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10/30/12

11:06 AM

Page 1

2012-2013 edition

www.msnext.com

INSIDE

» Insight and information for high school students on life before, during and after college » School and student profiles of Mississippi’s public, private and community colleges » Get a variety of life and college advice from experts across Mississippi

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Hinds Community College offers equal education and employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability or veteran status in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Dr. George Barnes, Vice President for Administrative and Student Services, 34175 Hwy. 18, Utica, MS 39175, 601.885.7001.

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There is a lot of money available to help you pay for college.

Mississippi provides about $30 million every year for Mississippi students to go to college.

Visit www.mississippi.edu/Únancialaid to learn more and apply online.

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Learn more at www.mississippi.edu/Únancialaid.

Got Questions?

Contact the MS OfÚce of Student Financial Aid 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211-6453 Toll-free (MS residents only) 800-327-2980 p. 601-432-6997 e. sfa@mississippi.edu w. mississippi.edu/Únancialaid

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05 - contents 2012.qxp:Layout 1

A member of the Mississippi Press Association and the Alliance of Area Business Publications www.mspress.org www.bizpubs.org 200 North Congress, Suite 400 Jackson, MS 39201-1902 Main: (601) 364-1000; Toll Free: 1-800-283-4625 Faxes: Advertising (601) 364-1007; Circulation (601) 364-1035 E-mails: mbj@msbusiness.com, ads@msbusiness.com, photos@msbusiness.com, research@msbusiness.com, events@msbusiness.com Website: www.msbusiness.com NEXT! Life After High School 2012-2013 edition

10/26/12

4:04 PM

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CONTENTS

2012-2013 EDITION

ALAN TURNER Publisher alan.turner@msbusiness.com • 364-1021 ROSS REILY Editor ross.reily@msbusiness.com • 364-1018 WALLY NORTHWAY Senior Writer wally.northway@msbusiness.com • 364-1016 FRANK BROWN Staff Writer/Special Projects frank.brown@msbusiness.com • 364-1022 TED CARTER Staff Writer ted.carter@msbusiness.com • 364-1017

6 Letter from the Editor

24 Finding the money

Our 7 cool people

8 Letter from the Mississippi Community College Board

27 Depression

82 John Ruskey

28 Energy drinks

84 Justin Mapp

Life before College

30 College professors

86 Mary Cracchiolo Spain

12 Sophomore year

31 Community colleges

88 Libby Story McRight

13 Junior year

Life after College

90 Jeff Seabold

14 Senior year

32 Resumes

92 Steve Azar

16 Making plans

33 The hot jobs list

94 Price Walden

18 The military option

34 Employment search

20 Study Skills

Advice

Life during College

38 Selena Swartzfager

22 Social Media

39 Bill LaForge

23 Technology

40 Dr. Eric Dyess

CLAY CHANDLER Staff Writer clay.chandler@msbusiness.com • 364-1015 STEPHEN MCDILL Staff Writer stephen.mcdill@msbusiness.com • 364-1041 TAMI JONES Advertising Director tami.jones@msbusiness.com • 364-1011 MELISSA KILLINGSWORTH Sr. Account Executive melissa.harrison@msbusiness.com • 364-1030 ASHLEY VARNES Account Executive ashley.varnes@msbusiness.com • 364-1013 VIRGINIA HODGES Account Executive virginia.hodges@msbusiness.com • 364-1012 TACY RAYBURN Production Manager tacy.rayburn@msbusiness.com • 364-1019 CHARINA RHODES Circulation Manager charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com • 364-1045 MARCIA THOMPSON-KELLY Business Assistant marcia.kelly@msbusiness.com • 364-1044 SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES (601) 364-1000 subscriptions@msbusiness.com Mississippi Business Journal (USPS 000-222) is published weekly with one annual issue by MSBJ 200 N. Congress St., Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201. Periodicals postage paid at Jackson, MS. Subscription rates: 1 year $109; 2 years $168; and 3 years $214.

To place orders, temporarily stop service, change your address or inquire about billing: Phone: (601) 364-1000, Fax: (601) 3641035, Email: charina.rhodes@msbusiness.com, Mail: MS Business Journal Subscription Services, 200 N.Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mississippi Business Journal, Circulation Manager, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201 To submit subscription payments: Mail: MS Business Journal Subscriptions Services, 200 North Congress Street, Suite 400, Jackson, MS 39201.

No material in this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent. Editorial and advertising material contained in this publication is derived from sources considered to be reliable, but the publication cannot guarantee their accuracy. Nothing contained herein should be construed as a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities.

It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their qualifications and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap.

The Mississippi Business Journal, is an affiliate of Journal Publishing Company (JPC), Inc.: Clay Foster, president and chief executive officer.

Entire contents copyrighted © 2012 by Journal Inc. All rights reserved.

41 Melinda Vining Duffie Mississippi colleges 42 Public 4-Year Schools Supporting Sponsor MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD

52 Private 4-Year Schools 62 Public 2-Year Schools

2012-2013 edition

INSIDE

www.msnext.com

» Insight and information for high school stuudents on life before, during and after college » School and student profiles of Mississippi’’s public, private and community colleges » Get a variety of life and college advice from experts across Mississippi

ON THE COVER >> Mississippi College students,

back row, from left, Lindsey Lake, Paul Calcote, Emily Alexander, Andy Olmsted and, front row, Nicole Brown, Cameron Treadwell, Mary McCormick gather for an outing. Read Treadwell’s profile on Page 57.

Photo by: ROBBY FOLLOWELL /Mississippi College

www.msnext.com 5

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MISSISSIPPI NEXT! >>

10/30/12

10:59 AM

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

REAL WORLD RUSKEY The story of John Ruskey – who took a leap of faith in his career – fits perfectly into the mission of this magazine

W

HO KNEW? My wife had scheduled a canoe ride for my birthday in my native Mississippi Delta.

We both wondered exactly where in the world a canoe ride was going to take us in the Delta. There are a few meandering rivers and streams that could be navigated, but they hardly seemed exciting for our entire family.

John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company had given instructions to my wife for a meeting place. When she gave me the driving instructions, I couldn’t think of any waters near there except the Mississippi River.

Surely, this guy isn’t planning on taking me, my wife and three kids ranging in age from 3 to 7 on a 6-hour canoe ride down the Mighty Mississippi.

Well, that is exactly what the plan was, and there couldn’t have been a better Ross Reily plan put in place.

John Ruskey, one of our ‘7 Cool People’ for NEXT! Magazine shows off the wild and rugged part of Mississippi that nearly all of us don’t get the opportunity to see.

Sure, we have driven over bridges in Vicksburg or Natchez or Greenville along the Mississippi River. But, until you are in a canoe in the middle of the river with a half mile or more of water on either side of you, it is hard to imagine the vastness of the wilderness that we have at out fingertips every day.

You can read the story yourself, but Ruskey took a leap of faith and now enjoys a thriving business in which he educated all of us on the wonderful beauty we have here in Mississippi.

Ruskey’s story perfectly fits in the mold of what we are trying to bring you in this magazine.

While, so much of this magazine gives you hands on stories about dealing with life leading up to and in college, our ‘7 Cool People’ — year in and year out — give a glimpse into what we

6 www.msnext.com

>> LYNN LOFTON:

A freelance writer living in Gulfport, Lofton is an honor graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where she wrote for the Student Printz and was editor of the Communication Journal. She has 40 years writing and public relations experience.

ROSS REILY / Mississippi Business Journal

John Ruskey– one our “7 Cool People” – and the Reily children prepare to canoe the Mississippi River. His story is on page 82.

all can be if we just have a little vision, and, like Ruskey, are willing to take a leap of faith.

Our first year of doing the series, we highlighted a Mississippian living in Himalayan Mountains and working for the United Nations’ World Food Organization. It was an amazing story of an amazing person, who, I am sure never expected to be working in that job when he was a junior or senior at Cleveland High School back in the day.

Since then, we have highlighted Olympic athletes, journalists, chefs, artists, educators, among others.

Most never expected to be in the careers they are in today, when they were planning their lives while they were in high school.

That goes for this year too, as we have entertainers, entrepreneurs, thrill seekers and more who merely believe in themselves and their talents and are willing to take a chance with their talents.

So, read and enjoy this magazine, which has so many tips for excelling and advice for moving on to the next level.

But make sure to read the “7 Cool People” who can provide a wealth of real world advice, because living in the real world can never be scripted perfectly. >> Contact Mississippi Business Journal Editor Ross Reily at ross.reily@msbusiness.com or 601-364-1018.

>> BECKY GILLETTE:

A freelance writer/photographer whose work has been published in about 50 magazines and newspapers nationwide, Gillette’s articles have appeared in Ladies Home Journal, Organic Gardening, Utne Reader, E, The Environmental Magazine, Builder, BioScience, In Business, Mississippi Business Journal and Furrow. She received the 2008 Special Achievement Award from Sierra Club for work done to expose formaldehyde poisoning in FEMA trailers and other buildings She was named Mississippi 2008 Small Business Journalist of the Year by the Small Business Administration.

>> DERYLL STEGALL:

After a nearly 20-year career with one company where he did seemingly everything except photography, Jackson native Deryll Stegall took the risk and opened Stegall Imagery. Today, the Ridgeland studio is booming, and Stegall couldn’t be more satisfied.

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ADVICE >>

10/26/12

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COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Community colleges can take education to next level

I

N TODAY’S 21ST CENTURY economy, a person having only a high school diploma is not likely to enjoy prosperity throughout his or her life. A high school diploma is a good foundation, but it requires building on for future success. This is why community colleges are vital to our state. We provide our students the opportunity to leverage themselves into a better, healthier, happier life.

There are many studies that talk about the importance of education, and countless statistics that show the benefit of higher education. For instance, the level of education a person has directly relates to that person’s likelihood to be obese, smoke, exercise, and vote in elections. Additionally, someone with an associate’s degree will earn, on average, $6,000 more per year than someone with only a high school diploma, and this is over the course of a person’s entire life. When you factor in these examples, you can see why pursuing higher education is vital to your future.

Mississippi has 15 community colleges that are strategically located throughout the state and provide a first-rate, affordable higher education. We offer traditional academic courses that can lead to an associate degree and that transfer to a university. Career and technical education is an option for students going into fields such as practical nursing or manufacturing technology. These programs allow students to quickly move into high-paying jobs. Workforce training allows people who are looking for a job or are currently employed to improve their job skills. Classes are also offered

online through the Mississippi Virtual Community College, which allow students the option to take courses from one of the community colleges while receiving support from a local college.

Eric Clark Additionally, we provide adult education and GED preparation to those students who dropped out of high school and did not earn a diploma. In the course of an average year, about 250,000 people receive education or training from a Mississippi community college.

No matter your location in Mississippi, a community college is close by. Whether you are on the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta or the Golden Triangle, a community college is close to home and an affordable option.

When a person considers that average tuition and required fees for fall plus spring semesters are only $2,142, and then examines the average increase of wages over the course of a lifetime, there is no better educational bargain than one of Mississippi’s community colleges.

Our community colleges play an integral role in helping to attract business and industry to the state and also improve the workforce skills of our residents. Some of the industries that we partner with include Nissan in Canton, Ingalls on the Coast, Toyota in Blue Springs and American Eurocopter in Columbus. Jobs that are available today are both high-skill and highwage. Gone are the days when businesses could rely on their employees with little training. Our community

colleges provide the resources necessary for both employees and employers to be successful in the 21st century global economy.

Oftentimes in Mississippi, we hear about studies that rank our state and citizens at the bottom.

This cannot be said about community colleges. Should you choose to attend one of these institutions, know that you will be receiving an education from a system that is recognized among the best in the nation. Two recent national studies have ranked our community college system among the top in the U.S. Our community colleges are models for other institutions across the country.

As a high school student, you are at a point in your life where you have endless opportunities. You can do or be anything you wish so long as you are willing to put for the effort and hard work.

I would like to issue three challenges to each member of the class of 2013.

First, graduate from high school. This lays the foundation for future success.

Second, pursue higher education, particularly through a community college, which will give you the knowledge and skills to be successful throughout your lifetime. Third, make Mississippi your home. We have a great state to raise a family, and you can help make our state better still. If you accept each challenge, I believe you will be happy with the results you find. Good luck in all your future endeavors.

Eric Clark, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board

“In the course of an average year, about 250,000 people receive education or training from a Mississippi community college” – Eric Clark 8 www.msnext.com

Affordability- The average cost of attending a community college is only $2,242 a year in tuition and required fees.

Nationally Recognized- Mississippi’s community college system has been ranked among the nation’s top four systems according to the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. We were also ranked the second most productive system according to the National Center for Higher Education and Management Systems.

Locations- 15 community colleges offering classes at multiple locations across the state. No matter where you live, a community college is close to you.

Mississippi Virtual Community College- The Mississippi Virtual Community College offers 3,000 courses taught online by more than 1,500 instructors and is recognized as a national leader in online higher education.

Adult Basic Education and GED courses help those citizens who have dropped out of high school to greatly improve their lives.

Approximately a quarter of a million of our citizens will be educated at a Mississippi community college this year.

The Mississippi Community College Board is dedicated to enhancing the education and training of all Mississippians, promoting positive leadership, and creating partnerships with business, industry, and other entities that share the same commitment and the values it embraces. For more information on Mississippi’s community college system, you may log onto www.mccb.edu or call 601-432-6518.

Southwest Mississippi Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries and grievances regarding the non-discrimination policies: Mrs. Freya Biggers, ADA and OCR Coordinator, 601-276-3885; Dr. Bill Ashley, Vice President of Student Affairs and Title IX Coordinator, 601-276-3717, 1156 College Dr., Summit, MS 39666.

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LIFE BEFORE COLLEGE >>

10/26/12

3:42 PM

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YOUR SOPHOMORE YEAR

“You are handicapping yourself when you develop a clique.”

“As a sophomore, you still have a lot of time to make an impact.”

– Joseph Patrick Branson, a junior at Madison Central High School

– Kathy Terry, a counselor at Madison Central

Leave that comfort zone It’s time to expand your friendship circle By

BECKY GILLETTE

H

IGH SCHOOLS are notorious for having small cliques, exclusive groups of people who tend to shut out others.

That may be a comfort zone for some people, but it isn’t nearly as interesting as getting to interact with a variety of people with different interests.

“You are handicapping yourself when you develop a clique,” said Joseph Patrick Branson, a junior at Madison Central High School. “By interacting with different people you get a new perspective that develops you as a person. You are only hurting yourself when applying yourself to only one group of friends.”

To get the most out of his sophomore year, Branson wasn’t afraid of committing to clubs and other extracurricular activities.

“My philosophy is I can always cut back,” Branson said. “If I don’t join something, I won’t ever know. Reach out to join clubs and participate in activities. Invest yourself as thoroughly as you can. I felt like joining the clubs was great because I got to know so many different groups of people within the school.”

Branson participated in Beta Club, French Club, student government, Mu Alpha Theta (math club), and Frisbee, which is a huge thing at Madison Central.

“Frisbee was fun, and we went to the

12 www.msnext.com

» Sophomore check list >> Do not procrastinate. Starting off the year behind or getting behind in your classes only adds to stress and anxiety. >> Get organized in whatever ways work for you, whether it’s keeping a three-ring binder with pocket dividers for each class or having folders for each class. Not being able to find completed assignments to turn in on time will cause your grades to suffer. >> Talk to your teachers. Ask questions. Get extra help.

Many students go to counselors who have never even spoken to their teacher. Many teachers now have websites where assignments and class notes are posted. >> Accept the fact that your sophomore year will be harder than your freshman year (and your junior year will be harder than your sophomore year…) Study habits that worked in the past may not work this year. >> Work on your GPA. By the end of your sophomore year, you’ll be halfway through your coursework. It’s easier to maintain a decent GPA than it is to try to raise a poor GPA. >> Regarding preparing for the future, prepare for and keep all options open. You never know what opportunity will present itself and you want to be ready.

state Beta convention, which was really fun,” he said. “I took AP world history and AP psychology. While I took challenging classes and worked hard, I didn’t necessarily stress that much over them. I worked hard and I studied, and I did what I should. But debilitating anxiety, I try to stay away from that.”

Kathy Terry, a counselor at Madison Central, recommends doing what Branson did and take challenging classes – not just the easiest classes.

“Colleges don’t just look at your GPA, but at the classes that you have taken,” Terry said. “It also isn’t too

early to start thinking about postgraduation plans. A lot of kids come in when it is the senior year, and ask, ‘What can I do?’ Not a lot. If your GPA is low, you are not able to move it up a lot. As a sophomore, you still have a lot of time to make an impact.”

Be sure to take the Plan, the preACT college entrance test. It’s free, and a low score won’t count against you.

You will know your weak areas, and get an idea of the kinds of questions that will be thrown at you. Many schools, Madison Central included, also offer an ACT prep course.

Madison Central must be doing something right as it has the most National Merit Scholars of any school in the state.

Terry echoes Branson’s advice about getting involved.

“We have a lot of activities to choose from, something for everyone,” she said. “We also recommend volunteering in the community, and not just because it is good for your resume. Our community helps us, so we should help them. It builds character.”

She also recommends writing everything down on a computer or jump drive regarding work, volunteer, and school experience. It is hard to think back. It is easier to keep up with any work or volunteer experience you can later put on a resume.

