By Allison Matthews, Photos by Logan Kirkland

W

hen Dr. Cliff Story first learned of the novel coronavirus impacting China in January, he said he knew it would be prudent to prepare for a “worst-case scenario.” As more information came forth, he began planning with colleagues at the John C. Longest Student Health Center, where he serves as a physician. He also is director of MSU’s University Health Services and has helped lead the institution’s preparedness and response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Story, board-certified in family practice, said medical training includes the study of pandemic scenarios, but the novel coronavirus—with its many variables and unknown factors—has made 2020 a year like no other.

“Since the earliest days, when we began discussing this on campus, I have been calling this a unique moment in time,” Story said.

“No one alive, in my opinion, has experienced anything like this.

“As physicians, we’ve had guidelines, studies, and previous experiences when it comes to treating individuals or populations, but we have not had a global pandemic with rapid spread, overwhelmed medical systems, high morbidity and mortality, and generally minimally known information about an illness,” he added.

“We’ve literally been writing the rules to a game we’re playing in real time,” Story continued.

“Except it’s not a game—it’s a highstakes matter that has life or death implications, as well as extreme economic and financial outcomes that affect an entire population, and really the world.”

In the early weeks of the spring semester, Story asked Nancy Ball, nursing supervisor at the Longest Student Health Center, to acquire additional personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 59

PROFILES

Dr. Clifton Story, director of MSU’s University Health Services and a physician at the Longest Student Health Center, gives a health update during an online forum.

The information session is part of the university’s efforts to provide up-to-date information on the COVID-19 pandemic, along with support to the Bulldog community. surgical masks, gowns and sanitizer, so the university would have needed supplies to protect students, patients and staff. Even then, Story said he didn’t imagine the upheaval of daily life that would unfold as weeks went by.

“I did anticipate that hoarding would occur. I told family, friends and clinic employees not to hoard, but to make sure they had the things that they normally need like medications and supplies,” Story said.

“I warned them that society would become stressed and it might be difficult to find things that normally would be easy to find.

“As time went on, it seemed the rules and the guidelines and the emergence of the disease changed daily—sometimes several times in a day,” he continued. “My advice was to do what we needed to prepare, and not to rely on the government or others to step in and save us.”

Story has been part of a team of university administrators leading MSU’s efforts to protect students and employees and 60 SUMMER 2020

to orchestrate universitywide operating plans throughout the crisis. He also is serving on a task force comprised of medical professionals representing the 14 universities of the

“As time went on, it seemed the rules and the guidelines and the emergence of the disease changed daily—sometimes several times in a day. My advice was to do what we needed to prepare, and not to rely on the government or others to step in and save us.” ~ Cliff Story Southeastern Conference to guide the SEC as it makes decisions related to the return of athletic activities.

Story emphasized that doctors and other health care workers cannot solve this crisis,

and neither can the government.

“It’s going to take us as a community working together as a whole,” he said.

“It’s going to be a communitywide effort of everyone using their different skills or abilities, whether that is making masks, delivering food or simply doing their part with social distancing.”

Story has worked with other Longest Student Health Center physicians, nurses and staff to ensure the clinic takes every health precaution possible, implementing appropriate processes and strategies to maintain a safe environment. Frequent sanitizing, screening and separation of patients, and assigning evaluation of potential coronavirus cases to only two providers to limit exposure of all other employees have been among steps taken to minimize risk.

And Story has reached out to his Bulldog family to utilize specialized skills and talents outside of the health clinic. When he expressed a need for enhanced sterilization

processes, his request made its way to two mechanical engineering students— Ryden Smith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Wesley Cameron of Richton—who, under the leadership of researchers at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, developed a sterilization device using UV light and a conventional truck toolbox.

“These students created something that benefits us in the clinic and community and highlights their specialized abilities,” Story said.

He said faculty, staff and students from across the university continue innovating ways to help the state and nation respond to the crisis.

Story anticipates that as progress is made toward beating the virus and society begins to return to normal, there will be some long-term changes and most people will adopt a “new normal,” including a permanently stronger focus on hygiene habits that are among the most effective strategies in fighting infectious disease.

“I’ve washed my hands more in the last few months than in the previous 20 years,” Story said with a laugh.

Thankfully, Story said MSU and the Longest Student Health Center have seen far fewer positive test results for COVID-19 than many other areas. But he expects it will be months before data begins to give more clarity to many of today’s pressing questions. Despite the unknowns, Story stays grounded with a focus on the known facts and tries not to get bogged down in questions that can’t be answered right now.

“We need to maintain the course, and there’s plenty that we do know,” Story said. “We are fortunate to be at a university where people are pitching in across campus to work together.

I’ve always thought that the MSU community works together probably better than any other university.

“Mississippi State University—as a group of people—is banded together to work through this,” he continued.

“Every person is a key cog in the wheel to keep us going.” n

STUDENT COUNSELING SERVICES PROMOTES MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS Mississippi State has prioritized the health and safety of the campus community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but medical leaders know that combating the virus isn’t the only aspect of ensuring wellness.

The distress caused by an abrupt change to schedules and social norms, as well as financial impacts, isolation and other factors, has posed a particularly trying time regarding mental health issues.

Just as the Longest Student Health Center treats the gamut of physical needs, Mississippi State’s Student Counseling Services treats a wide variety of mental health issues.

Ty Stafford, clinical services coordinator and a licensed psychologist, said the unit

has maintained its services—free to all MSU students—throughout the spring and summer by moving to a secure online platform.

“But I’m glad we are able to offer a service that is, in nearly every way, the same as what we offer in the office. And whether students are in Ocean Springs or Hernando, we’re still meeting with them,” he explained. “I think students have been pleased.”

In addition to supporting students throughout the pandemic, counseling services has also increased its offerings of online workshops for faculty and staff to include topics and issues arising from the global health crisis to help faculty and staff.

Stafford shared these mental health tips for anyone feeling mental-health stress while complying with new public health and safety recommendations:

•

Social distancing does not mean social isolation. Even if you can’t physically be together, schedule talks with friends and family members. Staying in touch can make a world of difference.

•

Stay active. It can be easy to become sedentary while spending more time at home, but any kind of exercise, including simple routines that work well at home, can have physical and mental benefits. Meditation and mindfulness exercises also can help reduce anxiety.

