Editor's Letter

Learning on the Job

by Drew Ruble

At MTSU, a degree isn’t just a degree— it’s a resume.

MTSU’s longstanding focus on experiential learning takes students out of the traditional classroom and actively asks them to use their knowledge and skills in a real-world environment, enhancing their personal and intellectual growth and molding them into graduates capable of making an impact Day 1 on the job.

This edition of MTSU magazine includes feature articles on entrepreneurialism and on media and entertainment that are exemplary of the type of experiential learning MTSU students receive. In fact, the cover story on Bonnaroo was penned by an MTSU student—talk about pre-professional opportunities!

Another feature article, on the University’s 2024 alumni awards class, serves as a further testament to the fact that an MTSU education well prepares students for personal and professional success. The economic impact of our alumni on Tennessee tops $15 billion annually, as discussed by President Sidney A. McPhee on the next pages.

As an alumni reader, you too may have benefitted from pre-professional experiences and opportunities offered through the University’s diverse programs that gave you the confidence to realize your own professional dreams.

If you did, I’d like to ask you a favor. I’d like to ask you to do one of the following three things in the next month to show your gratitude for the role MTSU played in your life.

• First, talk to your child or grandchild about MTSU, the experience you had here, and all the wonderful programs of study available to them if they choose to attend here.

• Second, consider giving a monetary gift to the University to help MTSU continue to do the good work it’s doing both for students and for the region’s economy.

• Third, speak positively about the University in public situations, whether they be work-related or personal in nature. Let’s increase the buzz about what MTSU is doing and the positive influence it has in middle Tennessee.

Now, don’t let me mislead you into thinking MTSU exists solely as a workforce development pipeline.

While a classroom for our students may be adjusting a robot at the Nissan manufacturing facility, assisting patients on an underwater treadmill, combing an archaeological dig, or helping veterans with equestrian therapy, we are equally proud of the broad-based education we provide our students in traditional classrooms—in the arts, humanities, and sciences.

MTSU values the worth and benefit in helping Tennesseans think critically, broaden their horizons, understand different cultures, and appreciate the beauty, elegance, and nuances of the world beyond a specific vocation.

Through this combined effort, the University challenges itself to produce work-ready graduates who also can reflect, analyze, compare, and understand.

In doing so, MTSU graduates become engaged citizens of our state.