“If it is honest work, you are going to learn something, regardless of what it is,” Terry said. “Work experience may also help you find out what you really love.”

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10/29/12

LIFE BEFORE COLLEGE >>

9:56 AM

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YOUR JUNIOR YEAR

It’s never too late to start It’s a year of tests, college visits and preparation By

LYNN LOFTON

T

» Junior check list

HERE’S A LOT going on during the junior year and of course the Big Senior Year is beckoning brightly just ahead. But hold on – the junior year is important too and there are many things that can be done to plan for the future.

For those juniors planning to attend college, it’s time to do some serious planning if you haven’t done so.

If you’ve reached your junior year and haven’t started planning, Keri Armstrong, a guidance counselor at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, says it’s never too late to start getting ready for the next phase of your life. “However, that said, the longer a student waits, then there is the possibility that their opportunities may be more limited,” she said. “If a student waits until her or her junior year to begin getting ready for college, then he or she should probably meet with a guidance counselor as quickly as possible to put a plan in place to meet individual goals.”

Armstrong has been a counselor at Oak Grove High School six years. The school has approximately 1,550 students and 95 percent of graduates go to college.

Elizabeth Ann McCullen, 18, is a senior at Oak Grove who recalls the importance of what she did during her junior year. “I took the pre SAT, SAT and ACT trying to get my scores as high as possible,” she said. “A teacher

Keri Armstrong, a guidance counselor at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, has the following advice for juniors: >> Keep grades up and be cognizant of GPA and class rank. >> Volunteer for community service and become involved in clubs and extra curricular activities at school. >> Take the SAT, ACT, PSAT. >> Plan and make college visits and talk to college recruiters. >> Take more challenging college preparatory curriculum when possible. >> Meet with guidance counselor at least once each term to discuss schedule and make sure you stay on track with your plans. >> Search the internet and gather information about possible colleges and what they offer. >> Develop good study habits. >> Search scholarship websites and speak to your counselor/career center director for other options or money that is available. >> Look for opportunities to job shadow in your field of choice. >> Save money whenever possible to help pay for college. >> Take a life skills class.

recommended I do that and it helped.”

Mississippi colleges and universities require one of the college admission tests and will take a student’s highest score if two test scores are available.

McCullen’s ACT score is now 31, and she plans to attend Mississippi State University after graduation. All her family went to school there, and she can’t imagine going anywhere else.

Something that really helpful McCullen was taking a semester-long humanities class which focuses on preparing students to take college admission tests. At Oak Grove High School, the sophomore humanities

class focuses on the SAT, and the junior class focuses on the ACT. “I took both because I wanted to cover all the bases. I advise all students to take it,” she said. “It’s worth your time. It helped me with the college admission tests and with class tests too.”

McCullen, the daughter of Ann and David McCullen of Hattiesburg, is a big believer in involvement in activities and sees it as part of preparing for life.

“It helps with communication with all kinds of people,” she said. “You have to work in groups, which is not always easy, and you have to do many things.”

This year she serves as president of the National Honor Society, secretary of the Beta Club, yearbook editor and is a member of Diamond Girls and First Priority, a Christian organization, in addition to being an active volunteer in her church. “I would tell younger students to get involved in groups as early as possible so they can be an officer when they get older,” she said.

This busy senior advises students to start working on resumes early too.

“Just start keeping a record of what you do and when. It can be brief and simple,” she said. “When you start filling out college applications, it’s hard to remember everything you’ve done without a resume.”

Her other bit of advice is to visit colleges on normal days when classes are in session, rather than just on sports game days. “I went on a regular day and it’s different,” she said.

“If a student waits until her or her junior year to begin getting ready for college, then he or she should probably meet with a guidance counselor as quickly as possible to put a plan in place to meet individual goals.”

– Keri Armstrong, a guidance counselor at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg www.msnext.com 13

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LIFE BEFORE COLLEGE >>

10/26/12

3:39 PM

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YOUR SENIOR YEAR

It’s your time – manage it Life can get hectic during last year of high school By

BECKY GILLETTE

A

USTIN Powell, a senior at Corinth High School, is combining several AP classes with taking a co-op class that allows him to work while getting credit at school. He managed to do that while being student body president, and being involved in about a dozen different clubs ranging from the Key Club to the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes to the Drama Club. “I’m also an Eagle Scout and currently, I am the cocaptain on the Corinth Cross Country Team, as well,�

Powell said. “I love all the activities I am involved in. I would recommend it to all the other students, but caution them to be prepared in giving each activity the time it deserves. The hardest part of being a senior is managing time wisely. I struggle with balancing my schoolwork, my job, and extra curricular activities. But at the end of the day, somehow it

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all manages itself.�

Seniors at Corinth High School are encouraged to meet high academic standards, learn how to successfully manage their time, complete the academic requirements to graduate, and take responsibility to meet important deadlines. “Corinth High Bond School recognizes that students can be more prepared for life after high school if they take academically challenging courses that prepare them for college and/or the workforce,� said Corinth High School Counselor Jennifer Martindale. “As part of the academic program, our school also promotes community service involvement and stresses the importance of personal responsibility.

Seniors are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular and social activities in an effort to help them be better rounded. A senior should have regular conversations with his/her parents to discuss options and make plans for life after high school.�

Seniors should be researching various career options, analyzing their strengths and weakness, reviewing their likes and dislikes, and striving to gain a clearer perspective on what their vision is for their future. Martindale advises students to take advantage of the technology that is available to them to learn more about potential careers and more about their personalities and skills. “Seniors should take the

ACT so they can have more options when they graduate,� she said. “The ACT is required to attend a college and the results provide information about the students’ academic strengths.

Seniors should also utilize community resources and the school counselor to learn more about potential careers.�

Spend some time online researching various colleges and trade schools, attend the school and community college and career fairs, and meet with the school counselor to gain additional insight. Once you have narrowed your choices, schedule a visit to the campus.

Rhonda Bond, a counselor at Tishomingo High School, said it is vital for the high school student who is college bound to prepare a timeline to plan and implement the strategies needed to be prepared for their freshman year at college.

Make a timeline for things like ACT testing, preparing a resume for college applications and scholarships, and securing financial aid for college. “Depending on where the student wants to attend college, and what program he or she wants to enroll in, it may be necessary to retake the ACT to attain the score needed for the program they want to enter,� Bond said. “Also, many high schools now offer dual enrollment, which allows students to get a head start on college.�

Visits to various college campuses are key to helping choose the college that is the best fit. Colleges are more

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LIFE BEFORE COLLEGE >>

10/26/12

3:39 PM

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YOUR SENIOR YEAR

than happy to make an appointment to speak with students about admission requirements and financial aid, and provide a campus tour. “Often a student has dreamed all their life of attending a particular college, then after touring the campus and looking at the programs offered, they change their mind,�

Bond said. “Also, talking with others who have attended different colleges can weigh in heavily on a student’s decision. Many times talking to former students about their present college experience can go a long way in making the final decision.�

It is not uncommon for students to graduate high school without a definite career plan. There are several things students can do to get on the right track.

Using results from a career aptitude test such as with Choices Planner can give students a direction for making an informed decision. “After taking an interest inventory, a list of jobs is populated based on their interests,� Bond said. “Additional components in Choices Planner allow students

to create a portfolio that stores assessment results, career planning and other activities including creating a resume.

Many high schools offer the ASVAB test which is a widely used multiple aptitude test that assesses a student’s ability to learn, as well as predicts success in training and education programs. Other options to help students make informed career decisions include job shadowing that allows opportunities to see first hand the tasks and responsibilities required for a job.�

The senior year goes by like a flash for most students. “After the first semester, things seem to spiral from March to May with senior activities such as graduation invitations, pictures, prom, final exams and final college preparations,� Bond said.

Jennifer Rogers, director of Student Financial Aid, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said students should begin searching and applying for scholarships from private foundations, organizations and associations during the summer before the

fall of the senior year. There are a number of free online scholarship search tools available to identify this type of financial assistance. Most colleges and universities have early deadlines (fall or early spring) for applying for institutional scholarships. ‘Rogers said students may complete the FAFSA (www.fafsa.gov), to determine eligibility for federal grants and loans at any time of the year, but graduating seniors are encouraged to complete the application as soon after January 1 as possible. The state aid application is available online after January 1 of each year, with deadlines for the different programs ranging from March 31 through September 15. Students may complete the FAFSA, then link directly to the state application.

There are thousands of private scholarships worth billions of dollars that are available to students. But Rogers said students must take the initiative to find these scholarships and apply. Most institutions offer online applications.

Success starts @ MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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MAKING PLANS

Life after high school Start early looking at your academic, financial future By

BECKY GILLETTE

W

HEN should you start preparing for life after high school? You really have to decide early on in middle school that you are in to win academically, and that you value a high school diploma, said Cynthia Gray McMillian, executive director, Delta 180, a youth development and leadership program.

“Make sure you are doing what it takes to be on track to graduate,” McMillian said. “Mississippi has made changes to graduation requirements, and you have to be ready to pass exams in English II, algebra I, biology and U.S. history.”

People look at high school as being fun, and it should be fun. But part of that has to include not just football games and proms, but academic success.

“You can play now, and not do what you need to do in middle school and high school, and you will pay later,” McMillian said. “It will be much harder for you to get into the schools you want, or take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. People are going to look at your academic record. Or, you can pay now, do the hard work, study, really think, have a good plan coming out of high school, and you can play later.”

Another step to being prepared for life after high school is to look around at your community. What do you think should be different? How can you be involved? McMillian said getting involved in community activities teaches you that work can be fulfilling. Those activities might also help you decide what kind of job you want after high school.

Some high school students when asked what they want to do about a career after high school say, “I haven’t thought about that yet.” McMillian says do think about it. Give it a lot of consideration. It is something that will impact your life tremendously.

Look around and see what interests you, and investigate where you can get the training or experience necessary.

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“Find something you really enjoy doing,” McMillan said. “If you really love it, pursue it with everything you have because you can make a living out of what you love. Also, if you have a hard time McMillian finding a job living in a certain area, be willing to move wherever the job is, then move.

That in itself is part of the adventure.”

While some professions require at least a four-year degree from college, a community college can provide certification in fields like electrical and plumbing.

“The guy who comes out to look at my plumbing and electrical, who is certified, is often going to make more than someone who has just graduated from a fouryear college,“ she said.

Think of college in terms of a skill base. Where can you get the certification you need? Even auto mechanics need specialized training these days. Make preparations in high school to move forward with those things.

She also strongly encourages all students and their families to start their financial plans for college early, even in the elementary or middle school.

The old-fashioned college savings fund really is a good idea, said Laura E. DivenBrown, financial aid director, the University of Mississippi. The student can contribute to the family fund through part-time employment, particularly during the summer months.

When it comes to picking a college, students need to do their homework about colleges. Gather information on the financial aid web pages that will tell you about the “Cost of Attendance” (COA) at each school. This COA lists charges that the school will bill including tuition, housing, and meal fees, but also includes allowances for books/supplies, travel, and personal expenses.

Learn about financial aid options. The availability of financial aid can make all the difference in whether a student can afford a particular college. All colleges must now provide an online tool called

the “Net Price Calculator” to the public.

These calculators are intended for prospective freshmen.

“You can plug in your own personal data and find out what kind of aid package you are likely to receive at that school,” Diven-Brown said. “Then subtract this aid from the COA to see the net price, how much you still need to cover and might need to finance through loans, employment, or family resources.”

To be competitive for scholarships, high school students should strive for great grades, participate in extracurricular activities, and step up to leadership roles in student organizations. They should also take the ACT and SAT multiple times, because many schools use a combination of test scores and GPAs to make academic scholarship offers.

“What we call ‘self-help aid’ (student loans and on-campus employment opportunities) serves an important purpose, too,” Diven-Brown said. “It can fill the gap with the remaining funds you need for school. You just need to be smart about how much you borrow. Don’t take on more debt than you can repay later. But also don’t work so much your grades suffer.”

The best sources for information are your high school guidance counselor and the college admissions and financial aid staff members.

“All of these professionals are ready to help you at no charge,” Diven-Brown said.

“It is our job, and we enjoy it. So please contact us and ask questions. In fact, go ahead and visit your favorite colleges personally. I also advise students to inquire about funding opportunities that are specific to a particular major by reaching out to the appropriate academic departments on campus.”

Diven-Brown recommends keeping your vision wide as you learn about options.

“Please dream about what you want for your future,” she said. “I hope to see many of you on a university campus like mine pursuing higher education. The college experience has so much to offer you.”

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MAKING PLANS

Choices, choices, choices High school students have many options to consider LYNN LOFTON

B

Y NOW YOU’VE probably been hearing for several years that you must start early to plan for college. But, it really is true, and your future is a very important thing. There are a staggering number of choices to make and mountains of information to process, not to mention preparing for college entrance exams.

“It is actually never too early for a student to start planning for college,” says Keri Armstrong, a guidance counselor at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg. “In my opinion, the earlier a student starts the better.”

She points out that the Mississippi is moving toward an initiative for the development of the Individualized Career & Academic Plan (iCAP) for every student in the state.

“This will begin during the student’s eight grade year and will continue to be updated and revised throughout the course of high school,” she said. “The iCAP uses the Choices Planner to help students identify possible career interests, choices and/or college majors.

“After that decision has been made, then the student, along with his or her counselor will devise an academic plan for the four years of high school so he or she will be well-prepared to enter college

and their field of choice after high school graduation.”

In the meantime, students must proceed with their own plans. Planning during the high school years should include an academic focus and a career focus, according to Rusty Anderson, director of Career Services at the University of Southern Mississippi. “The academic focus should include taking the required curriculum and aggressively mastering the content, not merely doing enough to get by,” he said. ”This will help develop the study skills and work ethic necessary in the competitive college classroom. I suggest students take more than the required math classes and take advantage of electives that promote writing skills.”

He goes on to say that students should begin exploring college majors and career fields available to them. “College students often struggle with career direction or academic focus simply because they don’t know the options available to them and the best fit for their interests, abilities and occupational values,” he said.

“This exploration process should begin in the high school years.”

Anderson stresses that time management is one of the unspoken challenges for college students due to the lack of structure and the amount of free time once they land on college campuses. “I encourage students during high school to develop time management skills by learning to schedule their weeks and hold themselves

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Jody Lowe, director of Enrollment Services at the University of Mississippi, has advice for sophomores.

“In general, I say a student’s 10th grade year is a great year to begin researching colleges and universities with a guidance counselor,” he said, “and it is also a great year to ensure that you’re on track with high school courses necessary for admission to the college you’re choosing. Once you reach junior year, it’s time to prepare for and take the ACT or SAT and begin making college visits to narrow your selection process.”

Lowe feels that making a commitment to a job or extra curricular activities in

Derryl Stegall / For MBJ

By

high school is great preparation for college too because these things teach discipline and time management skills that are vital to a successful college career.

Early financial planning is crucial, according to Armstrong. “It is not a bad idea for students to begin considering the costs of college and where the money will come from to pay for it,” she said. “Some think that mom and dad will just pay for it. However, the reality is that there are many more factors to consider.

“Therefore, a better understanding of the financial aspects of college can help students make more reasonable decisions about where they will go. Students can begin in the ninth grade researching different ways to help pay for college.”

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THE MILITARY

Serving a path to college Time in military can provide education funds By

TED CARTER

Y

OUNG adults eager to test themselves in the world beyond high school often make a priority of visiting their local military recruiter.

A recruiter who is a combination of sales pro, information storehouse and vocational counselor will be there to greet them.

If you’re the young adult making the visit, go in prepared to ask a lot of questions.

And do your homework.

Learn as much as you can about the branch and military job specialty in which you are interested.

Otherwise, you might leave the recruiting office lacking enough information to make your decision.

Think, too, in terms of your long range plans should you decide to make the military a full career. Get the recruiter to give a picture of where you could be in 10 to 15 years as a member of the uniformed services.

If you have a particular long-term goal in mind, ask the recruiter how you can get there.

By the time you’ve made your visit, you’ll have all ready heard the marketing slogans of the various branches.

All are designed to influence your decision.

You’re “Army Strong.”

Or, how about the Navy’s offer to make you “A Global Force for Good?”

The Air Force presents an opportunity to “Aim High – Fly- Fight-Win.” The Coast Guard wants you to think of yourself as “Born Ready.”

And the Marine Corps is intent on appealing to your desire to stand apart as a member of “The Few, The Proud, The Marines.”

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Your recruiter will pitch the full range of career-building opportunities his particular service offers, not only within the service but after returning to civilian life.

With unemployment for men and women ages 18 to 24 double that of the rest of the country, the opportunity to learn a skill and earn a paycheck at the same time can carry huge appeal. And if you have a special skill – or the willingness to learn one – an enlistment bonus could accompany the opportunity.

Army Capt. Latasha McCullar, company commander of the Jackson Recruiting Company, said in an interview last year that new enlistees are attracted in growing numbers by the prospect of gaining worthwhile employment.

“One big key factor is the state of the economy,” McCullar said, who at the time recruited throughout Central Mississippi, parts of the Delta as far north as Greenville as well as parts of Louisiana.

As McCullar acknowledged in the interview, potential recruits are cautioned that exposure to danger – and possible combat roles – could come with whatever role they take on as a member of the armed forces. For some, defending the nation is the main appeal, she said.

“We still have a lot of people enlist for service to country.”