•

Maintain boundaries between work and home. It can be easy to answer emails at midnight while telecommuting. Instead, be intentional to distinguish between professional and personal time in your schedule.

•

Give yourself permission to take special care. Do not be hard on yourself. Give yourself permission to struggle at times when things are difficult.

•

Don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Find a friend, clergy member or mental health professional to talk with. That is what we’re here for and this is what we do.

Stafford said while Student Counseling Services provides mental health services for students, other campus resources are open to the wider community. MSU’s Psychology Clinic offers services through the university’s Department of Psychology with online access available to help community members gain mental health assistance during the pandemic and beyond.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 61

ALUMNI News

Dawgs in

This spring, when daily life seemingly ground to a halt due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Maroon and White faithful sprang into action. More than 149,000 members strong, the Bulldog family across the globe united in service to support frontline workers as they faced long hours and uncertain circumstances.

LEAKE CO. CHAPTER CARTHAGE, MS

(RIGHT) Members of the Leake County Chapter of the Alumni Association helped feed day-shift workers at the Baptist Medical Center in Carthage by delivering more than two dozen pizzas.

62 SUMMER 2020

SWMS CHAPTER LIBERTY, MS

(ABOVE) The Southwest Mississippi Chapter of the Alumni Association, which includes Liberty, McComb and Tylertown, provided lunch for the staff of Liberty Clinic at Field Memorial Community Hospital in honor of National Nurses Week in May.

LAWRENCEJEFFERSON DAVIS CHAPTER PRENTISS, MS

(LEFT) The LawrenceJefferson Davis Alumni Chapter delivered pizza and snacks to the staff of Lawrence County and Jefferson Davis Community hospitals.

MS GULF COAST CHAPTER BILOXI, MS (ABOVE) Board members from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alumni Chapter, which includes Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, treated the staff of AMR Ambulance Service to Mississippi State-themed cookies during National EMS Week in May.

OKTIBBEHA CO. CHAPTER STARKVILLE, MS

(ABOVE) The Oktibbeha County Chapter board brought barbecue plates to the emergency room staff at Oktibbeha County Hospital.

CENTRAL MS CHAPTER JACKSON, MS

(LEFT & ABOVE) The board of the Central Mississippi Chapter, which includes the greater Jackson area, donated reusable cloth face masks to its local VA hospital, as well as other medical centers in the area.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 63

ALUMNI News

RESOURCES & SERVICES FOR SUCCESS

The MSU Career Center and MSU Alumni Association have partnered to provide Mississippi State alumni a repository of resources to assist them in their career exploration and job search. These resources can be accessed by visiting alumni.msstate.edu/CareerResources.

64 SUMMER 2020

MSU CAREER CENTER SERVICES FOR ALUMNI •

• • • • • •

Connections, online career management system Job postings On-campus interviews Additional job post/search software Career fairs Web resources Resume critiques

HIRE A DAWG

MSU alumni who graduated within the last two years have access to all of the services above as well as individual appointments with a career center coordinator.

CAREER MANAGEMENT WEBINARS The MSU Career Center has developed a series of career management webinars covering a wide range of topics including: • Resume tips • Cover letters • Interviewing tips • Making the most of LinkedIn • Virtual do’s and don’ts • Utilizing Connections and CareerShift • Other job search tools and resources

EXTERNAL JOB POSTINGS HUB Career Center staff have researched and compiled an extensive list of job posting sites organized by industry to give you a centralized hub to search and apply for additional career opportunities.

Interested in hiring MSU students and alumni and also recruiting at MSU? Get the word out about opportunities at your company to talented Bulldogs located around the world. Register your organization as an MSU employer.

•

Interview MSU students on campus and virtually

•

Post jobs on MSU Connections to recruit MSU students and alumni

•

Recruit students at career fairs and campus recruiting events

CAREER DOCUMENT LIBRARY The MSU Career Center has developed a wide variety of documents covering: • Personal branding • Networking • Job search strategies • Professional documents

CAREER RESOURCES FOR ALUMNI Career Center staff have curated a variety of online resources to assist alumni with the following: • Salary research • Occupation and company research • Graduate school research • Online and lifelong learning • Job search tools and resources

MSU CONNECTIONS Your Career Center alumni account provides access to Connections, our online job board.

Within Connections, you can conduct job searches, scroll through job postings and sign up for interviews for positions for which you qualify.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 65

ALUMNI News

SMITH WINS DELEGATES’ TUITION DRAWING The MSU Alumni Association raised over $17,000 in contributions during the most recent Alumni Delegates tuition drawing. Initiated in 2013 by the association’s student organization, Alumni Delegates, the drawing is open each fall and spring semester to any underclassman enrolled full time at MSU. Samuel J. Smith of Puckett, a sophomore finance major, received free, full-time tuition for the fall 2020

semester. His winning ticket was drawn from 4,580 purchased by parents of eligible students. Funds raised by the Alumni Delegates, beyond the cost of the in-state tuition for Smith, support scholarships and priority programs within the association. The Spring 2021 drawing will take place this fall. For more information, please contact the MSU Alumni Association at 662.325.7000 or email jramsey@alumni.msstate.edu.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HONORS ESTEEMED FACULTY The Mississippi State University Alumni Association honored three MSU faculty members in May for their commitment and service to the Bulldog family as part of the university’s 2020 Faculty Awards and Recognition Program. The program is sponsored annually by the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President with the university’s Alumni Association.

Recipients of the MSU Alumni Association recognition are: • Reuben Burch, assistant professor in the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, recipient of the MSU Alumni Association’s Graduate Teaching Excellence Award.

• Donna Gordon, associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biological Sciences, recipient of the MSU Alumni Association’s Outstanding Graduate Student Mentor Award.

• Holli Seitz, assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Communication, recipient of the MSU Alumni Association’s Early Career Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award.

66 SUMMER 2020

Alumni Association announces incoming national leaders

T

he MSU Alumni Association welcomes a new national treasurer and a slate of new and returning directors for its national board. These individuals began terms July 1.

