THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1884
ORIENTATION 2022
137TH YEAR | ISSUE 24
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Jahari Bell | The Reflector
The Office of the Registrar is located in Garner Hall. Students may submit major change forms there.
Allen Hall is home to many departments, including the Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
How do I change my major? MSU advisers offer guidance
50 years of memories: Allen Hall continues to accommodate students
SAMUEL HUGHES STAFF WRITER
According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2014, around one-third of students enrolled in bachelor's programs changed majors in the first three years of enrollment. 10% of students changed their majors more than once. Mississippi State University's advising faculty guides students through the process of changing majors. Haylee Crouch, adviser for the Department of Communication, encouraged students to overcome feelings of embarrassment or uncertainty and seek guidance. "It never hurts to go get information because maybe it only adds one semester to your time here, and you get one extra semester of what you love versus being stuck in a major that you're not happy with," Crouch said. After finding interest in
another major, Crouch recommended students meet with advisers from the major's department. Crouch said this gives students more information about both the department and major. In a change in major meeting, the adviser would inform the student of the new course requirements. Additionally, the adviser would ensure the student meets the GPA requirement for their intended major. Once all the requirements to make the change have been met, the student will receive a major change form. After the form is completed and signed, the adviser in the new department and the student's current adviser will sign it. Next, the form is sent to the Office of the Registrar, and the major is officially changed. This process can be done online or in person based on the student's preference.
TAYLOR STIGALL STAFF WRITER
In 2021, Mississippi State University celebrated the 50th anniversary of the construction of Allen Hall. The construction cost around $2.8 million to complete, and the building opened during the 1972 fall semester. Standing six stories tall, Allen Hall is distinguishable from the rest of the buildings on campus with its stone gray and rocky exterior. The inside consists of classrooms and lecture halls; however, this was not always the case. At first, Allen Hall was mainly used as an executive building that housed offices for various departments including the vice president’s and president’s offices. Gaddis Hunt, former vice president of business affairs at MSU, recalled Allen Hall’s earliest days. "It was a major administrative building. Along with the president and vice president, offices for finances,
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the College of Education, math, arts, sciences and a lot of other departments were located there," Hunt said. "It was just full of administration and classrooms. You could go into that one building and get most of what you needed done in there." Out of those, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics is the only entity remaining in Allen Hall today because the other departments have been relocated across campus. The old office spaces have been remade into classrooms and accommodate a variety of different subjects. These changes have turned Allen Hall into a staple at MSU since, according to campus tour guides, most students have at least one class there during their tenure on campus. Allen Hall is named after Henry Edward "Slim" Allen. Allen was exceptionally busy during his high school years. He graduated at 21 due to the number of jobs he worked. ALLEN, 2
Resources at Career Center prepare students for the future PAYTOn BROWn nEWS EDITOR
Mississippi State University’s Career Center provides resources to help students pick majors, search for career paths and prepare for interviews. Leslie Neal, director of the Career Center's marketing and events, said the center offers two assessments to help students discover a major that fits them. "The first one is a free assessment is called TypeFocus," Neal said. "TypeFocus is a personality-based assessment which means it'll ask questions based on your personality." According to Neal, the TypeFocus assessment provides a four letter personality type after being completed. "Based on those four letters, it goes into a lot of details about what that means for you as a person," Neal said. Neal explained the second interest-based assessment option, the Strong Interest Inventory assessment. "It's literally showing you occupations that align with your interests, and it's a very thorough assessment," Neal said. "That one is $20." Neal described how the interest-based assessment provides a clear pathway to potential careers based on one’s interests. "It compares you to other people who share the same likes and dislikes and then it tells you the professions that
Courtesy Photo | MSU Career Center
Leslie Neal from the Career Center
they are in and that they enjoy," Neal said. As for recommendations, Neal referenced the center’s Connections application as a resource for researching and preparing for future careers. "Connections is basically our job board that every student at MSU has access to," Neal said. Martha Jones, associate director of the Career Center’s employer relations and recruiting, also emphasized the importance of the Connections service. "One of the things that we want to do early on as a freshman is getting freshmen comfortable utilizing Connections but also coming into our office," Jones said. Additionally, Neal mentioned the mock interview available for students on Connections. "In Connections, they give you a mock interview, and it allows you to go in
there and pick the questions that you want," Neal said. "Perhaps you're going for a marketing interview, you can go into like marketing interview questions." Students have the option to meet in person or virtually with a staff member to prepare, or students can record themselves conducting a mock interview. "We don't even know how we appear to others when we're interviewing or what type of quirks that we have," Neal said. Neal explained how the mock interview works. "A lot of times, we'll ask questions to find out what job you are trying to apply to, and once we know that information, we tailor the questions based on the job you're applying to," Neal said. Neal said the most vital resource for freshmen is the Connections board. "It's a great resource to
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Kate Pratt, administrative assistant at the Career Center, is speaking to her co-worker, Courtney Eddy. The Career Center is located in Montgomery Hall.
look for part-time jobs, fulltime jobs or internships," Neal said. Students can set up an appointment to meet with a career adviser. "We have an adviser here in the Career Center for every major on campus, so somebody is designated to specific majors," Neal said. Kylah Hooks, a senior majoring in kinesiology, visited the center during her sophomore year hoping to clarify her career path. "This was a time when I was a biology major, and I had an idea of what I wanted to do," Hooks said. "This solidified it." During her appointment, Hooks said her career adviser explained the purpose of the assessment and helped her realize what she wished to gain from it. "I was basically trying to weed out different majors and career paths that I wanted," Hooks said. "It takes
about a week or two for them to go through the process." When Hooks returned to the center, she received a packet of majors and career options to choose from. "I think it was 10 pages of what I would most benefit from and what I'm most likely going to want to do in the future," Hooks said. Hooks said the center broadened her scope of possibilities. "She (Hooks' Career Center adviser) had programs from the (Mississippi University for Women) and programs from other schools that I could do and still be a Mississippi State student," Hooks said. Hooks said she found the center helpful when deciding her major. "I think I switched my major that week too," Hooks said humorously. Jones further explained how the center prepared new students for the inter-
What To Do in Starkville This Summer:
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Courtesy Photo | MSU Career Center
Martha Jones from the Career Center
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Events: ▪ Starkville Community Market Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. ▪ Downtown at Sundown May 26, June 30, July 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Activities: ▪ Canoeing, hiking, kayaking and biking at the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge ▪ Explore Starkville’s cheese fry options ▪ Walk along the Blues Music Trail
view process and finding employment. "For freshmen, it is also to prepare you for career fairs," Jones said. "A lot of students right now, they are very intimidated by the career fair." To overcome intimidation from career events, Jones recommended students to meet with a career adviser to prepare for interviews and to combat potential nervousness. Associate Director Jones said the center prepares students for the end game of finding full-time work. "We have employees that recruit for part time jobs locally in the Golden Triangle area," Jones said. "That's a way for them to gain experience." Additionally, Jones hoped to add listings of student worker positions to the Connections board. For more information, visit career.msstate.edu.
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