The prospect of gaining tens of thousands of dollars for college attracts recruits as well.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial help for education and housing to service members with at least 90 days of “aggregate service” on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

The various service branches also offer tuition assistance for members who pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree while on active duty.

Today’s GI Bill, according to McCullar, provides $39,000 for college after two years and $49,000 for enlistments of from three to six years.

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THE MILITARY

ROTC programs an option Aspiring officers can start in high school or college

I

By

TED CARTER

F YOU GRADUATE from college having completed Reserve Officer Training Corps, or ROTC, it’s guaranteed you won’t be idle in the days that follow.

You will either be heading for active duty as a commissioned officer in your chosen branch of the armed services or embarking on part-time service as a reservist or member of the National Guard.

Either way, you’re graduating with a leg-up on your peers, said Maj. Robert Ewing and Capt. Reginald Brownleee, who head the ROTC departments at Mississippi Valley State University and Mississippi College, respectively.

“You have a four-year degree plus a commission” as a military officer, said Brownlee, an Alcorn State University graduate and active duty officer who just recently took over the Mississippi College ROTC program.

“They are a lot more attractive to a company or business because they have leadership,” Brownlee said of new ROTC grads.

ROTC, he said, is a course listed in the curriculum, “but what you are learning in ROTC is so different from what you are learning in math or geometry.

You’re 21-22 years old and you have the leadership you have learned. It is just so much more attractive to businesses and managers.”

Ewing, a Leland native, left the Marine Corps after eight years for a full career in the Army, where he received a degree in education that prepared him for his instructor role at Valley State after his military retirement. “You use the military as stepping stones to what you want to do,” he said.

The Reserve Officer Training Corps gives college students the advantage of covered tuition expenses and stipends for books and living expenses.

At the University of Mississippi, the ROTC programs for the four main serv-

ice branches – Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps – are housed in the same building. Likewise, many of the scholastic financial benefits and incentives offered by the various branches are identical.

Army ROTC, for instance, offers students a four-year scholarship program that cover 100 percent of tuition, a $600 per semester book stipend and living expense coverage of $300 a month for freshmen, $350 for sophomores, $450 for juniors and $500 for seniors.

A high school student interested in ROTC begins the process his junior year, going through a process by which he ranks more than a dozen occupational specialties by preference.

Ole Miss typically accepts about 30 freshmen a year. Mississippi Valley State and Mississippi College accept slightly fewer.

To gain entry to ROTC, a student should achieve high grades, be involved in student organizations and, if possible, participate in varsity athletics Army ROTC offers two different scholarships – the active duty and reserve forces duty.

“The scholarships are going to be the same,” Brownlee said, though the amounts can vary depending on tuition and other costs at the college or university.

“Mostly what we see,” Brownlee said, “is three-year scholarships. Normally, when you see a four-year scholarship, they were awarded that in high school.”

However, doing well in ROTC the first three years of your scholarship typically leads to granting of a fourth year scholarship, according to Ewing.

Though for Army ROTC you choose whether you want to pursue active duty or reserve duty, only the top 20 percent of ROTC graduates receive active duty commissions as second lieutenants.

Graduates who fall within the 60 percent range are awarded reserve or National Guard commissions. The bottom 20 percent are thanked for their

participation in ROTC but not offered commissions, Ewing said.

How well a cadet does at a 38-day “Leaders Development Course” at Fort Lewis, Wash., his junior year is a huge factor in determining the percentile in which the cadet is placed.

Other factors, Ewing said, are the cadet’s GPA for the first three years, physical training scores, map reading and land navigation ability and small squad leadership. “These are all things you can’t cram for,” Ewing said.

A cadet’s senior year is spent shoring up any skill weaknesses and helping underclassmen “prepare for Fort Lewis,” he added.

Cadets train for an hour three mornings a week throughout their college years. Running is a mainstay of the training. “We build you up from one mile to three miles,” Ewing said.

Cadets attend military science labs and training sessions several times a week as well. The first two years is an introduction of sorts, Ewing said. “This is where you learn what it takes.”

The junior year puts a strong focus on the fundamentals of leading a combat team. Weapons training is conducted throughout, but live fire exercises are limited to spring trips to firearms ranges at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg and Camp McCain in Grenada.

All training is co-ed. “It’s all the exact same training,” Ewing said. Female students “are low crawling and getting dirty like everyone else.”

ROTC scholarship students commit to six years of duty that typically entails four years active, two years in active reserves and two years in Individual Ready Reserves, or what Ewing calls, “Six in boots and two on paper.”

ROTC grads with reserve scholarships serve six years of active reserve duty and two years as Individual Ready Reserve.

The top military specialties Army ROTC cadets nationwide choose are infantry, military intelligence, armor, aviation, engineering and medical.

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SKILLS

Attention high school students, learn how to learn ...

By

BECKY GILLETTE

W

HAT major mistake do many students make regarding study skills in high school?

A. Failure to study enough. B. Waiting until the last minute. C. Failure to study at all.

This is a multiple-choice question that should really have “D. All of the above� as one of the options. “As a counselor, I encounter students that fall into all three categories, and there are very few students on the secondary level who I can say have not

NOW!

been introduced to the worst-best big word that you can learn in grade school: pro-cras-ti-nate,� said Lois Drake Coleman, a counselor at Vicksburg High School. “It’s great to learn how to spell it and sounds really impressive to use it, but somehow subconsciously it can become your BFF and later turn into your worst enemy.

This is why it is important to develop good study skills which, if nurtured correctly, should soon become habits that ultimately turn into a way of life.�

Students fall short if they think that they can get by with a cram session. “They become content with learning just enough to get by,� Coleman said. “However, I advise students to go over their daily notes several times during

XXX NHDDD FEV t Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes students and employees without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or qualified disability. For further information, contact the Equal Opportunity Officer at a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Center, Campus, or the Central Office. Compliance is coordinated by the Vice President for Administration and Finance, Perkinston Campus, P. O. Box 609, Perkinston, Mississippi 39573, telephone number 601-928-5211.

20 www.msnext.com

their homework session. I guarantee them that the more they read over it, the more they will become familiar with the material, questions and answers. The material will become second nature and evolve into knowledge.�

It all comes down to careful planning. Whether you use a wall calendar, monthly planner, date book or a selfmade notebook for all your important dates and upcoming events, make it happen. It is important to carve out a specific time that you will devote only to your studies. This means no distractions during that time such as cell phones, Twitter, TAG and Facebook.

If you do not learn to study, you will have a harder time once you decide to move to the next educational level.

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“I have found that good study habits can set the pace for college,” Coleman said. “I was absolutely terrified when I went off to college because I was no longer going to be ‘spoon-fed’ as I had been in high school. But that thought soon left me when I found that I could do it. I did well throughout my college career and graduated with honors. I had learned how to study.”

You have to develop a routine and a vital part of that development, especially on the college level, is knowing when to say “no” to friends headed off to have fun. If you do not develop this inner strength, the next thing you are facing is withdrawal from your class or classes, or a failing score that will drag down your GPA. “It will be at that point that you will realize you have no return on your investment,” Coleman said. “You have spent hard-earned money and don’t have anything to show for it.”

In high school there are parent conferences that can result in students getting some encouragement if they fall behind.

“That is something that will change when they are in college and on their own,” said Ashley Britten, a guidance counselor for Harrison Central High School in Gulfport. “In college, it is more sink or swim.”

The best thing is to study a little each day, giving new concepts more time to sink in. But Britten sees few high school students who keep up as well as they should.

“We have a small percentage of students who have good study habits,” Britten said. “The majority does not. They are the crammers-the-night-beforethe-test kind.”

Britten said it isn’t that students are studying the wrong way; they are just not studying enough. With the block schedule, classes are 93 minutes long.

There is a lot of material including new concepts to learn. During that time stu-

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SKILLS

Coleman

dents can write a lot of notes or complete assignments.

But most students don’t review their notes and assignments until the night

before the test.

“There are so many other distractions when they get home that studying is the last thing they are interested in,” Britten said.

Developing discipline in high school regarding studying enough can pay big dividends.

You will do better on college entrance tests, and will find it easier to pass college classes.

“It you are going straight to a large university where the professor will never know your name, and you have to take 30 pages of notes a day, you have to learn to study on a regular basis,” Britten said.

“In addition to being prepared academically and having good study habits, you need to be well organized. It takes self-discipline. It is something you have to really discipline yourself to do and make a habit of it.”

Once a person truly develops good study skills and masters time management, it is something that becomes a personality trait and will spill over into other areas of life.

“You come to realize the value of time and planning,” Coleman said. “Time management and money management will go hand in hand and enable you to ensure that you make the most of your money. Once you become financially aware, your allowance or paycheck goes further. You become conscious of managing everything that you do. It is also my belief that once a person becomes accustomed to doing things in a timely manner, the anxiety that may have once existed from procrastination is turned into the personal satisfaction of having things done on time.”

7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

Come to work every day — on time.

Make smart decisions.

Follow directions.

Concentrate on my work and care about the quality of my work.

Read, write and calculate well.

Recognize problems and find solutions.

Finish a job when I’m supposed to without sacrificing quality.

Be honest and dependable.

Work hard and take the lead.

Communicate well and get along with others — especially customers.

Dress properly and practice good grooming.

Be cooperative and have a positive attitude.

Be drug free.

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For information about careers in advanced manufacturing, visit www.DreamItDoItMS.org.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

DON’T BE STUPID! College officials keep an eye on Facebook, Twitter, too By

BECKY GILLETTE

W

HILE a social networking site is a great place to share highlights of your life, if you decide to pull a Ferris Bueller and call in sick and then catch a fly ball at a Cubs game and sing “Danke Schoen” in a parade, posting about your adventures may land you in the unemployment line.

You can be busted for what you post on social media, said Dr. Sue Weakley, a journalism professor at the University of Mississippi.

“Everyone from college admissions people to Greek organizations to potential employers are checking out Facebook pages,” Weakley said.

“Employers will fire people for Facebook posts. Don’t be stupid. My advice is that if you don’t want your mom to see it, you should carefully consider if it should be posted on Facebook or Tweeted. I’ve also heard of people being fired for posting confidential work-related secrets or telling off their bosses within the ‘safe’ confines of their Facebook page.”

When considering social media, keep in mind the Six Degrees of Separation-a theory that asserts that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five people in the middle.

“In other words, it really IS a small world after all,” Weakley said. “Your friend’s aunt’s sister-in-law may be best friends with your boss. And these same cautions apply to giving out too much personal identification. Protect yourself and your identity. You never know who is trolling the Internet right now looking for some trusting, naive soul to exploit.”

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For Mississippi Business Journal

>> Olivia Ann Hurst, social media specialist at USM, said colleges have been known to turn down a student because of inappropriate online posts.

Privacy settings don’t necessarily hide as much as you think, said University of Southern Mississippi Social Media Specialist Olivia Ann Hurst.

“Always set your privacy setting,” Hurst said. “I check mine once a month, just in general to protect my information like my phone number or IM address. I don’t want just anybody to see that.”

Do be aware that it particularly bad idea to post anything illegal, like photos of people smoking pot or underage people drinking. And don’t let your friends post pictures of you doing things like that either.

“Anything you put out there is for everyone to see,” Hurst said. “As for things like drinking and partying, do not post anything you wouldn’t want a teacher, employer or even your grand-

mother to see. Even if you think you are covered, someone could see something you post. It is not a good idea to post something not appropriate for your age. Everyone is checking out social media. Employers tend to check someone on social media before they even interview them. And some colleges have been known to turn down an otherwise stellar student because of something inappropriate they have posted online.”

It isn’t cool anyhow, but don’t post things that are demeaning to others like racist jokes. Even if you aren’t serious and just think it is funny, it can be taken the wrong way. With recent mass shootings and other violence, any kind of references to being really angry and wanting to harm someone can seem suspicious on social media.

“A couple of Olympic athletes were disqualified and sent home before they competed,” Hurst said. “One was for a racist Tweet. After working that hard probably most of their lives to get to the Olympics, they lost that opportunity because of bad judgment about what to post or Tweet. Anything you put out there can be taken wrong.”

You don’t have to avoid social media. It can be great to keep up with your friends, and even portray yourself in a good light.

So many people are on social media sites that it can be a way to interact with people to make new connections.

“Social media can be a fun place, but it is always important to be aware of what you post and who you interact with,” Hurst said.

Some people use false names and false pictures to hide their real identity on Facebook. That isn’t a good idea.

“It is probably a good thing on social media to be yourself,” Hurst said. “Use your real name and photo. That way if employers or universities are looking at this, they will be able to find you. Just be aware of the image you are portraying.”

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Pad? Phone? Laptop? Oh My! First, check school policies and major requirements By

LYNN LOFTON

A

RE YOU TECH savvy? Of course you are. For students entering college, it’s not a matter of whether or not you will take electronic devices, but which ones. It’s estimated that 90 percent of students will arrive on campus with a computer. But what’s the best equipment to take without breaking the bank? In general, Mississippi schools don’t require computers although some major courses of study do require them.

College campuses do provide free computer access, usually in the library or a computer lab as part of students’ paid tuition. School officials advise students to check the policy of the school they plan to attend and the requirements of their major.

Kenneth Zantow, a professor in the College of Business at the University of Southern Mississippi, says the equipment required for different majors may not vary as much as the software.

“Microsoft Office is the

primary software need for students across majors,” he said. “I am fascinated by the availability of software that helps compose music; tune instruments; and do other creative things.

Some majors require that.”

Communication and public relations majors may need Adobe Creative Suite 6 and Photoshop. Digitizing tablets are often associated with these products.

“I would expect to spend upwards of $1,500 for a typical student’s tech needs and wants,” this associate professor of management said. “A student buying a laptop, an iPhone and an iPad could easily spend $3,000 or more, and the costs don’t stop there. Don’t forget cell phones. The good news is that most dorms, campuses, bookstores, coffee shops and other student-oriented businesses provide wireless service.”

Jody Lowe, director of enrollment services at the University of Mississippi, says the school does not recommend what type of computer students should have. “I don’t think it is necessary for students to have the latest gadgets, but it’s obvious that many of them do bring them,” he said. “I think most students are bringing laptops with them. iPhones and iPads seem to be more and more common too.”

Tim Wall, lead designer for M2Media in Biloxi, uses an array of technical devices and programs in his work. He feels that all college students need a laptop but should check the specifics for their majors. “A Macintosh is best for graphic design and arts majors but a PC is probably best for other majors,” he said. “There is a wide price range so be sure to check around. I would stress that students should look into ereaders and what’s available

for textbooks too.”

USM’s Zantow points out that desk top computers are not an option any more but feels that laptops – whether PC or Apple – are a necessity.

“Students in my classes use their laptops to take notes, complete papers and projects, do library research, read online texts and assignments and complete online or hybrid courses,” he said.

He says students may want small laptops that are easy to carry although many laptops are now available with large screens and high quality speakers.

“Since laptops are not just computing devices but are also entertainment, communications, gaming and social networking devices, most laptops have microphones, cameras and superior video capability, including HD-capable playback and recording.”

Students should remember that having a laptop means having a laptop bag.

“The days of plain backpacks are gone,” Zantow said. “The backpack will need to fit the specific laptop, and the ones with the large screens require a very large bag. Those bags are a load and while it is not always the most fashionable, some students do avail themselves of rolling bags and backpacks that convert from rolling to back carried. The backpack will also be chosen with fashion or subculture in mind. Image is important with your technology.”

Donna Reese, professor in the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Mississippi State University, says her department and a couple of others on the Starkville campus require students to bring laptop computers when they come to class.

“It’s such a tool of productivity, especially in technical fields such as engineering and computer science, but students will also use it in English and math classes,” she said. “Ten years ago we found that students were bringing computers. Disadvantaged students had a hardship. By putting laptop computers on the list of requirements, financial aid can pay for computers of all our students.”

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EMPLOYMENT

PAYING YOUR OWN WAY Colleges, towns offer opportunities for students By

LYNN LOFTON

F

ROM A FINANCIAL standpoint, there’s a lot to cover while attending college. There are tuition costs, books and fees, room and board, transportation, clothes and, of course, social life. Many students hold down jobs and must balance those demands with going to class and studying. College towns have a vast array of jobs on and off campus to fit just about any student wanting to pay for necessities, extras or just to stretch the dollars they have.

Alison Graves of Gulfport attends the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Campus where she has a double major of elementary education and special education. With all that, she works at P.J.’s Coffee Shop in downtown Gulfport, usually putting in 30 hours per week.

“I’ve always worked. I like to work and don’t like just sitting around,” she said.

“My parents pay for my school and that’s a blessing.”

Graves is a senior and expects to graduate in December 2013. To help keep up with all she has to do, she stays organized and always has her planner handy. Sometimes it’s tough working and maintaining her course load, such as last year when she had to take an especially full load. Otherwise, she spaces out course work. “It will take me a little longer to graduate because of the double major, but I think it will pay off,” she said. “My parents are adamant about college, and they don’t mind helping me because I work. I like having my own money.”

Fortunately for students at the universities and community colleges on the coast, there are many jobs available in the tourism and hospitality industries.

Lance Hopkins, a USM Gulf Coast professor in the College of Business, says

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» Use credit carefully With credit cards readily available, Chad Cargile, consumer banking executive for Regions Bank, warns students to be careful accepting and using them. He gives the following tips for using credit cards sensibly: >> Use the card sparingly or only for emergencies. >> You only need one card. Using multiple cards increases the temptation to use more credit for purchases and pile up more debt. >> If you use a card for purchases, look for a rewards card where you can at least earn reward points or money for your purchases.

many of his students, both traditional and non-traditional age, work part or full-time in these sectors. “I taught summer school last summer on the Hattiesburg campus and not nearly as many of my students there had jobs,” he said.