Riley Nelson of Vicksburg enters into a three-year term as treasurer. He earlier served as Mississippi Central 3 Region director. Prior to that, he held leadership roles, including multiple terms as chapter president, with the Warren County Chapter. At MSU, he is a member of the Richard C. Adkerson School of Accountancy Advisory Council. He earned two degrees from the school, a 1999 Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy and a 2001 Master of Taxation. In his career, Nelson is a managing partner with May and Company LLP. Other national officers continue in the second half of their terms. They are: Sherri Carr Bevis of Gulfport, a 1986 Bachelor of Arts in communication graduate, as national president; Patrick White of Spring, Texas, a 1990 Bachelor of Arts in communication graduate, as vice president; and Brad M. Reeves of Jackson, a 2002 Bachelor of Business Administration in management of construction and land development graduate, continues as immediate past president.

Along with incoming officers, the association welcomes the following directors to its national board.

L-R: Brad Reeves, Riley Nelson, Sherri Carr Bevis, Patrick White

Taylor Flowers (’13) of Marks will serve as Mississippi North 1 Region director. She is active with the Quitman County Alumni Chapter leadership team, assisting with chapter events and activities and serving as part of the Alumni Recruitment Network.

Zwan Landfair (’93) of Olive Branch will serve as Mississippi North 1 Region director. He is active in the Alumni Recruitment Network, serves on the Black Alumni Advisory Council and currently co-chairs MSU’s Black Alumni Weekend 2020.

Will Bowlin (’01, ’09) of Boonville will serve a second term as Mississippi North 2 Region director. Before relocating to Prentiss County, he was an active member and chapter president in the Union County Alumni Chapter.

J.D. Wood (’02) of Tupelo will serve as Mississippi North 2 Region director. He earlier served the Lee County Alumni Chapter in a variety of leadership positions and currently serves as president.

Jimmy McPherson (’95, ’98) of Starkville will serve his second term as Mississippi North 3 Region director. He has been active with the Oktibbeha County Alumni Chapter, including previously serving as past president and representing the Alumni Association at various send-off party events.

Stratton “Strat” Karatassos (’74) of Starkville will serve as Mississippi North 3 Region director.

He recently retired after a 43-year career with MSU Athletics, having been a fixture at Alumni Association events. He remains active with the Oktibbeha County Alumni Chapter post retirement.

Adrienne Morris (’05, ’07, ’10) of Columbus will serve as Mississippi North Region 3 director. She serves the Lowndes County Alumni Chapter as president, having earlier been vice president, and serves on the Black Alumni Advisory Council. At MSU, she has been an advisory board member of both the communication department and Montgomery Leadership Program.

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 67

ALUMNI News Herbert Clark (’81) of Rolling Fork will serve a second term as Mississippi Central 1 Region director. He is a longtime volunteer, having served as president of the Sharkey-Issaquena Alumni Chapter since 1984.

Matt Mahan (’04) of Kosciusko will transition to Mississippi Central 2 Region director. Mahan previously represented the Mississippi North 2 Region. He has served both the Jones County and Lee County alumni chapters as a volunteer and led the Jones County Chapter as president.

Nathan Cummins (’02, ’03) of Clinton will serve as Mississippi Central 3 Region director. He is active with the Adkerson School of Accountancy, the Warren County Alumni Chapter, and established the Cummins Family Endowed Scholarship at MSU benefiting students in the Adkerson School of Accountancy.

Theressia McAlpin (’77, ’98) of Pearl will serve a second term as Mississippi Central 3 Region director. She is a longtime volunteer with various leadership roles in the Central Mississippi Alumni Chapter, including chapter president, and she is active in the Alumni Recruitment Network.

Dwanda Moore (’96) of Ridgeland will serve as Mississippi Central 3 Region director. She is a longtime volunteer with the Central Mississippi Alumni Chapter, serving in various leadership roles including chapter president. Moore also serves as a member of the Black Alumni Advisory Council.

Fred Monsour (’02, ’05) of Meridian will serve a second term as Mississippi South 1 Region director.

He is a longtime volunteer and past president of the Lauderdale County Alumni Chapter who has been influential in raising funds for the chapter’s scholarship.

Jonathan Jackson (’10) of Hickory will serve as Mississippi South 1 Region director. He is active in the Newton County Alumni Chapter as student recruiting chair and with the Alumni Recruitment Network. He also participates with the annual MSU alumni band reunion.

Celeste Carty (’79) of Brookhaven will serve a second term as Mississippi South 2 Region director. She has been active in the Lincoln County Chapter in various leadership roles, including past president, and she has been active in the Alumni Recruitment Network.

68 SUMMER 2020

Lynn Twitty Burwell (’80) of Gulfport will serve a second term as Mississippi South 3 Region director.

She has been active in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alumni Chapter, the Alumni Recruitment Network and she is a past president of the former HarrisonStone Alumni Chapter.

Richard Cannon (’86) of Ocean Springs will join the board as Mississippi South 3 Region director.

He is a past president of the Jackson County Alumni Chapter and was instrumental in founding the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter. He was among the 2018 MSU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award recipients.

Stephen Woo (’94, ’95) of Cordova, Tennessee, will serve as Out-of-State Region 2 director. He is a longtime Alumni Association and Memphis Maroon Club volunteer. He was honored among the 2019 MSU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award recipients.

Stephanie Williford (’72) of Mobile, Alabama, will serve a second term as Out-of-State Region 3 director. She has served the Mobile, Alabama Alumni Chapter for many years, including a term as president. She was among the 2009 MSU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award recipients.

Paige Roper of Franklin, Tennessee, who attended the university, will serve as State of Tennessee director. She has been active in the Nashville, Tennessee Alumni Chapter in a variety of leadership positions, involved with alumni recruitment activities and volunteers with the Music City Marathon.

Crystal Vincent (’05) of Wylie, Texas, will serve as State of Texas director. She was active in the Birmingham, Alabama Alumni Chapter and serves as co-chair of the Black Alumni Advisory Council and Black Alumni Weekend 2020.

The Alumni Association was founded June 17, 1885, by the first three graduating classes of then Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College.

A full-service organization, the association now includes 104 chapters and clubs. Mississippi State currently has more than 149,000 living alumni.

For more information about the MSU Alumni Association, contact Jeff Davis, executive director, at 662.325.7000 or jdavis@alumni.msstate.edu. n

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ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 69

GIVING Back

New board leaders, members

in place for MSU Foundation

By Amy Cagle

F

or nearly six decades, the MSU Foundation has assisted the university in attracting support from private sources.

In 2020, an impressive slate of loyal alumni are serving as leaders of the 48-seat board while 10 other alumni are beginning new terms as members.

Incoming officers with new one-year terms that began in January include three alumni returning to offices they initially held in 2019. They are: D. Hines Brannan of Atlanta, Georgia, as board chair; Anthony L. Wilson of Gulfport as vice-chair; and Mike M. McDaniel of Houston, Texas, as treasurer.

70 SUMMER 2020

A Woodville native, Brannan earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1970 and an MBA the following year, both from MSU. He is a retired managing director of Accenture, one of the world’s largest management consulting firms.

Fellow Mississippi native Wilson hails from D’Iberville. He earned an electrical engineering degree in 1987 from MSU and later an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi. He currently serves as chairman, president and CEO of Mississippi Power Company.

McDaniel, who holds a 1979 bachelor’s

degree in mechanical engineering from MSU, is a native of Cleveland. He is currently the president of Saber Power Services LLC, having earlier been CEO of M3 Resources LLC. Rounding out the remaining board officers are MSU personnel. John P. Rush, vice president for development and alumni, is the board’s president and CEO; Janet H. Carraway, executive director of finance, is chief financial officer; and Jack McCarty, executive director of development, serves as board secretary. All are proud MSU graduates.

New members beginning inaugural threeyear terms in 2020 are:

George H. Bishop of Sealy, Texas A 1958 petroleum geology graduate, Bishop is founder and president of GeoSouthern Energy Corporation, which has grown into one of the largest, privately held producers of oil and gas in the country.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service by MSU in 2019.

Frederick V. “Fred” Buie of West Des Moines, Iowa He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial engineering he earned from MSU in 1978 and 1991, respectively. Buie is president and CEO of Keystone Electrical Manufacturing Company. He has served the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering advisory board and was named a 2008 Distinguished Engineering Fellow.

Francis C. “Franc” Lee of Flowood He is a 1989 banking and finance graduate of MSU and president of Tower Loan. He was the College of Business Alumnus of the Year in 2012.

Laurie R. Williams of Madison She is a 1979 MSU communication graduate who later earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi. Williams is director of membership and growth – all plans – for Molina Healthcare of Mississippi.

She has served the College of Arts and Sciences deans/directors advisory board and was selected as the college’s 2015 Alumni Fellow.

Six alumni who have previously served as members are returning to the board in 2020 for new three-year terms.

George W. Bryan Sr. of West Point A 1967 Bachelor of Business Administration graduate of Mississippi State University, Bryan is owner of Old Waverly Golf Club. For the College of Business, he was an Alumni Fellow in 1992 and Alumnus of the Year in 1996. He has served the dean’s advisory board for the college since 2008.

Randy J. Cleveland of Fort Worth, Texas A 1983 petroleum engineering graduate, Cleveland is the retired vice president of Americas for ExxonMobil Production Company. For the James Worth

Bagley College of Engineering, he was a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2008 and the college’s Alumnus of the Year in 2019.

Bryan

Mark S. Jordan of Canton A 1976 landscape architecture graduate, Jordan is a real estate developer with Mark S. Jordan Companies. He was the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumnus of the Year in 2011.

Brannan

Cleveland

Thomas B. “Tommy” Nusz of Houston, Texas A 1982 MSU petroleum engineering graduate, Nusz is CEO and board chairman of Houston-based Oasis Petroleum, which he co-founded. For the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, he was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow in 2002 and honored as Alumnus of the Year in 2013.

William A. “Lex” Taylor III of Louisville A 1977 general business administration graduate, Taylor is chairman and CEO of the Taylor Group Inc. and president of Taylor Machine Works Inc. He was the College of Business Alumnus of the Year in 2007, and he has served multiple terms on the college’s deans/directors advisory board.

Douglas T. “Doug” Terreson of Point Clear, Alabama A 1984 petroleum engineering graduate, Terreson is head of Energy Research for Evercore ISI. He was the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering Alumni Fellow in 2001. He also holds an MBA from Rollins College.

Also joining the board, by virtue of position, are Sherri Carr Bevis of Gulfport, president of the MSU National Alumni Association board of directors, and David Abney of Atlanta, Georgia, president of the MSU Bulldog Club. Bevis earned a 1986 communication degree from MSU and currently serves the Mississippi Office of the Secretary of State as assistant secretary of state for external marketing. Abney, a friend of the university, is executive chairman of the United Parcel Service (UPS) board of directors.

Chartered in 1962, the MSU Foundation administers most of the campus-based fundraising activities and endowment funds.

More on the MSU Foundation’s work can be found at www.msufoundaton.com. n

Wilson

Jordan

McDaniel

Nusz

Bishop

Taylor

Buie

Terreson

Lee

Bevis

Williams

Abney ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 71

2021 Destinations* February • Wonders of the Galápagos Islands

Embark on an

ADVENTURE with the

MSU Alumni Association

March • The Pride of South Africa • Great Trains & Grand Canyons • Brazilian Spotlight • Edinburgh & The Castles of Scotland • Ireland during St. Patrick’s Day April • Kentucky Derby • Aegean Glories • Dutch Waterways • Legends of the Nile June • Flavors of Chianti • The Great Journey Through Europe • Glaciers & Blooms of Alaska (MSU SEC Cruise Ambassador: Mr. Rockey Felker) • Easy Company: England to the Eagle’s Nest July • Cape Cod & The Islands • Circumnavigation of Iceland • National Parks & Lodges of the Old West • Toronto to Vancouver by Rail August • The Majestic Great Lakes • Black Hills & Legends of the West September • Northern Lights & The Wildlife of Northern Manitoba • Yosemite, Death Valley & The Great Parks of California October • Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta • Ancient Greece: An Agean Odyssey • Ramblas & Rivieras • National Parks of the Southwest November • The River Seine to the Beaches of Normandy December • Holiday Markets Cruise along the Festive Rhine River

alumni.msstate.edu/travel

*All trips and dates subject to change.

Visit our website for the most current information.

The MSU Alumni Association annually sponsors trips across the globe through the Traveling Bulldogs program. Itineraries are booked through 2021. Explore our website for more information at alumni.msstate.edu/travel or contact the Alumni Association at (662) 325-7000.