In Oxford, Jody Lowe, director of enrollment services at the University of Mississippi, notes that students often find work with local businesses. “Our Career Center, located on campus, assists students in finding jobs in the local community,” he said. “Students do not have to show financial need to participate in this program.”

There are also federal work-study programs on campus.

“These programs offer employment of 10-15 hours per week to students who demonstrate financial need as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” Lowe added. “Jobs are available in campus departments and at approved off-campus sites.

Students are paid bi-monthly.”

Part-time jobs on campus, other than those through the work-study program, are coordinated through the

Student Employment Office. Financial need is not required for these employment opportunities.

Mississippi State University offers two types of on-campus student employment, work-study and regular employment, through the campus employment office.

“Both programs allow students to work a limited number of hours – usually up to 20 per week – and balance their academic responsibilities with their work load,” explained Scott Maynard, director of the Career Center.

“Student employment positions usually don’t pay tuition or other major costs but it is a great way to earn a little extra spending money.”

After students make money, there’s sometimes a problem managing their funds. Chad Cargile, consumer banking

executive for Regions Bank, urges students not to ignore a money management problem. “Go to your local bank and ask for advice. A local banker can help you work out a strategy for managing your money,” he said.

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COOPERATIVE INTERNSHIP

Education, experience, pay Co-ops can give students a boost in career options By

I

BECKY GILLETTE

T CAN BE HARD TO select the best reason for considering doing a cooperative internship while in college because there are so many good reasons. For Arin Akbay, a senior majoring in industrial engineering at Mississippi State University, his two summers and a spring semester as a co-op intern working at Hunter Engineering in Durant gave him his first real world experience with manufacturing.

“I got to understand a lot about a manufacturing operation,” Akbay said.

“It was a lot different than school and homework. It is a check and balance to see if what you are studying in school is what you really want to get in when you graduate. Then you can focus the rest of your classes in college towards that or switch majors if that is not working for you.”

An internship can also help pay for college. Akbay earned $17 per hour plus overtime, received a housing stipend, and was offered a full-time job upon graduation at the company that manufactures automobile undercarriage equipment.

“I had a big span of opportunities while I was working there,” Akbay said.

“I worked with everyone from hourly wage employees to the vice president of the company. I wrote instructions for assemblers at the plant. Another thing that was beneficial is that plant got raw materials and shipped out products to customers. It wasn’t just one aspect of the product life; everything was involved.”

In addition to the professional experience, he also had the benefit of living independently for the first time.

“Personally, the best part of it was living on my own and paying my own bills,” Akbay said.

When he got back to school, he found his instructors valued his work experience.

“Teachers know who has done co-

“You kind of stand out in the classroom, getting that year of experience.”

–Arin Akbay, Mississippi State senior majoring in industrial engineering ops, and will call on those students to talk about their experience in a way more understandable to the students,” Akbay said. “You kind of stand out in the classroom, getting that year of experience. And after graduation, if you have a 4.0 GPA but no co-op or internship experience, the company is more likely to hire someone with a 3.3 GPA and work experience. It shows you already know the ropes. You have already had your rookie season. You are not completely new to the workplace.”

Angie Chrestman, associate director of the Career Center and Cooperative Education at MSU, agrees that student co-ops have a leg up in getting a job after graduation.

“Employers use cooperative education and internships as a pipeline for fulltime hires,” Chrestman said. “Employers invest money and time in these students while they work in co-op positions to ultimately bring the student back as a full-time employee. This is not a guarantee for the student or the employer.

But companies that recruit co-ops and interns from Mississippi State prefer to hire those students full-time if it is a fit for both parties.”

Chrestman said hiring co-op internship students is a win-win situation for the employer and the student. Employers have the opportunity to evaluate and develop potential employees. They also have a ready, reliable source for hiring permanent employees.

“These programs give companies a means to fulfill short- and long-term human resource needs,” Chrestman said. “Employers can receive satisfaction in knowing they contributed to

the student’s educational goals.”

Students are also able to maintain their full-time student status while working full-time during their work semesters.

Even if students aren’t hired by the company they interned with, that experience can make a critical difference in getting a job with another company. Chrestman said employers often state that the areas of a student’s resume they are most interested in reviewing are work experience, technical skills, and leadership and organizational involvement. Students who have done a co-op internship with a company may also receive a higher starting salary than someone who hasn’t worked at the company previously.

The Cooperative Education office provides a detailed and structured approach to assisting students with obtaining a co-op position.

“Workshops and individual student appointments are utilized to prepare students to write a resume, participate in a formal interview, select the right position, and make the transition from school to work,” Chrestman said. “As a co-op student, they have a mentor or supervisor while at work to provide them direction. Students also have a liaison through the co-op office to stay in contact with the university while at work. The goal is for the student to continue their education at work in a supportive environment.”

MSU currently has about 600 co-op and intern students actively involved in the program. Other colleges in the state have similar programs.

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PAYING FOR EDUCATION

FINANCIAL CHALLENGE In today’s economy, students may have to search for loans By

BECKY GILLETTE

H

ere’s the issue. The economy is in a mess right now.

That means colleges and universities nationwide are examining their scholarship budgets and philosophies, said Jason Beverly, M.S., assistant director of the Office of Financial Aid for the University of Southern Mississippi.

“This doesn’t necessarily mean they are cutting their scholarship budgets, but I think they have to make some adjustments, due to the economic times we are in,” Beverly said. “This means that a lot more students and parents are going to have to rely on some type of federal and/or state financial aid assistance to help pay for those college expenses. “ People don’t like to hear the words “student loans.” Beverly understands that. But, unfortunately, for a lot of families, it is becoming a necessity for them to accept student loans in order to pay for college expenses.

“Look, there is a reason that the government offers student loans,” Beverly said. “Our government understands that offering student loans can help relieve some of the burden off families that are trying to send their kids to college. I think it’s a good program. It’s very convenient for the families.

Students just need to realize that student loans must be repaid eventually.”

While many colleges and universities rethink their scholarship budgets and philosophies, it’s important for students to know that there is still scholarship money out there.

“I always encourage students to take a couple of weekends at home and just research different companies and organization on the Internet,” Beverly said. “Many of these companies and organizations offer scholarship assistance, but the student is going to have

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to put in some effort and find which companies and organizations has them and how they can apply for them.”

Many students work during college, at least during the summers, to reduce the total they Beverly owe after college.

Working while going to college differs from student to student.

Obviously, freshmen need the fewest distractions possible to help them make that smooth transition from high school to a college environment.

Rogers “If college freshmen do decide to work, I would encourage them to try to find a job on campus,” he said. “Most on-campus jobs will limit students to no more than 20 hours per week. And better yet, it’s just convenient for them to work on campus. Most departments will be flexible and willing to work around their class schedule.

That’s a good thing because you never want work to interfere with your academics. Once they become upperclassmen, maybe then they will be experienced enough to be able to juggle an off-campus job while going to college at the same time.”

Not every student is going to qualify for the federal Pell grant because it’s based on financial need. “Students and parents also need to realize that federal Pell grant is not going to pay for all of the student’s college expenses,” Beverly said. “In fact, the maximum Pell grant is $5,550 per year.”

The process of paying for college is much like the process of purchasing any other big-ticket item.

“Research your purchase first,” said Jennifer Rogers, director of Student Financial Aid, Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. “Make sure you are planning to attend the college that both

meets your educational needs and fits your budget. Look for discounts.

Scholarships are college discounts.

Apply for private and institutional scholarships. Private scholarships are abundant and varied, so you’ll have to research what you might be eligible for.

Institutional scholarships come directly from the college. These often have early application deadlines, so don’t miss the opportunity to reduce your overall cost.”

Don’t forget about scholarships available in your local community from civic clubs, churches, your parents’ employers, etc.

Make sure you have good “credit.”

When you finance a car, you get a better deal if you have good credit. When it comes to paying for college, students with a good academic transcript typically qualify for more scholarships.

“So, take the tough classes, keep up your grades, and try to achieve the highest possible score on the ACT or SAT,” Rogers said.

Her advice is to finance wisely. If you have to take out a loan, be smart about it. Not all loans are bad; however, some loans are not necessary. Never borrow more than you absolutely need.

Also, loans must be repaid with interest, so be sure you understand the repayment terms.

“Take the shortest time to pay,” Roger said. “The longer you finance a house, the more it costs in the long run. The longer it takes you to finish your degree, the more it will cost you.

Four years of tuition and housing is cheaper than six years of tuition and housing. Plus, the longer it takes to complete a degree and enter the workforce, the more employment income you forfeit.”

Visit the state’s college planning portal, Rise Up!, at www.mississippi.edu/riseupms to learn more about planning and paying for college in Mississippi.

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DEPRESSION

From breakups to grades Counselors help students with life’s problems By

STEPHEN MCDILL

D

EPRESSION is the common cold of mental illness, says University of Mississippi campus counseling director Marc Showalter.

“It affects so many people in different ways,” said the 15-year veteran counselor.

For instance, just the idea of leaving home and being on their own for the first time is enough to send some college students into panic mode.

“Being away from home is a major milestone and as much as it’s touted as a fun experience, there’s a lot of anxiety,” said Mississippi College counselor Morgan Bryant. The private Baptist college is known for its popular Chinese student exchange program. Those students deal not only with being in a new country but have an entire language working against them.

“Leaving home means change whether you’re anticipating it or not,” said Mississippi State University counseling graduate Will Frederick.

While most of the Ole Miss students Showalter counsels cope with more traditional forms of stress or anxiety, there have been dramatic changes in recent years with significantly more intense issues and pressures. “(These students) are worried about not getting a job or what’s going to happen to them next because expectations might be high,” Showalter said.

“Some aspect of their life isn’t going the way they had in mind

or would have hoped.”

Some students find that while they can leave home they can’t escape memories of childhood trauma like sexual abuse or a family suicide. “They collapse on themselves and become destructive,” Frederick said.

“Twenty-five years ago there was no social media, and you couldn’t communicate instantly with anyone, anywhere,” Showalter said, adding that the consequences are striking.

Students pass up normal social skills and lash out over Facebook or texting in harsh, mean-spirited ways.

“Cyber bullying and cyber stalking is a reality, and we work with students who are involved with that on one side or the other,” Showalter said.

With college sports now a nationally televised tradition, student athletes have added pressure to perform in an arena where a dropped pass or strike out can haunt them for the whole semester.

Whether it’s a first breakup or a tough class, Frederick said friends and family of a stressed student need to realize that the stressors are very important to that student. While many students will resort to dangerous coping methods like cutting or alcohol and substance abuse, most of the time they just need someone to talk to and a way to tell their story.

“Very often you may be going through something and if you can get support, you can get past it,” Showalter said. “If you don’t get support it may cost you an entire semester or year because you aren’t able to do as well as you want to.”

Some counseling professionals

believe a prevalent stigma against mental health keeps many students from seeking assistance. “It has that negative spin of only crazy people go,” Frederick said.

“We want the quick fix.

(Students would) rather take a pill versus get into discussions, memories or emotions.”

On the MC campus, Bryant tries to promote “stigma free” language in psychology. “We’re not using words like crazy or weird,” she said.

Licensed campus counselors are available on most campuses for free or at a lower rate and can refer off-campus visits if a student is still uncomfortable.

“We’re seeing more and more non-traditional students who have fulltime jobs or are taking care of families while attending class,” Bryant said. She advises them to make sure they get plenty of rest and make time to do things they enjoy.

Frederick said students can be the first line of defense for each other regarding depression.

“People who are depressed try to isolate themselves from others,” he said. “If you’re used to seeing your roommate hanging out and all of a sudden they’re staying in the room a lot or sleeping all the time… Be on the lookout for that.”

Blue Mountain College Office of Admissions P.O. Box 160 Blue Mountain, MS 38610

1.800.235.0136

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ENERGY DRINKS

LOOKING FOR AN EDGE Students get boosts from caffeine drinks, pills By

STEPHEN MCDILL

“I

FEEL THE need, the need for speed!”

First spoken by Tom Cruise in the 1986 fighter pilot flick “Top Gun,” the line is often repeated on college campuses across the country.

Today’s college students are on the hunt for new and exciting ways to grab extra energy and, frankly speed, to do everything from study for an exam to stay awake at parties.

Livestrong.com puts Las Vegas-based Rockstar at the top of its “10 Best Energy Drinks” list. Other products go by equally fratty names like Monster, Xylence, Crunk and Bawls.

Students can even “enhance” their bottled water with Green Thunder MiO energy shots.

One squirt of the apple-flavored concentrate offers an extra kick that includes caffeine, potassium, ginseng and plenty of B6 and B12 vitamins.

The key word with energy drinks is moderation, according to the medical community.

“Used occasionally I think they’re not significantly dangerous,” says Dr. Deborah O’Bryan, a family medicine physician and professor with the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

“For someone to use them every day can be very dangerous.”

O’Bryan says her 19-year-old daughter loves Red Bull, arguably the most recognizable energy drink brand out there. Backed by a global, multi-million dollar marketing strategy that includes race cars and skydivers, Red Bull is a popular beverage for 18-to-24-year-olds facing a long day of classes or an all-night exam cram.

Stimulants like caffeine are the main ingredient in energy drinks and while medical research has gone back and forth over its health benefits, caffeine is generally beneficial in small doses. “Caffeine is one of the few drugs that’s been shown to increase focus and sports performance,” says Dr. Marc Hellrung, a physician with MEA Medical Clinics in Brandon.

Overconsumption or misuse of energy drinks can have problematic long-term effects, including high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease. Mixing energy

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Derryl Stegall / For MBJ

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ENERGY DRINKS

drinks and alcohol may be a popular off-campus activity but studies show that it only masks intoxication and can cause dehydration and irregular heart beat.

Red Bull and major competitors Monster and 5-Hour Energy were contacted for this story but did not participate.

Quick fixes “It’s a very drugged generation. People are lazy and want that quick fix,” says Will Frederick. The Mississippi State University graduate remembers how popular pills were among students in his dormitory.

“I knew people who would have a prescription for Adderall, and they would share it on the hall,” he says. “It was not a big deal.”

In reality, passing around a highly controlled prescription narcotic can get a student in more trouble than lighting up a marijuana cigarette in class.

Used to treat patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactive disorders, amphetamine stimulants like Adderall and Concerta can become drugs of convenience on college campuses.

“I think there’s a whole black market for it,” Hellrung says. “It’s not an all bad drug.

It enables people to focus intensely. A lot of students would have been very discouraged and not pursued higher education.”

Hellrung says since it decreases appetite, Adderall is also used by some women as a weight loss drug. He tells ADHD patients seeking treatment to meet with a psychologist for testing before writing them a prescription.

While it does help patients with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities, when misused Adderall and similar narcotics can cause serious side effects, including increased heart rate, insomnia, agitation, panic attacks and even strokes or heart attacks.

Dr. O’Bryan writes conservative prescriptions and monitors usage for signs of abuse.

She is currently helping one surgical resident who was taking normal doses of Adderall for ADD but started having tremors. A stimulant that helps with concentration but causes shaky hands in the operating room could have dangerous consequences.

Back to nature “What do you have that will do this for me,” Jessica Criddle says mimicking the many college and medical students she meets looking for organic alternatives to Red Bull. The 28-year-old Rainbow Whole Foods manager spent 11 years of her life taking Adderall and is also a recovering meth addict. “ADD is over diagnosed and misdiagnosed,” she said.

Criddle’s Adderall created amphetamine effects for her on a small scale. She couldn’t sleep at night, had mood swings, changed college majors several times and would start 30 new projects but never finish anything.

While Criddle may enjoy an energy beverage every now and then, she sticks with her supplements. Every day she takes three pills of Thaumaturge NuClarity, a mix of lemon balm leaf, horsetail and several proteins that help invigorate brain function and regulate moods.

“Supplements are expensive, and I don’t want to be taking a lot of pill,” she said.

Rainbow’s naturopathic approach to health and wellness leads them to look for long-term solutions to stress or lethargy rather than shortterm fixes.

According to the Inner Health Group Inc., two key glands involved in energy production are the adrenals and thyroid. Both are a part of the endocrine system and produce hormones. Low energy could be caused when they are overworked due to things like medication or poor diet.

Rainbow carries both organic sodas and supplements that can spike energy without the extreme amounts of caffeine, or artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

Rainbow’s most popular energy drink is Steaz Energy.

The little green cans are stamped “USDA Organic” and filled with a concoction of green tea, caffeine, yerba mate stimulants and so-called “superfood” extracts like guarana and acai berries. The fridges by the cash registers are also stocked with Brain Toniq and Reeds Elixir, what are these?

Rainbow also sells bottles of caffeine-free Natural Vitality Energy28. Recently endorsed by TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz, the product contains a nutrientdense, non-GMO micro-algae as well as 24 fruits and vegetables.

Caffeine-free ginkgo biloba shots are another popular

Asian-influenced herbal supplement sold at Rainbow that reportedly balances the adrenal activity. Premier One Raw Energy contains mostly bee pollen, an ingredient that’s 90 percent protein.

“Think about what you put in your body,” Criddle said.