State to You is a new video series that will bring MSU to you and keep you connected and informed through virtual tours highlighting campus locations and local alumni businesses.

Alumni.msstate.edu/statetoyou

Bulldog Bites is a new virtual speaker Series that will feature MSU Faculty, Staff, Researchers, and Alumni sharing their work, expertise, and impact on a wide range of topics.

Alumni.msstate.edu/bulldogbites

ALUMNUS.MSSTATE.EDU 73

CLASS Notes

1970s

A debut novel by David Armstrong (B.S., M.S. political science, ’73, ’74) has been released by The Wild Rose Press. “The Rising Place” is described as an “extraordinarily touching work of historical fiction.”

Set in Mississippi, the story unravels as a complicated tale of unrequited love, betrayal and murder through the discovery of hidden letters from World War II. William “Bill” Gardner (B.S. finance, ’74) is a member of the doctoral advisory committee for St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. With more than 40 years of experience, he has worked in banking, higher education, industrial gas and chemicals, electric utility and high-tech semiconductor design and manufacturing. He has published articles for Human Capital Institute and Forbes, for which he has been a contributor since 2017. He is a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, a Center for Creative Leadership Certified Coach and is affiliated with the International Coaching Federation.

Lynn Phillips-Gaines (B.A. communication, ’78) has been named to multiple national top financial advisors lists for 2020, including the Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors and Top 200 Women Wealth Advisors lists for the third and fourth consecutive years, respectively, and Barron’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors list for the fifth consecutive year. Now managing more than $200 million in client assets, she joined the financial services industry in 1982, opening her own practice—Phillips Financial—in 1984.

1980s

Randy Cleveland (B.S. petroleum engineering, ’83) was named 2019 Alumnus of the Year by East Central Community College in Decatur. He recently retired as vice president Americas of 74 SUMMER 2020

ExxonMobil Corp. after a 35-year career with the company. Longtime supporters of MSU, he and his wife have established an endowed professorship and endowed scholarship. They were also instrumental in reestablishing the university’s petroleum degree program. He has served on the MSU Foundation board and the Dean of Engineering Advisory Council.

Jeffrey Greer (B.S. electrical engineering, ’84) has retired after 35 years of Creditable (Federal) Service. Following his graduation from MSU, he was part of the Q & RA Engineering program within the Department of the Navy where he helped rebuild an F-14 “Tom Cat,” engineered the Navy shipboard weapons security system and modernized the Naval Command Control System and Naval Combat Support Systems, which he would later migrate to global systems for use by multiple services for the Department of Defense. He also earned level IV certification from the Defense Acquisition University in advance program management. For the past 16 years he worked with the Department of Treasury modernizing systems used by states, third parties and taxpayers.

Billy W. Stewart (BET engineering, ’84) was honored with President Emeritus status by the East Central Community College board of trustees, which also voted to rename the New Women’s Residence Hall in his honor. He served as the college’s eighth president from 2012 until his retirement July 2020. In 2019, he received the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction presented to college presidents who have shown strong support of student success on their campuses.

Joe Sawyer (B.A. landscape architecture, ’86) has been named vice president at Barge Design Solutions, a fullservice design firm with offices in five states. He will continue his work as Barge’s manager of Landscape Architecture and is a licensed professional landscape architect in the states of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Ohio. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the SportsTurf Managers Association.

1990s

Brent Bailey (B.S. biological engineering, ’94) was elected Mississippi public service commissioner for the Central District. He previously worked with the 25x25 Alliance and the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation mobilizing support for sustainable energy solutions and natural resource conservation.

He played football for MSU from 1991-93 as a deep snapper.

John Walker (B.S. accounting, ’94) has been named to the executive committee of the Public Relations Society of America’s Counselors Academy, which is dedicated to helping PRSA members succeed by promoting collaboration and professional development. He is managing partner of Chirp PR in Atlanta, which he founded in 2017. He previously worked for Walt Disney Company, and Ketchum and Edelman. He currently sits on the advisory board for the MSU Department of Communication.

Stevie Watson (B.S., MBA, Ph.D., business, ’95, ’96, ’06) is now dean of the School of Agriculture, Business and Technology at the State University of New York – Morrisville.

He previously served as dean of the School of Business at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, and held positions with Bryan Foods before joining academia.

Brandon O. Gibson (B.S., M.S. agribusiness, ‘96, ’97) was appointed Chief Operating Officer for the State of Tennessee by Gov. Bill Lee. Gibson previously served as senior adviser to the governor. Prior to joining the governor’s administration, she spent more than four years on the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

Cindy Simpson (B.A. interior design, ’96) was named co-regional managing principal of the South Central Region for Gensler, an

Know a Bulldog who has news or a recent promotion? Send an email to alumnus@msstate.edu.

architecture, design and planning firm based in Texas. She takes on this new role in addition to continuing as comanaging director of the Dallas office. In addition to her numerous leadership roles within the company, she is also a member of the advisory board for Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design, and was named an Alumni Fellow in 2019.

David E. Gray (B.S. electrical engineering, ’97) was named a finalist for the Management Excellence Medal, part of the 2020 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals which recognize the unsung heroes in federal government who make contributions to the health, safety and prosperity of America. Gray, who works for the Federal Aviation Administration, managed the government’s transition of the National Airspace System from ground-based radar to satellite tracking of aircraft, making flying safer and more efficient.

John F. Marszalek III (Ph.D. education, ’98) has released a new book through the University Press of Mississippi. Titled “Coming Out of the Magnolia Closet: Same-Sex Couples in Mississippi,” the book is described as an intimate portrait of what gay life looks like in the rural South.

Bart Gregory (B.S. agronomy,’99) was named Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. He is an assistant athletic director for annual giving at Mississippi State and can be heard on many Bulldog sports broadcasts including radio, television and podcasts.

2000s

Todd Matthews (B.S. forestry, ’00) was named forest management chief for the Mississippi Forestry Commission. He has been with the commission for more than 17 years and most recently served as assistant forest management chief and coordinator for the Forest Stewardship Program and Forest Health Program.

Kimberly Neal (B.A. English, political science, ’02) was selected secretary of the board of directors of the Baltimore, Maryland chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. She is general counsel for The Children’s Guild Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming how America educates and cares for its children through education, behavioral health, and national training and consultation services.

Brian K. Burnes (B.S., M.S. agronomy, ‘03, ’06) was appointed as the Eighth Circuit Court Judge. He was the assistant district attorney in the Eighth Circuit Court District, which covers Leake, Neshoba, Scott and Newton counties.

Elizabeth Crisp (B.A. communication, ’06) is now a Washington, D.C. correspondent, focusing on the White House and Congress, for Newsweek. She previously reported for the New Orleans Advocate and TimesPicayune, the Clarion-Ledger, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and USA Today. While at State, she served as editor of The Reflector.

Josh Doty (B.A. English, ‘08) has a book scheduled for November release from UNC Press. “The Perfecting of Nature: Reforming Bodies in Antebellum Literature” explores how understanding the human form changed during the 19th century. He is an assistant professor of English at St. Mary’s University.

William Craven (BACC, ’09) was promoted to member at Cozen O’Connor, a full-service law firm with offices around the world.

His practice focuses on national litigation, insurance coverage and regulatory matters.

2010s

Brent Gregory (Ph.D community college leadership, ‘10) has been named the ninth president of East Central Community College in Decatur, replacing fellow MSU alumnus Billy W. Stewart who retired in November

2019. He previously served as vice president for student affairs at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, where he was also Title IX coordinator and supervised the offices of counseling, recruiting, financial aid, campus housing, campus police, college publications, disability services, student activities and judicial affairs.

He previously served as associate vice president for enrollment management at Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead. He is a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Committee for SMCC Reaccreditation, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Proposals Task Force Learning Management System, and the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College’s Legislative Appreciation Planning Committee.

Chase McPherson (B.B.A business information systems, ’12) was named vice president of Trustmark’s main office in Tupelo.

He is a graduate of the Southeastern School of Consumer Credit, the Mississippi School of Banking and is a graduate student in the School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Lisa Swenson (M.S. geosciences, ‘17) received the 2018 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. It is the highest award given by the U.S. government for teachers of science and mathematics in grades K-12. She is a sixthgrade science teacher at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Birth Announcements Charlotte Elizabeth Carskadon was born May 8, 2019 to James (‘12) and Camille (‘12) Carskadon of Starkville.

Erin Olivia Lassetter was born July 26, 2019 to Michael and Susan (’07) Lassetter of Starkville.

William O. “Witt” Vaughan IV was born Dec. 26, 2019 to Will (’13) and Katelyn Ussery Vaughan of Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Forever MAROON Eustace Andrew “Drew” Allen II (B.S. business administration, marketing; ’74) 68, Gulfport — He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity while at State. Following his graduation, he returned to Gulfport to join his father in the family business, Allen Beverages. He became president and CEO in 1991. He was a board member for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Business Council, The Peoples Bank of Biloxi, The Peoples Bank Holding Company, the Salvation Army, Great Southern Gold Club, People Against Litter and The Word at Work. He was also a board member and president of the Mississippi Soft Drink Association; past president of the advisory board for the College of Business at Mississippi State; past member and treasurer of the Harrison County Tourism Board; and commissioner of the Port of Pascagoula. He was awarded the Others Award by the Salvation Army, and the Silver Beaver and Pine Belt Distinguished Citizen Award by the Boy Scouts of America.

He was named Bottler of the Year by the Mississippi Beverage Association. Under his leadership, Allen Beverages was named North American Pepsi Bottler of the Year and Beverage World magazine’s Bottler of the Year in 2014. The Rotary Club named him a Paul Harris Fellow, and he was honored by Mississippi State University as one of the Top 100 in 100 commemorating the centennial of the College of Business. — March 19, 2020 Betty Latimer Black (B.S. music education, ’74) 69, Tupelo — A member of the Famous Maroon Band while at State, she later served as office manager for the MSU Choral program. She also was an active member of the MSU Alumni Association at all levels, serving as national president in 2007.

During this time, she and her husband Mike temporarily moved to Starkville where she was active in the Rotary Club serving as secretary. — March 2, 2020 Shirley Burrell (B.S. basic business education, ’63) 80, Gautier — A Bulldog cheerleader while at MSU, she married the late Ode Burrell Jr., a standout football player both at State and later with the Houston Oilers. She taught public school for more than 25 years before retiring.— April 23, 2020 W.C. Cannon (B.S. marketing, ’66) 77, Starkville — A retired general contractor, he 76 SUMMER 2020

enjoyed the outdoors, music, Bulldog sports and spending time with his family.

— March 31, 2020 James Kimball “Jim” Harrison (B.S. mechanical engineering, ’58) 84, Greenville — He worked at the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center for 38 years moving from the Space Sciences Lab to Program Development.

He was awarded the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal for leadership as manager of the first fully successful tether mission in space. Following his career with NASA, he worked as a consultant for Alpha Technologies. — March 9, 2020 Thomas Boswell Kennard (attended) 101, Starkville — A native of the Oktoc Community southeast of Starkville, he attended Mississippi State as an agricultural engineering major, leaving a semester before his graduation to take over duties at the family dairy farm. He was a member and past president of the Oktoc Community Club, a member of the board of directors of the Cooperative Creamery of Starkville, and a member of the national board of directors of Dairymen Incorporated. His dairy farm, Oktoc Jerseys, became one of the leading exhibitors and sources of registered Jersey cows in the country. Having grown up in the shadow of campus, he was a lifelong supporter of Mississippi State University and celebrated his 100th birthday by throwing out—under his own steam–the first pitch at Dudy Noble Field before the Dawgs faced Texas A&M. — March 30, 2020 Gordon Blackmon Kimbell Jr. (B.S. agriculture and animal husbandry, ’51) 93, Tyler, Texas — He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-47, achieving the rank of 2nd class quartermaster. His service included being part of the commissioning crew of the USS Lizardfish and deployment within the Pacific region. His honors from the military include the American Area Campaign Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Medal, Submarine Combat Pin, Good Conduct and World War II Victory Medal. A certified professional mechanical engineer, he worked with Kraft Foods Inc. for 36 years, earning the position of plant engineering manager. He was an active member of the Marvin United Methodist Church, the World War II Submarine

Veteran’s Association and the Boy Scouts of America. He volunteered in his community with the Salvation Army Food Bank and Community Bible Study Fellowship.