“Natural doesn’t always mean healthy.” Instead of eating pizza and drinking Monsters all day, Criddle said students with ADD-related challenges can learn coping skills. “I make sure I’m organized.”

“Regular exercise is helpful,” says O’Bryan. “I guess trying not to procrastinate and get behind.

Eating a healthy diet helps your body to function better.”

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In the future, YOU could be the person who saves the planet, builds the next tallest building in the world, launches the space program to further exploration, or creates the next big thing in social media!

Contact the Mississippi Engineering Society today to get started on the road to success.

www.msengsoc.org Call Today! 601-919-1818

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WORKING WITH PROFESSORS

DON’T BE AFRAID ...

Most instructors will help if students take the first step By

LYNN LOFTON

I

S THERE A difference between high school teachers and college professors?

And if so, how should a student handle professors?

The basics of respect, courtesy and good manners apply in both cases.

It’s easy to become comfortable with high school teachers, especially in small schools, and they will help you. Right?

The truth is that college instructors will help you too.

“Some college instructors do not know who you are because of extremely large classes, but I have found that if you make an effort to get to know them, they are usually really happy to help you out” says Maridane Hewes, a junior at the University of Mississippi.

“This includes anything from something in their class to helping you get internships, as well as putting you in contact with people who would be helpful to know.”

Hewes, a journalism major from Gulfport and graduate of St. Patrick Catholic High

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School, advises high school students to keep an open mind about colleges and professors.

Alison Graves graduated from Harrison Central High School with 460 students in her senior class. For her, going from high school to the Jefferson Davis Campus of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College was not a big change. “The instructors have an open door policy.

They share stories with students and give their phone numbers to students,” she said.

“The school work is harder, and they expect more from you, which they should, but they still make students feel welcome.”

Graves is now a student at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Campus. “The professors at USM are helpful too,” she said.

“As you move along in your major, they get to know you better and will sit down and talk with you about your education and career.”

As a double major in elementary education and special education, Graves appreciates that several of her professors taught on those levels before teaching on the university level. They have teaching stories to share and can relate to what Graves will do in her career. “I have some who really work with us, but they can tell if someone is taking advantage of them,” she said. “We can ask questions when we need to.

“We’re adults and are expected to act like adults. We must be independent; that’s a difference of being in college and being in high school.”

As a professor on the university level, Lance Hopkins says colleges will hold stu-

dents more accountable than high schools, and will also give them more independence and self regulation. “I don’t care if you come to class or not,” he said. “You’re paying to be there and it’s up to you to make the most of it.”

However, he expects students to not be late for class when they come, to turn in assignments on time and show that they care. “Simply treat professors with respect as you expect to be treated,” he said.

“I tell students to send me a text if they know they’ll be late for class.”

That brings up the subject of communication. Students will probably have more direct communication outside the classroom with college instructors than they do with high school teachers. Asked about the seemingly constant contact of texts, e-mails, phone calls and office visits between professors and students, Hopkins replied, “We’re in this profession because we want to help students. If they take the initiative to come to my office or contact me, that’s good, but they must take that initiative.”

A professor in the College of Business at the Gulf Coast Campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, Hopkins says professors do not mind receiving electronic messages and calls from students. “It’s the world we live in today, and I don’t see it as an invasion of privacy,” he said. “We give them our phone numbers. If we don’t want to answer, they can leave a message.”

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COMMUNITY COLLEGES

LOOKING FOR A BARGAIN? Thousands find affordability, comfort at junior colleges By

BECKY GILLETTE

W

HEN Brianna Danley was in high school, she heard disparaging things about community college including it being called “the thirteen grade of high school.” She attended the University of Southern Mississippi the first semester, and then transferred to Pearl River Junior College for a semester before attending Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gautier.

“I really liked the community colleges,” said Danley, who went on to complete a Bachelor of Science in nursing at USM Gulf Coast in 2012.

“The classes were smaller, and it was more personal. You got to know your teachers better. I particularly liked taking marine biology at the MGCCC marine science center next to the bayou. It was beautiful. We got to go on field trips to experience what we were studying.”

Danley appreciated she found the instruction she needed to understand the subjects and get good grades that allowed her to get into nursing school.

And she and her parents were grateful for the bottom line: Her tuition was considerably lower at the community colleges. Tuition at a community college runs about $2,240 per year compared to more than $6,000 per year at four-year colleges in the state.

“Community colleges are one of the great values in Mississippi and the U.S.,” said Dr. Eric Clark, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board. “Average tuition at a Mississippi community college is one of the greatest bargains in the world.

We have a huge number of students who may have financial challenges, but manage to come to community colleges, and the payoff is enormous. One of our goals is to keep tuition as low as we possibly can to make college afford-

“The classes were smaller, and it was more personal.

You got to know your teachers better.”

– Brianna Danley, junior college student at Pearl River and Mississippi Gulf Coast able to nearly everybody.”

Many students in Mississippi have traditionally relied on Pell grants to help fund their education. Clark is worried that the U.S. Congress has cut back on Pell grant eligibility, and is considering more drastic cutbacks.

“That is crucial to thousands of people in Mississippi being able to go to college,” he said.

Another advantage of community colleges is that there are 15 community colleges in the state, making them close to where most people live.

“We also teach whatever you want to take,” Clark said.

“If you want to be an English professor or a plumber, come to a junior college and we will get you where you want to go. In addition to traditional academic classes, we teach job skills. We usually have small classes. Our teacher’s job is to teach. They are not into doing research. They aren’t into a lot of outside activities. Our instructors focus on teaching. There are smaller classes with a lot of interactions between instructors and students. Often it is a much more nurturing environment than in a fouryear college.”

Community colleges have workforcetraining programs, as well, that can be

a path to a good paying career. Each year about 13,000 people in Mississippi who have at least a bachelor’s degree go back to a community college to learn a job skill.

Clark said someone with a technical degree from a community college initially could make more money than a person who has just graduated with a bachelor’s degree. “When someone learns to work on air conditioners or to become a plumber, there are jobs available immediately that will pay a good living and allow a more prosperous life,” Clark said.

“The person with a bachelor’s degree may earn more later on, but it can take a while to get established.”

Six months after graduating from career and technical programs at a community college, 81.2 percent of people with a certificate are employed with an average income of $31,366.

With an associate of applied science, a two-year technical degree, the average income is $35,280.

“Ten years down the line someone with a bachelor’s degree from college may make more, but sometimes a technical degree from community college has more value right after graduation,” Clark said.

If a community college is located nearby, it also offers people the chance to work full- or part-time while attending school. That can help prevent the need to get more funding through student loans that have to be repaid.

In 2012, 19 percent of households in the U.S. owned on students loans – a record.

And if you learn well online, you might consider taking online courses at a Mississippi community college.

Particularly popular with students who have families and full-time jobs, about 30,000 people take online classes with the community college each year.

“Our online courses are one of the great success stories in our state,” Clark said. “There has been a tremendous growth pattern since they started in 2000.”

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THE JOB SEARCH

RESUME PERFECTION Make it free of errors if you want that perfect job By

BECKY GILLETTE

J

OB HUNTING? The first step is making sure you have an error-free resume that looks professional and portrays you in the best light possible.

Sloppy resumes that don’t have the right format and contain typos could get your resume tossed right into the garbage can before you even have a chance at an interview.

“It is so important to have your resume proofed and critiqued by more than one person,” said Lashanda W. Jordan, director, Career Services Center, Jackson State University.

Jordan said one of the biggest mistakes people make on their resume is not tailoring their resume to fit the job they are applying for. Using a cookie cutter resume may not sell your skills and expertise, nor speak to the requirements that an employer may be searching for in a particular position.

If you are just starting your working career, your resume should be limited to one page. The more experience you gain, the lengthier your resume may become.

High school students should be keeping track of awards they have won, recognition they have received, and volunteer work they have done. Jordan said those types of things are especially important when you are just starting out in the business world, at least until you have established yourself either at a college or university or in a job after high school.

Another tip is to write a good description of the jobs you have held.

Jordan said be sure to use action verbs when describing your responsibilities.

Resume paper is inexpensive and makes a good impression. But don’t think you are helping yourself by adding a picture on your resume.

Because of laws against discrimination,

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“It is so important to have your resume proofed and critiqued by more than one person.”

“Your name is listed in the heading. It is not necessary to use ‘I’.”

– Lashanda W. Jordan, director, Career Services Center, Jackson State University

– Towanda Williams, assistant director of Career Services, Mississippi University for Women

that is a really bad idea.

“Definitely NO picture on your resume!” Jordan said. “Your skills listed on your resume should be the first introduction of you to a potential employer.”

Towanda Williams, assistant director of Career Services, Mississippi University for Women, said the biggest mistake she sees on resumes is students using “I.” “I” is not necessary since the resume is a personal document with information that is only about you and your personal skills.

“Your name is listed in the heading,” Williams said. “It is not necessary to use ‘I’.

“Another frequent mistake I see is using fonts that are too large. Your heading font should not exceed 14 font and the body of your resume should not be more than 12 or less than 10 font.”

Format is important. You should begin with your heading (name, address, phone, e-mail), objective (optional), education, work experience, volunteer or community service, honors or clubs/organizations, and skills.

References should be a part of your resume unless an employer has specified resume submission only.

“If the application submission does not include references, at least have

them available if an employer should request them,” Williams said. “Saying ‘references available upon request’ is fine, but you should always be prepared to have them in case they are requested. Be pro active. Be sure to inform your references that their names have been included on your list and that they may hear from an employer and asked to speak on your behalf.”

Check and double check for errors.

“There may be errors you've overlooked,” she said. “Use professional email when submitting contact information. Slang words and phrases are sometimes frowned on by the professionals looking to hire.”

If you are worried your resume looks a little thin, consider including classroom projects you may have been in charge of or a part of as a group.

Williams said depending on the level of responsibility a student has been given, they most likely have obtained some level of skill, even if it's just learning to work as a team or in a group.

Even babysitting, yard work and church activities can be added to a resume. But no unnecessary padding, please. Potential employers aren’t expecting a lengthy job history from someone still in their teens.

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Mississippi’s Top 50 Hottest Jobs Rank Job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Registered Nurses Orthodontists Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education General and Operations Managers Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses Surgeons Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational Education First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Retail Sales Workers Obstetricians and Gynecologists Family and General Practitioners Internists, General Pediatricians, General Anesthesiologists First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Office and Administrative Support Workers Pharmacists Dentists, General Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational Education Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing Chief Executives Psychiatrists Nuclear Engineers Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers Engineering Managers Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School Natural Sciences Managers First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers Lawyers Accountants and Auditors Industrial Engineers Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers Medical and Health Services Managers Nuclear Technicians Physical Therapists Civil Engineers Financial Managers First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers Petroleum Engineers Sales Managers Education Administrators, Postsecondary Electricians Industrial Production Managers Physicists Electrical Engineers Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters Power Distributors and Dispatchers Occupational Therapists Radiation Therapists Chemical Engineers

Annual Demand 1,075 5 680 515 405 525 20 470 490 15 65 15 15 10 350 85 30 320 290 85 5 5 230 20 90 5 170 15 95 150 90 5 80 5 65 50 70 135 10 45 35 145 45 5 25 20 5 40 10 5

Entry Wage

Average Wage

$41,410 $180,210 $23,390 $32,550 $45,100 $27,430 $107,460 $31,350 $22,950 $99,800 $87,180 $83,400 $81,650 $89,040 $27,560 $82,550 $78,510 $32,510 $29,190 $51,120 $59,570 $79,590 $26,810 $64,560 $55,550 $70,610 $34,690 $64,380 $38,570 $34,080 $49,340 $65,300 $45,520 $68,460 $49,550 $50,360 $43,970 $32,660 $55,540 $45,640 $47,950 $30,190 $45,080 $53,670 $52,980 $55,910 $60,340 $47,790 $54,290 $53,690

$57,940 $217,820 $36,580 $41,720 $87,910 $34,930 $204,510 $41,4904 $34,960 $200,700 $175,750 $193,110 $177,650 $164,540 $43,710 $108,580 $150,730 $40,700 $52,700 $127,050 $136,090 $95,850 $36,960 $100,010 $69,920 $97,830 $51,760 $97,360 $92,3005 $55,660 $65,160 $90,050 $76,900 $80,690 $73,670 $77,490 $75,840 $52,050 $86,280 $79,740 $80,670 $40,380 $76,010 $85,540 $72,730 $69,440 $70,990 $70,200 $74,710 $78,700

Source: Mississippi Department of Employment Security

Top Occupations The highest demanded occupations in Mississippi with their average hourly wages: » Cashiers, $7.83 » Retail Salespersons, $8.06 » Registered Nurses, $19.91 » Waiters and Waitresses, $7.75 » Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, $8.11 » Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer, $11.24 » Food Preparation Workers, $7.78 » Customer Service Representatives, $9.44 » Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, $13.19 » Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education, $32,550 annually » Stock Clerks and Order Fillers, $8.08 » Teacher Assistants, $16,240 annually » Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop, $7.85 » First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Retail Sales Workers, $11.03 » Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational Education, $31,350 annually. » Nursing Aides, Orderlies, Attendants, $8.13 » General and Operations Managers, $21.68 » Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical and Executive, $9.22 » Team Assemblers, $9.67 » Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers, $8.36 » Cooks, Fast Food, $7.86 » Security Guards, $8.18 » Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, $8.00 » Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, $10.77 » First-Line Supervisors/Managers of Office and Administrative Support Workers, $13.25 » Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food, $7.81 » Child Care Workers, $7.82 » Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Vocational Education, $32,510 annually » Receptionists and Information Clerks, $8.31 » Office Clerks, General, $8.09 » Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products, $14.03 » Tellers, $8.80 » Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers, $11.23 » Welders, Cutters, Solderers, $12.89 » Cooks, Restaurant, $8.17 » Home Health Aides, $7.96 » Gaming Dealers, $7.67 » Industrial Truck, Tractor Operators, $9.84 » Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria, $7.95 » Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, $7.83 » Correctional Officers and Jailers, $9.66 » Landscaping, Groundskeeping Workers, $8.10 » Slaughterers and Meat Packers, $8.57 » Dishwashers, $7.75 Source: MDES

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THE JOB SEARCH

Coping with slow economy Networking, internships can make hunt more efficient By

LYNN LOFTON

F

INDING A JOB can be challenging at any time but it’s especially daunting in this recessionary time. Even grads with high grade point averages may have to get creative.

However, there are things you can do to set yourself apart. Professors and students list such things as maintaining good grades, networking and serving an internship – paid or unpaid – in your chosen field. All of these efforts are great on a resume.

Maridane Hewes, a junior journalism major at the University of Mississippi, is getting practical experience in addition to taking classes.

“I write for the school newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, where I am also one of the copy editors along with being a copy editor for the Ole Miss Yearbook,” she said. “I have recently been accepted to work as an intern for Mid South Wedding Guide, a local magazine.”

Hewes, who hails from Gulfport, is accumulating clippings for her portfolio while polishing her skills. After graduation, she would like to work as a book publisher and write on the side.

“I advise high school students to get involved in organizations and activities as much as possible, which will hopefully give them an idea of what they would like to major in,” she said. “I would also tell them to visit the schools they are applying to and keep an open mind about everything.”

University of Southern Mississippi Professor Lance Hopkins, who teaches in the College of Business on the Gulf Coast Campus, says students should not underestimate the power of networking.

“But it’s a mistake to put all your eggs in one basket,” he said. “I encourage students to join student professional organizations, attend the meetings and make contacts.”

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“The goal is to get an interview. If you get a positive response 10 percent of the time, you’ve done well.”

– USM professor Lance Hopkins Hopkins, who had a long career in advertising before he began teaching, conducts a personal branding seminar for students several times a year. He feels a systematic approach should be used to find work, and the first thing is figure out what you want to do. Then comes the system, which should begin with finding out as much as possible about any organization for which you’d like to work.

“Remember, you have only one time to make a good first impression,” he said. “Armed with all the data, write a letter of introduction to the president of the company. This letter and a wellconstructed resume should be sent by certified mail.”

He admits that the odds of the president reading the letter are not high but the odds are high that the assistant will open it and send it along to the appropriate person. The sender of the certified mail will have a card bearing the name of the person who signed for the mail.

“Then the student has someone to call and should be persistent,” Hopkins said. “The goal is to get an interview. If you get a positive response 10 percent of the time, you’ve done well.”

Hopkins admits that his advice runs counter to today’s thinking that resumes and letters are always sent by electronic mail. “How many e-mails does everyone get? It’s so easy for them to get lost in the shuffle,” he said.

For those applicants fortunate enough to have an interview, he cautions them to prepare for all the physical attributes, including having a mock interview

and/or taping themselves if possible.

Then there’s follow up after the interview. “Sit down afterwards and make notes; think about it and write a thank-you letter a few days later, making sure you have the name and address correct,” he added.

Rusty Anderson, director of Career Services for Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, has observed that career fair employer attendance and on-campus recruitment of graduating seniors has slowed over the past several years, dropping by approximately 40 percent.

“Many employers indicate they will hire only as needed due to turnover, and they are not aggressively seeking to add employees due to economic uncertainty or the lack of business growth,” he said. “Employers review hiring needs on a quarter-to-quarter basis.”

He says demand for construction engineering technology, nursing and journalism majors has slowed during the past couple of years. He sees the demand continuing for accountants and auditors, polymer science/research majors, financial analysts, logistic professionals, computer information technologists, management analysts, market research analysts and marketing specialists, medical and health services managers, teachers, speech pathologists and medical technologists.