— Jan. 21, 2020 Thomas Minyard (B.S., M.S. civil engineering, ’80, ’88) 61, Greenwood — He spent more than 30 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designing systems of locks and dams on the Mississippi River.

He served as engineering and construction division chief of the Memphis District before retiring in 2014. He joined a firm in the private sector before ultimately rejoining the Corps of Engineers in 2016. — May 3, 2020 Walter J. “Duke” Olson III (B.S. business administration, ’68) 77, Jackson — He came to MSU after serving in the 101st Airborne Division. He was manager of the Bulldog baseball team during the era of coach Paul Gregory and was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Following his graduation, he was hired by Merrill Lynch as the youngest broker in the company’s history.

He was later named chief investment officer for Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance where he remained until his retirement. He served on the advisory board for finance and economics in the College of Business at MSU and was selected in 2015 to its Top 100 list, which commemorated the first hundred years of the college. He established two endowed scholarships—one in his name and one named after his wife Shirley, who he married at the Chapel of Memories in 1969.

The recipients of these scholarships are firstgeneration college students in the College of Business who are working their way through school, as he knew firsthand the challenge those students face. — Nov. 5, 2019 John Leslie “Les” Prichard (B.S. business administration, ’53) 90, Meridian — An Eagle Scout, he joined the Navy following his graduation from Starkville High School.

After being stationed in Kodiak, Alaska for one year, he returned home to enroll at Mississippi State University where he was a member of Kappa Sigma and the golf team.

Following his graduation, he spent two years as a naval officer before attending law school at the University of Mississippi. He later joined the FBI and was stationed in Los Angeles for two years before returning

Know someone who should be remembered in Forever Maroon? Send an email to alumnus@msstate.edu.

to Mississippi to join the new Floyd, Cameron and Deen law firm. He was a partner with the firm Deen, Cameron, Prichard and Young and continued to practice “of counsel” with Bordeaux and Jones after his retirement.

— April 6, 2020 Joe Robertson (B.S. business, ’75) 65, Madison — During his career in banking and finance, he held leadership positions with Ford Motor Credit, Unifirst Bank for Savings, Security Savings and Magnolia Federal Bank. He retired from BancorpSouth in December 2018 as senior vice president of the real estate group for the Jackson region. The Home Builders Association of Jackson awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award and Associate of the Year.

He was a life director of the National Association of Home Builders board of directors and was inducted into the Mississippi Housing Hall of Fame in 2019. He also volunteered with many civic and professional organizations, including service as the president of the Madison Ridgeland Rotary Club. — Oct. 3, 2019 Jesse Eugene “Jeep” Simmons (B.S. education, ’48) 97, Belden — He served as a bomber pilot during World War II before attending Mississippi State where he was president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, a cheerleader and Mr. Mississippi State in 1948. He retired as

district manager of Elanco, a division of Eli Lily.

— April 9, 2020 John Binion “Ben” White, II (B.S. marketing, ’61) 80, Bastrop, Texas — A member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity while at State, he began his career with the Texaco Oil Company following his graduation. In 1973, he joined the U.S. Department of Energy and later moved to the U.S. Department of Transportation working in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, where he was noted for his work in developing the 1980s public service announcement campaign featuring crash test dummies Vince and Larry. He retired from the federal government in 1994. He was a certified Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America in Poplarville. — Feb. 14, 2020 Jo Corley Woods (friend) 82, Picayune — A native of Jackson, she was owner of Jo’s Hallmark for 25 years and City Stationery.

She was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church of Picayune and a loyal supporter of Mississippi State from which her late father, Silas “Si” Corley (’25) and late husband Earl Glade Woods (’60) graduated. She was dedicated to The Partners in Leadership for Pearl River County. She served as president of the Picayune Junior Auxiliary and Civic Women’s Club.

— Jan. 13, 2020

In memory of James McCullough James Leonard “Coach” McCullough (B.S. education, ’49; M.Ed. ’53; Ed.D. secondary education, ’69) 95, Germantown, Tennessee — A veteran of the Marine Corps, he served in the South Pacific during WWII. Following his discharge, the Corinth native returned to Mississippi and enrolled at MSU on a football scholarship. He was an athlete and student coach until his graduation at which time he began a coaching and athletics administration career that took him to East Mississippi Junior College, Northeast Mississippi Junior College, Columbia High School and Brookhaven High School.

In 1954 he returned to State, working as an assistant coach and athletic academic counselor while pursuing a graduate degree.

He left coaching after earning a doctoral degree from MSU and joined the continuing education program. He retired in 1989 as

dean of continuing education at Mississippi State.

Following his retirement, McCullough remained in Starkville, serving on the advisory board of the MSU Department of Military Services and as a consultant on accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. An active member of the Bulldog Club and the M-Club, he received the Distinguished American Award from the Mississippi State University chapter of the National Football Foundation, the Leo Seal Award and was a Patron of Excellence at MSU. — August 1, 2019

Remembering the Adcocks

Lawrence “Larry” and Patsy “Pat” Adcock, who celebrated 65 years of marriage in 2019, died within 10 days of each other from complications of COVID-19. Larry, who was 86, and Patsy, who was 83, died March 29 and April 8, respectively, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

A native of Cleveland, Larry joined the U.S. Air Force following his high school graduation and served in Korea before coming to Mississippi State, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1959. He married Pat (Pinter) of Union in 1954, and the couple raised three sons and one daughter.

Larry was an executive with Dow Chemical, serving in Louisiana, Texas, Michigan and The Netherlands, and Pat made sure any location felt like “home” for the family. A civic-minded couple, they were active in numerous civic and philanthropic organizations.

Larry and Pat were also proud supporters of Mississippi State University. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow by the university in 1991, and they are noted contributors of the Legacy of Leadership Program.

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78 SUMMER 2020

Back STORY

WITH CHARLES WAX I joined the Department of Geology and Geography at MSU in January 1978, the year of the university’s 100th anniversary. In 1979, I developed and first taught Introduction to Meteorology, the first meteorology course offered at MSU. The development of MSU’s now nationally recognized meteorology program and the establishment of distance learning in the department are closely linked.