“At the Career Center we help with career fairs, teacher and nursing career fairs, on-campus recruiting, web-based job searching tools, individual appointments for resume development, interviewing skills training and other job seeking strategies, including topical workshops and class presentations,” Anderson said.

He too stresses the importance of professional internships and focusing on obtaining leadership positions in student organizations.

“Lead – don’t just join – and get involved in community service,” he said. “Obtain a competitive grade point average and learn to network and use professional organizations.”

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BUILDING A CAREER The construction industry has plent of options By

LYNN LOFTON

F

OR STUDENTS WHO like to build things, like to work outside and don’t want to be confined to a desk, the construction industry has options. It’s much more than swinging a hammer, and training can start in high school. Industry leaders urge high school students and their families to consider what construction has to offer.

The Mississippi Construction Education Foundation has been a partner with the State Department of Education for 11 years and offers training throughout the state. The foundation has a state-adopted curriculum, which means students finish the program with a nationally accredited certification. Mike Darkett, MCEF’s president, explained that Mississippi’s program is certified through the National Center for Construction Education and Research. “We don’t want our students to move away, but if they do go to another state, their certification is recognized everywhere,” he said.

The foundation

trains 5,000 high school students each year in the construction industry trades, meaning these students can go right into the work place, a community college or to higher education. “We’re training them to be successful,” Darkett said. “We hope young people take advantage of this training. There’s good money to be made in the construction trades.”

With 186 programs offered, the training consists of a construction trades cluster and a core cluster. The construction trades cluster includes carpentry, masonry, plumbing and electrical. The core is a basic understanding of construction, including basic safety, construction math, recognition of hand and power tools, how to read blueprints, and communication and employability skills. All students take the core cluster, and other classes are the students’ choice.

“Employability skills teaches things such as how to dress for an interview, how to answer questions in the interview, how to shake hands,” Darkett said. “Those are things all young people need to know.”

Additionally, stand-alone courses are taught that will advance a student’s skills and career opportunities. These include masonry, electrical, industrial maintenance, welding, metal fabrication and heating and air-conditioning.

“We’re trying to educate high school guidance counselors and parents about all the opportunities available to young people in the construction industry,” Darkett said. “If you like to be outdoors and want to see what you built still standing 50 years from now, you’ll like this industry.”

Following high school, the foundation’s apprenticeship program is the way to go. It allows students to earn while they learn skills and earn credits in community college classes. Employers are willing

to work with students and pay them to go to school in this program designed for students to work full time while training. The community college programs follow national accrediting guidelines too.

Often community colleges partner with construction industry companies to offer new programs. For instance, a few years ago Pearl River Community College had a heavy equipment operator program in partnership with the John Deere Company and Stribling Equipment, who each lent pieces of equipment to double the program.

Other programs provide a direct link to the world of work through a program that allows students to attend classes for two weeks, followed by two weeks of work.

“It’s always a viable thing to go into construction as a career,” said Buddy Edens, who leads the Associated Builders and Contractors in Mississippi. “There will always be building projects and a need for construction workers.”

With 987 members, ABC is the state’s largest construction trade association in Mississippi and the largest state chapter in the country.

Edens and Darkett admit the construction industry is slow at this time but believe the situation will improve within a few years – by the time high school students complete their training. Edens sees a lot of private funding waiting on the sidelines until after the national election.

Darkett agrees that the uncertainty of the election is a temporary problem. “It’s slow now due to that uncertainty, but private and federally-funded projects will get underway,” he said. “Opportunities are available if you’re trained and bring skill sets to the table.”

For more information about training in the construction trades, visit www.mcef.net.

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THE JOB SEARCH

What does the boss want?

Skills, attitude are vital in today’s workplace By

LYNN LOFTON

A

T SOME POINT – maybe most points – everyone has a boss.

Knowing what the boss wants and expects goes a long way toward success on the job. In addition to job skills, a positive attitude and a willingness to learn are important traits sure to please most any boss.

Mayo Flynt, president of AT&T Mississippi, has some advice for students approaching a job search. “In an industry evolving as fast as ours, we look for can-

didates who can adapt to changing environments, have positive outlooks when confronted with challenges and have a desire to serve customers,� he said.

That advice can carry over to many job fields as today’s technology is constantly changing, bringing with it a need for flexibility and new training.

Scott Besselievre, director of sales for AT&T Central and North Mississippi, reviews lots of resumes in his search for new employees. “I look for a history of sales success in any type of sales or customer service,� he said. “It’s also important to convey what the candidate has been committed to and things that reflect his or her character and attitude.�

He suggests that job seekers list goals on

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their resumes to help employers know applicants better. “Never embellish or exaggerate experience,� Besselievre adds, “and having communication skills are a given in our industry.�

Interested in a banking career? “A display of willingness to be a team player and having a ‘can-do’ attitude along with cooperation, loyalty, honesty, integrity and flexibility are traits we look for in employees,� said Rebecca Vaughn-Furlow, executive vice president for human resources with Trustmark National Bank. “The ability to communicate well in writing and verbally is a skill set important to all positions and very much lacking from applicants today.�

At Mississippi State University, Scott

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EMCC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities. Contact Dr. Jackie Stennis with inquiries regarding this policy, (662) 476-5000 or jstennis@eastms.edu.

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Maynard, director of the Career Center, also says oral and written communication skills are important along with leadership, computer skills and time management skills. “We are seeing that employers want students to have some form of work experience in their field of study prior to graduation,” he said. “This can be in the form of cooperative education positions, internships, summer jobs, part-time work, volunteer experience or even job shadow experience. The more the better.”

Rusty Anderson, director of career services at the University of Southern Mississippi, also speaks up for good communication skills and says work experience directly related to the student’s career is the number one thing most employers want.

“Leadership skills developed in campus involvement, flexibility, adaptability, a willingness to learn, a good work ethic regarding time and attendance, self-initiating and interpersonal skills are things employers try to find,” he said. “Competitive companies seek an overall grade point average of 3.0 to obtain an interview.”

Trustmark’s Vaughn-Furlow stresses

“Leadership skills developed in campus involvement, flexibility, adaptability, a willingness to learn, a good work ethic regarding time and attendance, self-initiating and interpersonal skills are things employers try to find.”

– Rusty Anderson, director of career services at USM that internships count as work experience and often lead to full-time, paid jobs. “We take summer interns from college sophomores and up,” she said. “Even now when we’re cutting back on hiring due to the economy, we’ve kept some interns on as

temporary employees. Rarely do we see a resume of someone right out of college who has no work experience. It’s crucial and is a way to set an applicant apart in a tight job market.”

She adds that working in a field that is not in a student’s area of study is also helpful. Many students work as food servers while going to school. “Being a waiter is good work experience,” she said.

“It shows you’ve accepted responsibility, time management and that you’ve learned how to follow orders and know something about customer service.”

The University of Mississippi’s Toni D. Avant, director of the Career Center, says, “Employers look for candidates who have a strong work ethic, integrity, dependability and the ability to work in a team and with diverse groups of people. They also look for students who have strong communication skills, problem-solving skills and the willingness to take initiative to get the job done.”

She feels a good attitude is the key to success in any work environment. “A bad attitude won’t get you recognized for the right reasons,” she added.

V A L UE S

VALUE Arts plus academics. Friendship plus faith.

Mississippi College offers everything you’re expecting, plus a whole lot more... and it all costs less than you might expect. Whatever you’re looking for, whatever your student is looking for, find your “plus” here: mc.edu.

FIND YOUR PLUS FIND FAITH. FIND FAMILY. FIND YOUR FUTURE.

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ADVICE >>

10/26/12

3:31 PM

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FINANCES

Take this to the bank: Plan early for money, housing issues – or expect trouble

D

O YOU HAVE senioritis yet?

If we took a poll right now I would guess at least 80 percent of you would say yes.

Having lived through my son Ashton’s senior year of high school last year, I know what you and your parents are probably feeling right now. My task is to address a few of the financial issues you may not have considered as it relates to being a high school graduate. Keep reading for a chance to win a prize.

Are you “banked”? At this point in your life you should have some sort of a bank account. Whether it is a checking or savings account, now it the perfect time to become “banked” which means you have an account at a financial institution.

There are financial institutions that offer free checking accounts to students, savings accounts you can open with a mere $5, and savings accounts where the bank will match the first $25 you deposit.

Some of these banks will even give you a free piggy bank to keep your change in when you open an account with them. What college graduate does not need their own pig to hold their change? One-hundred pennies make a dollar, which will buy you a drink or snack from a vending machine.

If you do not already have an account, you should open one now. You can practice using the products offered by a bank under the guidance of your parents, guardians, teachers or other trusted adults during your senior year.

As I mentioned, my son Ashton was a senior in high school last year. This summer as he was preparing for his move to Hattiesburg to attend Southern Miss he said, “Mom, our bank does not have a branch in Hattiesburg. I need to open an account at another bank that does have a physi-

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cal bank there. I don’t want to pay a fee for taking money out of my account at an ATM.” What a smart boy.

Do you know that using an ATM at a Swartzfager location other than your own can cost up to $4 a transaction? If you use an ATM weekly and paid that fee it would cost you $208 a year. In this day of online banking, if you do not use the ATM often this is a moot point. But, it made him feel better to know that his bank was located in the city in which he now lives.

Where will you live after graduation and how much will it cost? The options are many: at home with your parents, in an apartment with friends, in a college dorm, on a military base, etc. There is not one right answer for everyone. However, regardless of where you will live, there are choices to be made and choices often have a cost associated with them.

If you continue to live at home, will you pay rent to stay there and how much will you pay? If you are moving into an apartment will you have roommates, which apartment complex will you choose, and does rent include utilities? If you live in a dorm on a college campus, will you choose the one with a private bath and higher cost or the one with bathrooms down the hall and a lower cost?

No matter the decision, be prepared for the unexpected and make your decision as early as possible. The earlier you make your decision, the more options you have which will make it easier to stay within budget.

It is like going to a concert or sporting event that requires tickets. If you buy your tickets early you can usually get the seats you want that fit your budget. If you wait until the last minute there may not be any seats

available, you might not be able to afford what is left or you can only buy the nosebleed seats when you wanted the best. The same is true for housing.

I was surprised while attending college orientation with Ashton this summer to hear a student and her dad asking at the on-campus housing booth about vacant dorm rooms. This was July and classes started in August. The young lady was told that campus housing was full, and she would have to go on a waiting list. Moving to a new town and living on your own can be stressful in itself. Don’t cause yourself the added stress of not knowing where you will live when you get there. Make choices early.

There are many personal finance traps one can find themselves in as a young person, and I don’t have the space to address them all. I will leave you with this bit of advice: think critically about “wants vs. needs.” A person should never go into debt for a “want.”

For information on other financial issues related to being a college graduate you can take a personal finance class at your high school, talk with your high school counselor, meet with the student affairs office at the college or university you will attend or contact the Mississippi Council on Economic Education. We want you to be financially fit and will give you direction on who you can talk to for proper guidance.

Want to win a prize? The first 20 students to like the Mississippi Council on Economic Education on Facebook and answer the following question via a Facebook message will win a prize. If you invested the money spent on ATM fees mentioned above at 6 percent compound interest, how much money would you have in 20 years?

Selena Swartzfager is president of the Mississippi Council on Economic Education. She can be reached at 601-974-1325 or mscee@millsaps.edu.

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10/26/12

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THE BORDERS

First, allow time to travel

A

S YOU close out your high school career and decide what to do next, there are so many factors and possibilities to consider.

One notion that many high school seniors may not think about, yet an idea that is a key that can unlock so many doors for you, is travel.

Regardless of your next step in life, try to ensure that it includes or leads to the opportunity to travel – the chance to venture out beyond your town, state and country to see the world.

Travel is educational, fun, and inspirational. And it can be life-changing. It gives you the chance to visit places and meet people you otherwise would never encounter. It teaches you a lot about life, how other people think and live, and how others see you and your surroundings. It actually teaches you a lot about yourself. Seeing new places and trying new things are fun experiences – part of the spice of life. And your travels can inspire you toward a career, a hobby, or even lead to personal relationships and jobs that can change your life forever.

I recall the fun of traveling across country with my family when we moved to the west coast when I was in high school. We were able to see so many sites along the way that it took two scrapbooks to contain all the memories.

Travel today is really not out of reach for any of us if we are willing to plan and budget for the adventure.

Depending on where you want to go, you can usually travel economically and stay places that don’t cost too much. My suggestion is to

overseas as much as start out with the anyone, but I've good ole USofA … never had my passsee our country first, port stamped once or, at least as much when I didn't come as you can. When home with some teryou combine family rific lessons in histrips, vacations, vistory and geography, its to relatives, and humanity and civiother more neceslization, and life sary travel, you may Bill LaForge itself. And it’s all out have already begun there for you to your tour of experience as well.

America. Where do you want Whatever your path and to go now or next? If you next stop after high school, be dream it, you can do it! sure to include travel in your For those of you who are plans. You will be better off going to find a job and start for the experience, and you working, or who are entering will never know what you’re training programs, be sure to missing unless you try it! plan a trip every so often just But don’t just take my word to get away. Better still, travel for it. Consider some famous before you start work if you words about travel from long can afford it. For those of you thinking about a career in the military, what a great way to see the country and the world.

For those of you who are college-bound, there will be many opportunities here in the U.S. and overseas, including studying abroad at a foreign university, participating in an international student exchange program, or just traveling on your own or with friends during summers or breaks from school.

I have had wonderful opportunities to study and travel internationally, and the experiences and memories are endless. Seeing the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China, teaching university students in Russia, watching a royal wedding procession in London, rafting the Zambezi River in Southern Africa, and exploring the Great Pyramids of Egypt were incredible experiences, especially for a guy who grew up in the Mississippi Delta.

The education – and the fun – of travel are never-ending. I enjoy a beach resort

ago … from the Old Testament's Book of Sirach, known also as Ecclesiasticus: A man with training gains wide knowledge; A man of experience speaks sense.

One never put to the proof knows little, Whereas with travel a man adds to his resourcefulness.

I have seen much in my travels, Learned more than ever I could say.

So, bust the borders, bon voyage, and good luck!

Bill LaForge grew up in Cleveland, Miss., and is the principal of LaForge Government Relations in Washington, D.C. He is an adjunct professor at George Washington University.

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THE FRESHMAN 15

52,500... It’s all about adjusting to new lifestyle

D

O THE MATH. Perhaps not the best comment to freshmen preparing to start college life away from mom and dad – unless they are planning on majoring in mathematics – but still a useful exercise.

The number 52,500 is not about the cost of tuition or books, the rent on your apartment or about money at all.

It refers to the calories required to gain an additional 15 pounds to a waistline during the first year in college.

Generations of college students have discussed the dreaded “Freshman 15,” but it is avoidable if you simply do the math. If you don’t, then you may keep this added weight into your senior year or even your senior years.

Let’s do the math.

It takes 3,500 extra calories to gain one pound. The college year is usually around 10 months, not 12, so that’s 1 1/2 pounds a month – an extra 5,250 calories each month. That would calculate to an additional 1,312.5 calories a week – or an extra 187.5 calories a day. How does it happen? It sneaks up on you.

It’s about that new found freedom you have. The freedom to eat what you want, when you want and not have mom or dad lecture you on your choices. Add that you can sleep longer than most hibernating animals, and you have a recipe for an expanding waistline. Exercise “takes too long” or “I'm too tired to exercise.” Now you have the perfect storm brewing (not that kind of brew). More calories in, less calories expended and – viola! – your jeans don’t fit and you can’t figure out why.

See, it sneaks up on you.

Let’s look at the food part of the equation. Breakfast, if you eat it, might be a muffin or a drive through breakfast sandwich or even a slice of cold pizza from the fridge. I’ll look at the calories only and not the breakdown on nutritional value because I am not a dietician, and you likely will focus on just the calories anyway. A medium muffin is 185 calories. Not too bad. The cold slice of thin crust cheese pizza?

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Only 200 calories.

An English muffin is about 160 calories, and black coffee at 5 calories – not too bad.

But a sausage and egg muffin is 450 calories, hotcakes Eric Dyess and syrup 610, a chicken biscuit varies from 410 to 440 calories, and that great slice of crumble coffee cake tips the scales at 670 calories. Add a tall hot chocolate (no whip, watching my weight) piles on 470 calories and before that first class at 11 am, you’re up 800 to 1000 calories. Sneaky.

Let’s do lunch. Swing by McAlister’s for Justaspud plain and 490 more cals just hit the GI tract. You could just add a small amount of lite sour cream and bump it to 620 or add the Rotel cheese sauce for a grand total of 860 calories.

Forgot to add the large glass of sweet tea to that didn’t I? That’ll be another 320, so we leave up another 1180 calories.

(Sorry, I love Rotel. more on that later).

Not interested in a spud? Not much time before that next class or that after noon nap because you “studied” so hard last night? Drive through and grab a burger at Sonic for 800, a Dairy Queen half-pound burger for 710 or let it all hang out (it will) and bust up in to Five Guys for a cheeseburger (840) and an order of those fabulous fries (620) and now we’re talking 1460 big ones!

The game’s on tonight. What culinary treats can we have to pull us through or drown or sorrows? At the game, get one of those great hot dogs plain (465) or add chili (520) or my favorite giant soft pretzel for 710 smackers.

Having the gang over for cheese queso dip and chips? That will be 335 calories for one cup and 88 calories for each 10 tortilla chips. Add a beverage (non-alcoholic because your parents might read this) and you’ve got a belly buster. Swing by late night for a chicken quesadilla and you can hit the sack with 530 more calories.

So what can you eat, you ask?

Anything you want in my opinion, but you need a plan. Use your smart phone

to look up nutritional info like I did.

Eat smaller amounts. Try new options at your favorite place. And keep up with the calories by a phone app or jot the number in your notes section of your iPad. Examples?

The French onion soup at McAlister’s is only 170, the junior cheeseburger at Wendy’s is just 290 or 310 at Sonic. The 6-inch veggie deli at Subway doesn’t sting much at 230 or the club at 310. Quizno’s flatbread sammie chicken bacon ranch is 355.

Salads vary tremendously and usually by the dressing you choose, but can be super as the bag salads are frequently under 150 calories for the entire bag.

Add a boiled egg, or some pumpkin seeds, cucumbers or olives to jazz it up without blowing up the calories.

The other side of the equation is exercise. Remember you are on your own so to speak. Just what you wanted.

But remember that young people need exercise just as much as your parents and grandparents. You may love it or hate it, but unless you burn calories there is no way to ingest those extra calories and not get fat. You can either add exercise or don’t eat. Period.

If you keep up with calories burned it will help. Again there are apps to do this as well as great websites such as Shape.com and Sparkpeople.com to find out for example how many calories does a 150 pound person lose by walking 3.75 mph for 40 minutes.

Answer 191. Tips such as adding 10 minutes to your walking every day results in 275 less calories a week.

Spending 30 extra minutes on the treadmill each week can burn off another 400 calories. Once again sneaky.

That 52,500 number isn’t inevitable.

It may not happen to you at all. But do the math.

I wrote this while eating an egg mcmuffin and small coke. That’s 410 calories, but I’m not in college anymore, and I’m not obese or overweight.

And yes, I do love math.

Dr. Eric Dyess lives in Fondren and practices medicine as an endocrinologist in Jackson.

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NUTRITION

Daily good health adds up

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S A HIGH SCHOOL senior you are realizing more and more that your life is rapidly changing. You are getting ready to step into the real world of learning a profession, living independently, managing finances, exercising, eating healthy and accepting more responsibilities than you have ever known. I know that you are excited about your future and the possibilities. You are already planning where you are going to college, trade school, or working and where you are going to live. There are so many options to consider that it can be overwhelming.

Maybe at this point in your life you have already figured out some of the basics or not at all. There is always more to consider as you make your way through life even in the day to day. This is not an easy task and requires some trial and error but there are some basics that will help create a balance.

One of the most important parts of life is taking care of yourself. The younger you begin creating a healthy lifestyle the better quality of life you will have. Let’s talk about some major principles that you can use every day to enjoy good health.

E XERCISE – Strength training and cardio exercise are fundamental parts of health performance.

Strength training is very important because it reduces body fat, makes you stronger and keeps you healthy, including strengthening tendons, building muscle, improving mobility, increasing energy, improving bone density, reducing diabetes, lowering risk of injuries, improving selfesteem, enhancing endurance, speed, power and agility, decreasing bad cholesterol levels and blood pressure, and improving aerobic capacity. Muscle burns fat and increases the metabolism during activity and at rest. Examples of exercises include kettlebells, free weights, bodyweight, bands, weighted cables and machines and barbells. The whole body should be exercised as well which includes chest, shoulders, back, legs, butt, arms and abdominals (core).

Cardiovascular exercise performed on a regular basis will positively affect your

health. It increases cardiac output, increases oxygen uptake, decreases body fat, and reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and osteoporosis.

Swimming, jumping rope, jogging, cycling, Melinda Duffie cross country skiing, stair climbing, elliptical, dancing, rowing, and cardio classes are examples. Cardio exercise should be performed after strength training for the best results as muscle development occurs during strength training and recovery.

A basic exercise program would be three days a week of strength training and twoto-three days of week of cardiovascular exercise. An program can be developed in many ways, depending on your fitness levels and goals.

BASIC NUTRITION – Your body needs basic nutrition to function properly. This whole process is biological as well as emotional. Nutrition is a necessity for existence. If you think of food for your body just like gas is fuel for your automobile then you can better understand the role of proper nutrition. Starting with breakfast, eat smaller more frequent meals, approximately every three hours. This will help to reduce body fat and yield other positive results including increased energy level, increased metabolic rate, stabilized blood sugar, improved mental clarity and mood, improved sleep, and reduced food cravings.

This does not mean that you eat what you don’t like either.

Choosing foods that you like from the following categories will help you to create balanced eating habits: » Protein - Greek yogurt, lean beef, turkey, deer, fish, eggs. » Fruits - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, apples, oranges. » Vegetables - green beans, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, squash, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, onions, peppers. » Fats - olive oil, fish oil, natural peanut butter, nuts. » Starchy - breads, oats, whole wheat, potatoes, quinoa, rice.

Most of your daily food should consist of protein, fruits and vegetables and less

Guidelines to create healthy habits: » Exercise at least 5 hours a week » Be conscious of eating more healthy foods that you do like and eating frequently during the day, primarily proteins, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables » Don’t engage in extreme diets » Get at least 6 hours of sleep each day » Don’t keep junk food at your home or work » Reduce stress by exercising and taking time for yourself » Surround yourself with people that encourage positive habits. » Drink plenty of water daily » Ignore food advertising and read labels carefully » Be consistent in your daily habits

of the starches.

WATER – When you realize you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. Water is a nutrient that serves many physiological functions such as transporting nutrients to cells, assists in removal and excretion of toxins and waste products, brain function, muscle, bone, lung and joint functions, increased metabolic rate, reduced pain and lethargy, increased mental acuity, reduced muscle strains and tears, healthy skin, and good digestion.

The USDA recommends that women consume approximately 91 ounces per day.

Men should consume 125 ounces per day.

Be sure to drink enough water to replace fluids lost in hot or humid weather to help lower your body temperature and after exercise. Your body is made of over 60 percent water. You can live without food for several weeks but without water for only a few days.

SLEEP – It is important to get enough sleep on a regular basis so the body can recover and rejuvenate itself. Studies show that people that get less than 6 hours of sleep a night are more likely to have increased body fat. Not getting enough sleep negatively affects you such as reduced energy output and brain function, poor digestion, imbalance of hormones, sluggish metabolism and lower immune function.

Now is the time to start putting these principles to work in your daily routine, if you haven’t already. Life is always busy. It is up to you as to the quality of your life and what you put into it.

Melinda Duffie can be reached at mvpfit@yahoo.com

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Mississip public u

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sippi’s 4-year c universities

Alcorn State University Page 44

Delta State University Page 45

Jackson State University Page 46

Mississippi State University Page 47

Mississippi University for Women Page 48

Mississippi Valley State University Page 49

University of Mississippi Page 50

University of Southern Mississippi Page 51

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ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> ERROLYN GRAY Major: Mass communications/broadcasting West Point

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RROLYN GRAY DROVE PAST some fine colleges and universities to attend Alcorn State University. In fact, Errolyn is a native of West Point – making Alcorn the farthest Mississippi public university from her hometown.

So, why the decision? Homework and a different kind of university, she says.

“A friend of mine went to Alcorn, so I did a lot of research on it,” Errolyn remembers. “When I came to the campus, I knew this is where I wanted to go because of Alcorn’s values and history. It’s just a special place.“ Errolyn is currently majoring in mass communications/broadcasting, and plans on going on to graduate school to get a master’s in social science or perhaps economics.

She is also active with numerous extracurricular organizations. “College is your career for four years or longer. You need to connect, network,” she advises.

While Errolyn has a deep respect for Alcorn’s past, she is also enthused about the future. She gives a lot of credit to ASU president Dr. Christopher Brown for his leadership and vision.

“Dr. Brown is an extremely innovative president,” Errolyn said. “There is a lot of school spirit here, and that’s what I love about Alcorn. I would tell anybody definitely look at Alcorn State University. It’s the best decision I’ve made so far in my life.”

“IT’S THE BEST DECISION I’VE MADE SO FAR IN MY LIFE.” 44 www.msnext.com

LCORN STATE University has been shaping minds and lives for nearly 140 years.

However, a new day has dawned on the southwest Mississippi university.

Dr. M. Christopher Brown II has come to Alcorn on a mission – to see the university’s rich history honored while developing the future of the institution.

Brown says come to Alcorn and “we believe you will leave with love and affection for ASU.” The university’s vision statement says it all: “It will develop diverse students into globally competitive leaders and apply scientific research, through collaborative partnerships, which benefits the surrounding communities, states, nation and world.”

The main campus is located in Lorman on 1,700 acres featuring beautiful rolling hills and lakes and historic buildings nestled beside modern facilities. “The Corn” also offers classes at branches in Natchez to the south and Vicksburg to the north.

The nation’s first state-supported institution for the higher education of African Americans, Alcorn holds more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who go there from all over the U.S. and the world.

In all, ASU contains seven separate colleges. These colleges offer graduate and undergraduate programs in agriculture, business, robotic engineering, science and mathematics, criminal justice, industrial technology, education, nursing, information technology and many other exciting areas. Alcorn is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the

ALCORN HOLDS MORE THAN 3,000 UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and for two years in a row, U.S. News & World Report magazine has ranked the university in the top 30 for academic reputation among historically black colleges and universities!

You don’t have to worry about getting board at ASU. It offers more than 40 clubs and organizations, including student government, student newspaper and yearbook staffs, radio station, honor societies, religious groups, music and theater groups, student council and specialinterest groups just to name a few.

A member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Alcorn fields teams for men in baseball, basketball, football, golf, tennis, track (indoor), track and field (indoor and outdoor); and, for women in basketball, bowling, softball, tennis, track (indoor), track and field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

Residence halls offer a “home away from home” atmosphere where you can study, relax, find fellowship and socialize.

All rooms feature cable television, twotelephone jacks, Internet access, twinsize regular beds with mattresses, desks and chairs. There are also lounges for casual get-togethers or study sessions.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY >> www.alcorn.edu >> Institution: Alcorn State University >> Address: 1000 ASU Drive, Alcorn State, MS 390967500 >> Phone: (601) 877-6100 >> Website: www.alcorn.edu >> Year Founded: 1871 >> President: M. Christopher Brown >> Financial Aid: Grants, loans, work study, scholarships >> Application Deadline: Open >> Popular Majors: Biology, business administration, chemistry, education, nursing, psychology >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Natchez, Vicksburg >> Director of Admissions: Emanuel Barnes >> Total Enrollment: 3,252 >> Famous Alumni: Steve McNair, Alex Haley, Michael Clarke Duncan, Donald Driver

>> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? The family atmosphere >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? The student activities DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> ALANNA FERGUSON Major: Speech and Hearing Sciences Clinton

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VEN THOUGH BOTH her parents are Delta State alumni, Alanna Ferguson admits she struggled with where to go to college — until she visited the Cleveland campus.

“I toured Delta State with my dad one rainy afternoon, and before the tour was over I knew I wanted to be a part of Delta State,” she remembered.

And, Alanna has made her parents and chosen college proud. The Clinton native is the current Student Government Association president, a big title with equally big responsibilities.

But, while Alanna found being SGA president rewarding, the political arena is not in her future. Instead, the speech and hearing sciences major wants to continue her education in that field.

“I chose the major because it gives me the best of both worlds – the medical field and the realm of education,” she said. “My goal is to be a speech pathologist — and I hope to continue to graduate school.”

While she struggled with her decision to attend DSU, Alanna has no doubts that she made the right choice.

“Delta State is definitely my ‘home away from home,’” she said. “I have been challenged within the classroom and feel that I have been prepared above and beyond what is needed for me to achieve my goals in the future.”

“DELTA STATE IS DEFINITELY MY ‘HOME AWAY FROM HOME’”

ELTA STATE UNIVERSITY first opened its doors in 1925 as a college strictly for educators, and in 1928 its first graduating class had a grand total of 13 students.

My, how DSU has changed.

Today, the public university in the heart of the Mississippi Delta in Cleveland has more than 4,000 students representing every state in the U.S. and 20 foreign countries. DSU offers dozens of undergraduate degrees and even more majors from which to choose.

If you want a degree in English, or business, or mathematics, or whatever — Delta State has it. You’ve heard of the highly successful author John Grisham, right? Well, he honed his writing skills at DSU. Are you looking for something different to study? Well, Delta State has some unique opportunities. For instance, DSU has a commercial aviation department.

Want to be an airline pilot? Fly to Cleveland and check it out.

It is also home to the Delta Music Institute where you can learn about audio recording and the ins and outs of the music industry in the classroom as well as a state-of-the-art recording studio.

Can’t make up your mind if you want to be a singer or producer? Doesn’t matter because DSU can teach you both. Now that’s jamming.

You will also find plenty to do between classes at DSU, which offers more than 120 student organizations. These include the Student Government Association, greek life, the Union Program Council, leadership and service groups, religious organizations and academic honoraries.

You have to feed your brain – and your stomach – and DSU has you covered there, too. The university provides the Young Mauldin Cafeteria, the food courtlike Mill in the H.L Nowell Union and Java City that offers coffee and espresso, as well as sandwiches and pastries.

The choices are plenty when looking at living on campus, too. DSU has multiple options for both men and women. All within walking distance of the classrooms, the residence halls are modern and well-equipped, with lobby areas that include lounges and vending machines.

The Delta State University department of athletics sponsors 13 intercollegiate sports, competing at the NCAA Division II level. DSU is affiliated with the Gulf South Conference and New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference. The institution competes in men’s football, basketball, baseball, swimming, diving, tennis, soccer and golf. The women's program consists of basketball, tennis, fast-pitch softball, cross-country, swimming, soccer and diving.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY >> www.deltastate.edu >> Institution: Delta State University >> Address: Kent Wyatt Hall Room 117, Cleveland, MS 38733 >> Phone: (800) GO-TO-DSU, ext. 3 >> Fax: (662) 846-4684 >> Email: admissions@deltastate.edu >> Website: www.deltastate.edu >> Year Founded: 1924 >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,756 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study >> Annual Tuition: $5,288 (2011-12 year) >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $6,868 >> Freshman Applicants Accepted: 418 >> Application Deadline: Rolling admissions >> Average ACT: 20 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 81% >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: 1:16 >> Popular Majors: Business, education, health professions >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Greenville, Clarksdale >> Director of Admissions: Dr. Deborah S. Heslep >> Famous Alumni: David “Boo” Ferriss, Margaret Wade, Dr. John C. Merrill, Dr. Clyde Muse, Bill LaForge, David

Abney, Barry Lyons, Fred Karl. >> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? Student safety is a top priority at Delta State University. In addition to the DSU Police Department, we have other programs, including the OkraAlert emergency notification system. >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? Delta State offers unique programs such as the outdoor recreational program, commercial aviation, geospatial information technology and the Delta Music Institute. We are also home the most unique mascot in the country – The Fighting Okra.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> NIVEA GREEN Major: Business Administration Jackson

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OR NIVEA GREEN, “running away from home” proved impossible, but now she is so happy she hung around her hometown.

A native of Jackson, there was nothing about Jackson State University that appealed to Nivea as she was finishing high school and looking for a college or university to attend.

“I tried my best to leave Jackson,” Nivea said with a laugh.

“But, nothing else worked out for me.”

Nivea’s mother attended an HBCU (historically black college and university) in Mississippi, and she wanted her daughter to enjoy the same experience.

“She told me, ‘Go for one semester. If you don’t like it, you can transfer,’” Nivea remembered.

It turns out mom knew best. Now a senior studying business marketing, Nivea said she not only has made great friends at JSU, but also met people who she feels will help her be a success later in life.

She also has seen the world by staying home. Nivea has visited China twice — once to teach English to Chinese children last November and again this past summer to polish up on her Chinese in Taiwan. She plans on earning her master’s in business administration at Beijing University after she graduates from JSU.

‘I TRIED MY BEST TO LEAVE JACKSON, BUT NOTHING ELSE WORKED OUT FOR ME’ 46 www.msnext.com

ACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY holds the distinction of being Mississippi’s only public university located in an urban area.

Want to get a great education and see the bright lights of Jackson? Then JSU is the only place for you.

Founded as Natchez Seminary in 1877 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, the school moved to Jackson in 1882, and the programs were expanded and the name changed to Jackson College in 1899. Finally, in 1979 Jackson State was officially designated the urban university of the State of Mississippi, and today is located on 245 acres in the heart of the Capital City.

The university offers five separate colleges — Public Service, Engineering and Technology, Education and Human Development, Liberal Arts and Business.

These colleges offer a multitude of degrees and too many majors to name.

The bottom line is just about anything you can think to study, JSU has it.

If you become a Tiger, you will have a ton of choices as far as where to live and eat on campus. All of the university’s residence halls are conveniently located on campus and offer a place to not only sleep, but also to study, relax and just hang out with your friends.

Jackson State offers no less than six different places to grab a bite, and one of those — The Legacy Food Court — offers six places to eat under one roof.