Observing that many television weathercasters were not trained meteorologists, I convinced the Department of Communication to require the intro to meteorology course for its broadcast majors in 1980. In 1986, we developed distance learning courses targeting TV weathercasters, and the highly successful Broadcast Meteorology Program was born, leading to a certificate for inservice TV weathercasters.

We borrowed $30,000 from the College of Arts & Sciences and bought a camcorder, several VCRs and lots of VHS tapes, then set up a recording studio in a storage closet. The courses were filmed with the camcorder and reproduced the tapes at night and on weekends with six VCRs cabled together. The tapes had to be changed every hour, and each course required about a dozen cassettes for each student. It was an incredible feat to get the courses ready for distribution to the students through U.S. mail. The first distance courses began in fall 1987 with about 25 students enrolled in each class.

I became department head in 1989, and with money from distance-learning tuition, we reinvested in the program, paid an enormous postage bill, and repaid the $30,000 to the college—quite a return on that investment as the program became a remarkable success. In those years, about 75% of TV weathercasters in America were from MSU’s program. Building on that success, our first distance-learning degree-granting program was started in the

early 1990s as the operational meteorology program was targeted toward active-duty Navy and Air Force meteorologists.

MSU President Malcolm Portera and his administration strongly supported our distance-learning initiatives and allowed us to use more of the tuition money to keep expanding the distance programs.

In the late 1990s, we targeted in-service science teachers and developed the Teachers in Geoscience master’s degree program.

We switched from VHS tapes to DVDs and used the MSU Television Center to professionally produce the courses, but we were still using the U.S. mail to deliver and return the DVDs. During the 1999-2001 renovation of Hilbun Hall, we built a new studio with video streaming capabilities. By this time, the programs were enrolling hundreds of students each semester.

The methods our department used to

deliver distance-learning coursework were novel and effective, impacting many faculty members and thousands of students over the years. Being familiar with the effort required to deliver education through distance learning, I know how challenging it was for students and faculty to finish the 2020 spring semester online. The university is due a lot of credit for making such an effort to serve the students.

Charles L. Wax, Professor Emeritus, served as a professor and head of the Department of Geosciences. He was the state of Mississippi’s climatologist for 35 years, 1978-2013. He was awarded the University Honors Council Outstanding Faculty Award in 1985 and the Robert E. Wolverton Legacy Award in 2016.

He also served as president of the American Association of State Climatologists. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University and holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Louisiana State University.

Charles Wax, 1987, in his Hilbun Hall office.

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Back STORY

RESPONSES Back STORY

Fall 2019

WILLIAM JEFF HALL (B.S. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, ’84) “I remember back in the school years 1982-84 when I was in Army ROTC at State and my assignment was to be the head of the student security detail at home football games at Davis Wade Stadium. We wore khakis, white shirts and maroon ties.

The detail was to check tickets of those leaving and wanting to reenter and to assist with things like that. I recall during one game that under the bleachers or in those primitive restrooms the mascot Bully came in to take off his dog head and have a rest.

He was covered in sweat from that heavy outfit. Another game I was talking to fellow ROTC cadet Jerry Don Dickerson down in the end zone where he was seated in the old bleachers.

Years later I learned that Jerry was one of those killed in the Pentagon when the plane hit on Sept. 11. Day games at the stadium were usually quite warm, but the spirit of the State fans was always high and the cowbells sounded loudly even though at the time they were officially banned.”

YVETTE MARTIN MOTT (B.S. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, ’60) “From my earliest childhood memories, all I heard was 80 SUMMER 2020

Mississippi State. My dad, Nate Semmes Martin, of Meridian, graduated in agriculture in 1917 and played football and baseball from 1914-17. Ole knotty pine ‘Tough Nut.’ “I graduated from Opelousas, Louisiana, high school and received a majorette scholarship with Thomas West’s Famous Maroon Band in 1956. It was one of the greatest thrills of my life to perform on the field at Davis Wade Stadium where my dad had played. It was one of my dad’s greatest thrills to see his daughter walk across that same field as Homecoming Queen in 1957 on his 40th reunion. He had lived on the third floor of Old Main, and it was a sad sight to see it burn in January 1959.

“I met Donald Mott, an SEC championship basketball player with the great Bailey Howell and neighbor Kermit Davis. Mott graduated with a master’s in math and agricultural economics in 1959, and we married at the end of my junior year. We moved to Houston, Texas, where he became Tenneco’s first computer programmer.

He retired from Tennessee Gas Transmission in Middleton, Tennessee, after 35 years.

“We had two big football player sons and built a shopping center, Tennessee Street Plaza, in 1970, which I still manage. I taught baton, dancing, aerobics and swimming in my fitness center, Studio 7, for 30 years off and on, and marched with the Alumni Band during Homecoming for several years.

“Thanks for the Geaux State!”

memories.

MARVIN R. TURNIPSEED (B.S. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, ’56; M.ED, ’63) “The parade field looks as pretty now as it did back in the fall of 1952 when I was a first-semester freshman. Every physically able student was put into ROTC, either Army or Air Force. I was assigned to the Army ROTC. On Tuesdays, we put on our uniforms and all went onto the parade field at 1 p.m. and paraded for one hour. Our student commander had our platoon going through various military moves and obeying military commands. The regular Army teachers were scattered over the area observing our student commanders because they were being prepped to become regular Army officers upon graduation. Our student commander had us marching in a four-row column when he was stopped by the regular Army teacher for making some corrections. We kept marching and were leaving our student commander, a senior named Barney. When the teacher finished with him, he looked around as we were going into the side of another platoon.

The proper command he was supposed to give us was “Platoon Halt!” Instead, he yelled “Who!” We all stopped.

Barney and most of us came off the farm and knew what that meant, even though we were not supposed to obey nonmilitary commands.”

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Members of Mississippi State’s Famous Maroon Band wait to board university buses on their way to a performance in

this undated photo from the University Archive. Please help us learn more about this photo or share your memories

of the university’s musical groups and their performances by submitting your remembrances to the magazine. Please include your major(s) and graduation year(s) as some responses may be published in print or online with the next issue.

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TILL THE COWBELLS COME HOME As cities, states and institutions across the country wrestle with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mississippi State University’s athletics administration has readied a playbook to keep Bulldog sports competitive, safe and ready for fans’ return.

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