When you’re not hitting the books,

ONE REALLY COOL PLACE IS THE WALTON PAYTON CENTER, NAMED FOR THE LATE NFL GREAT AND TIGER ALUMNUS. eating or taking it easy in your residence hall, you will find plenty to do around campus. Student government, intramural sports, clubs — JSU has it all. And, one really cool place is the Walter Payton Center. Named for late NFL great and Tiger alumnus Walter Payton, the stateof-the-art sports and fitness center is a prime place to relieve a little stress and avoid putting on a few pounds because of all the good food.

If you’re a sports fan, Jackson State will seem like heaven. A member of the SWAC, the Tiger men compete in football, baseball, basketball, golf, indoor and outdoor track, tennis and cross country.

The university also fields women’s teams competing in basketball, bowling, golf, indoor and outdoor track, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and cross country.

Long history. Tremendous academic opportunities. Great living, eating and playing – it all adds up to Jackson State University. Give it a look.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY >> www.jsums.edu >> Institution: Jackson State University >> Address: 1400 Lynch St., Jackson, MS 39217 >> Phone: (601) 979-2100 >> Website: www.jsums.edu >> Year Founded: 1877 >> President: Carolyn Meyers >> Financial Aid: Grants, loans, work study, scholarships >> Annual Tuition: $5,988 >> Application Deadline: Open >> Average ACT: 19 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 92 percent >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: 1:17 >> Popular Majors: Criminal justice, business, education >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: N/A >> Famous Alumni: Walter Payton, Rod Paige >> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? JSU offers state-of-the-art security to keep students safe.

>> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? Jackson State University recently made the 2012 list of “Top 100 Undergraduate Degree Producers” by Diverse Issues in Higher Education, ranking second in the nation in the fields of biological and biomedical sciences and in education. Overall, the university was ranked No. 7 in all disciplines combined.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

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For Mississippi Business Journal

HEY CALL IT “Bulldog Country” for a reason.

Mississippi State University is more than just an institution of higher learning. It is an entire community – a townuniversity where people are family and everyone is proud to wear the maroon and white.

>> MICHAEL BARTON Major: Aerospace Collierville, Tenn.

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ICHAEL BARTON IS a down-to-earth student with out-of-this-world dreams.

An aerospace engineering major at Mississippi State University, he has his eyes set firmly on the planets and stars.

“I got to work in and around the space shuttle during its last few years of operation,” Barton said. “For any American, that would be a cool experience, but for someone like me, who for so many years has been driven by a love for space, it was completely awesome.”

A native of Collierville, Tenn., Barton is a natural leader. In addition to completing coursework that will catch the eye of any space-industry recruiter, he also has spent cooperative education semesters as a space shuttle engineer with the United Space Alliance.

Last summer, he spent 12 weeks in Washington, D.C., as an intern with the National Research Council’s Space Studies Board, an independent forum that advises companies and government agencies on space science. He is the first student from Mississippi to ever be selected for the prestigious internship.

Barton already has his next work experience lined up for after graduation. He will continue his studies at Purdue University, where he will pursue a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics with a focus on astrodynamics and space applications.

“... IT WAS COMPLETELY AWESOME.”

With an enrollment representing all 82 Mississippi counties, 50 states and over 75 foreign countries, Mississippi State truly is an outstanding choice for tomorrow's scholars and leaders.

MSU’s sprawling main campus is located in the Golden Triangle of Mississippi, and is noted for its beautiful landscape and architecture. It also has a campus in Meridian in East Mississippi.

Mississippi State now comprises the following academic units: the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences including the School of Human Sciences; the College of Architecture, Art and Design; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Business including the Adkerson School of Accountancy; the College of Education; the Bagley College of Engineering including the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering; the College of Forest Resources; the Office of the Graduate School, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

These colleges offer dozens of majors with some of the most popular being business, education and health professions. It is also noted for its agriculture research and education as well as engineering and architecture.

You don’t have to worry about getting

SPORTS ARE A SERIOUS AND BELOVED TRADITION IN STARKVILLE. bored between classes. MSU offers hundreds of registered organizations and extracurricular activities from which to choose. A day in the life of an MSU student can be anything he or she wants it to be – whether it’s studying under a tree near the Drill Field or playing flag football on the intramural fields.

Choices abound when looking at residence halls, as well. State offers more than a dozen residence halls, all featuring Internet access and cable television. Each room also has a neat refrigerator/freezer/microwave oven combination unit to meet your “munchy” needs.

Speaking of munching, MSU dining services seem to be everywhere on campus. The university offers more than 10 places to grab a meal.

Sports are a serious and beloved tradition in Starkville. Mississippi State competes in the tough Southeastern Conference. On fall and winter days, the sound of cowbells ring out during home football games, and nothing beats catching a baseball game at the famous Dudy Noble Field/Polk-DeMent Stadium.

Want to be a part of something bigger – a member of a unique community?

Then you must give Mississippi State University and “Bulldog Country” a look!

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY >> www.msstate.edu >> Institution: Mississippi State University >> Address: Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6018, Mississippi State, MS 39762 >> Phone: (662) 325-2323 >> Fax: (662) 325-1MSU >> Email: admit@msstate.edu >> Website: www.msstate.edu >> Year Founded: 1878 >> President: Dr. Mark E. Keenum >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,390 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, grants and loans >> Annual Tuition: $6,264 in state/$11,045 out of state >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $8,486 >> Freshman Applicants Accepted: N/A >> Application Deadline: Rolling admission >> Average ACT: 23 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid:

N/A >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: N/A >> Popular Majors: Kinesiology, biological sciences, business administration >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Meridian >> Director of Admissions: Dr. Phil Bonfanti >> Famous Alumni: Hartley Peavey, E.B. McCool, John Grisham DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> SHERITA MCGEE Major: Speech-language pathology Aberdeen

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OR SHERITA MCGEE, one special program made attending Mississippi University of Women a given.

“I chose MUW because of the Hearin Leadership Program,” said Sherita, an Aberdeen native who is currently a senior studying speech-language pathology. “They have a weekend-long conference every year for high school students to participate in different teambuilding exercises, interview for a scholarship, attend leadership sessions and most of all have fun doing everything.

After attending the conference, I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

Sherita found her choice of major equally easy.

“I’ve always known that I wanted to work with kids, but I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher,” she said. “Someone suggested the major to me, and I did the research and thought it would be perfect. Speech-language pathology deals with so much more than most people know, and since being in the program here I am pleased with my decision.”

Sherita is very involved on campus. She is Student Programming Board director, co-director of Up ’Til Dawn (college organization affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital), Hearin Council (executive board for Hearin Leadership Program) and the secretary/treasurer of the Young Black Leadership Association.

Sherita said, “It keeps me busy, but I love it!”

‘I’VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I WANTED TO WORK WITH KIDS’ 48 www.msnext.com

IMPLY PUT, there is no other university in the nation — or the world for that matter — like Mississippi University for Women, often affectionately referred to as “The W.” MUW is a public university that feels like a private college. Founded in 1884 as the first public college for women in the United States, it has educated men for more than 20 years now. Nearly half of all the campus’ buildings are registered as national historical landmarks, and the campus is in Columbus, which is noted for its beauty and charm.

However, MUW is also a modern, forward-looking university. U.S. News & World Report as consistently ranked MUW among the top Southern public universities. MUW also has been prominently ranked in other leading publications such as Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Consumer’s Digest magazines.

The W’s four colleges feature more than 50 outstanding majors and concentrations with some of the most popular being education, nursing, business and culinary arts. And, with a low studentto-teacher ratio, you’ll never feel like just a face in the crowd.

Learning occurs both in and outside the classroom at MUW. The institution

offers more than 75 campus organizations, so it is almost impossible not to find a perfect fit.

The W also offers many options for campus living, boasting residence halls that are modern and comfortable as well as conveniently located. In addition to campus dining, the university is known for its culinary arts. There’s always something good cooking at The W. MUW provides a long list of financial aid options. Grants, work study, scholarships – that’s just a few of the assistance available to you and your parents.

MUW is starting a brand new phase at the historic university. In January, Dr. James B. Borsig was named MUW president. When introduced as the new president, Dr. Borsig said, “Mississippi University for Women has a rich history of strong academic programs in liberal arts and professional education. I look forward to working with all members of the MUW family to build on this tradition of excellence and provide opportunities for all students.”

So, want to get in on the ground floor of something new and exciting while enjoying a ton of history and tradition?

Make a trip to The W and see why it is so unique.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN >> www.muw.edu >> Address: 1100 College Street, Columbus, MS 39701-5800 >> Phone: (877) 462-8439 >> Fax: (662) 241-7481 >> Email: admissions@muw.edu >> Website: www.muw.edu >> Year Founded: 1884 >> President: Dr. Jim Borsig >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,503 >> Graduate Enrollment: 147 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, state aid, financial aid, student loans, work study >> Annual Tuition: In-state, $5,316); out-of-state $14,484 >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $5,991 (least expensive residence hall) >> Freshman Applicants Accepted: 679 >> Application Deadline: Rolling admissions >> Average ACT: 22.18 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 80 percent >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: 14:1 >> Popular Majors: Education, nursing, business, culinary >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Tupelo >> Director of Admissions: Cassie Derden >> Famous Alumni: Eudora Welty, Elizabeth Hazen, Dorothy Bush, Blanche Colton Williams, Evelyn McPhail,

Lenore Prather, Valerie Jaudon, Denise Dillard, Toni Seawright, Dr. Susan Stephens Golden, mothers of Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner both attended MUW. >> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? MUW has a strong academic reputation and has consistently been ranked by U.S. News & World Report and Washington Monthly magazines. >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? MUW's family-like atmosphere, which helps prepare students to become tomorrow's leaders by focusing on scholarship, leadership, development and community service.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> JESSICA LASHUN BROWNLOW Major: Biology Itta Bena

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T SEEMS JESSICA LaSHUN BROWNLOW was always meant to attend Mississippi Valley State University and be Miss MVSU. After all, she was born in Itta Bena and was Little Miss MVSU 1994-1995.

As she says, “The Valley” has always been close to her heart, adding, “with faith, determination and perseverance, anyone can succeed.”

A graduate of Leflore County High School, Jessica was valedictorian and president of her senior class, participated in numerous musical groups, played fast- and slow-pitch softball, was a member of the Technology Student Association as well as several other clubs and organizations. She also took advantage of the MVSU Dual Enrollment Program.

Since going to MVSU, Jessica was crowned Miss Black and Gold 2010-2011 for the Zeta Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Miss Junior 2011-2012. She is a university ambassador, member of Perfected Praise Gospel Choir and Delta Sigma Theta sorority – Eta Alpha Chapter. She has served as a secondary ambassador for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is a member of the Mathematics, Computer, and Information Sciences Club as well as Women In Science and Technology.

After earning her degree in biology, Jessica plans to attend physical therapy school where she will specialize in sports medicine.

JESSICA USED VALLEY’S DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAM.

ACK IN 1946, the Mississippi Legislature authorized the establishment of a new institution called Mississippi Vocational College. The purpose for the new college was to train teachers for rural and elementary schools and to provide vocational training.

In 1950, the first year the college enrolled students, there was a grand total of 14 scholars and seven teachers.

Today, that institution is known as Mississippi Valley State University. And, “The Valley” is still turning out topflight teachers, but also accountants, and musicians and just about every other career you can name, as well.

Located in Itta Bena in the Mississippi Delta, MVSU is the “Valley of Scholars.” There are 28 undergraduate academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Professional Studies/Education. To complement these academic programs, the Division of Academic Affairs also offers such support programs as the International Programs, the Men?s College, the Women’s Center of Excellence, the Continuing Education/Weekend College, Honors Program as well as centers in nearby Greenwood and Greenville.

Almost 70 percent of all the faculty hold doctoral degrees. Mississippi Valley State is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and it holds numerous other

accreditations – meaning future employers will see the value in your MVSU diploma.

The Valley is interested in developing your brain as well as your soul. It offers plenty of outside-the-class activities and organizations, and places special emphasis on religious activities ? guest speakers, including outstanding clergymen, are scheduled for various activities during the year.

Mississippi Valley provides many options for campus living. Each residence hall is equipped with a computer lab, as well as basic cable, and Internet and telephone connections in each room.

MVSU competes in the historic Southwestern Athletic Conference, and its most famous alumnus is all-world football star Jerry Rice. Delta Devil men compete in football, basketball, baseball, cross country, golf, tennis and track and field; the women field teams in basketball, cross country, bowling, soccer, golf, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball.

MVSU’s mission statement reads in part: “MVSU is fundamentally committed to positively impacting the quality of life and creating extraordinary educational opportunities for the Mississippi Delta and beyond.”

Want to make an impact? Want to be a part of something extraordinary? Then do yourself a favor and give – The Valley? a look-see.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY >> www.mvsu.edu >> Institution: Mississippi Valley State University >> Address: 14000 U.S. 82 W., Itta Bena, MS 38941 >> Phone: (800) GO2-MVSU >> Website: www.mvsu.edu >> Year Founded: 1950 >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,467 >> Financial Aid: Grants, scholarships, loans, work study >> Annual Tuition: $6,129 >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $1,470 >> Popular Majors: Social work, applied technology, computer science >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Greenwood, Greenville >> Director of Admissions: Jacqueline A. Williams >> Famous Alumni: Jerry Rice, Ashley Ambrose

>> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? MVSU prepares students to combine their broad and well-rounded general education with specialized training so they are ready for careers or graduate school. >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? MVSU is a proud member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> JENNIFER VARNER Major: Nutrition Madison

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OR JENNIFER VARNER, choosing to attend the University of Mississippi in Oxford was a given. Her choice was actually made when she was just a child.

“My grandmother lives in Oxford,” said Jennifer, who is from Madison in Central Mississippi. “My childhood memories are of visiting Oxford and going to The Grove. I just love the town and the university, and I wanted to stay in Mississippi. I just didn’t want to go anywhere else.”

Jennifer is a senior at Ole Miss, majoring in nutrition. She said her major, too, is a childhood interest — watching food being prepared in the kitchen always fascinated her.

After graduation, Jennifer will remain at the University of Mississippi for the one-year internship she needs to become a registered dietician.

She said she has also enjoyed her extracurricular activities on the Oxford campus, especially her ministry work with the Wesley Foundation.

Jennifer said one of the things freshmen have to do is experience the “Doorknob of the Universe.” And, what is this mysterious place or thing? She won’t say.

“I can’t describe it. You just have to experience it,” Jennifer said with a sly laugh.

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INCE IT WAS established in 1844, the University of Mississippi — or Ole Miss, as it is affectionately called — has pulled off a ton of firsts. It was the very first institution of higher learning in the state, the first university in the entire South to admit female students and hire women faculty and was the first in Mississippi to offer a College of Liberal Arts, School of Law, School of Engineering, School of Education, accredited School of Business Administration, Graduate School, School of Nursing, and accredited bachelor's and master's accountancy programs in the state.

Today, Ole Miss continues to lead the way in higher education, producing thousands of graduates who go on to successful careers thanks to the knowledge they gained while at UM. The main campus is in Oxford, but Ole Miss also offers classes across the state in Jackson, Booneville, Southaven, Tupelo and Grenada.

In total, the university includes an amazing 12 separate colleges and/or schools providing degrees in nearly every major you can imagine.

Between classes and studying, Ole Miss has a seemingly endless list of activities and organizations from which to choose.

Student government, volunteer services,

intramural sports, fraternities/sororities – UM has them all and much more.

And, of course, there is Ole Miss athletics. Competing in the Southeastern Conference, UM sports are as good as it gets, and nothing beats the good times in “The Grove” during home football games.

Most freshmen on the Oxford campus reside in one of the nine traditional residence halls. But, the university has many other on-campus living options and opened new residence halls just this fall, and all of them are conveniently located within walking distance of the classrooms.

Think Ole Miss has a lot of living options? Check out the places to grab a bite to eat. UM lists 18 different places to grab something to eat or drink from the Student Union Food Court to Southern Tsunami Sushi and just about everything in between!

Ole Miss is big — really big — but not so large that you feel like just a number.

The student-to-faculty ratio is less that 20 to 1, so there aren’t any long lines if you need to see your professor about a lecture or question about an exam.

It also isn’t too expensive. And, the university offers a wide selection of financial aid including grants, work study, scholarships, loans and many, many more.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI >> www.olemiss.edu >> Institution: University of Mississippi >> Address: P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677 >> Phone: (662) 915-7226 >> Fax: (662) 915-5869 >> Email: admissions@olemiss.edu >> Website: www.olemiss.edu >> Year Founded: 1844 (opened 1848) >> Chancellor: Dr. Dan Jones >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,060 >> Financial Aid: $158,457,491 (scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study) >> Annual Tuition: $5,790 >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $9,200 >> Freshman Applicants Accepted: 13,934 applications received for fall 2012, 8,507 accepted (61.1%) >> Application Deadline: Rolling admissions >> Average ACT: 23.8 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 76% >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: 19:1 >> Popular Majors: Accountancy, , education, English, journalism, law, management, marketing, political science >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Medical Center in Jackson, centers in Southaven and Tupelo and branches in

Booneville and Grenada >> Director of Admissions: Whitman Smith >> Famous Alumni: Singer-songwriter Josh Kelly, tennis champion Mahesh Bhupathi, Olympic gold medalist Brittany Reece, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, novelist John Grisham and Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning >> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? The university's Oxford campus has been recognized as the safest campus in the SEC and one of the safest campuses in the country. >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? The university's hometown of Oxford was recently named as the nation's second-best college town by Livability.com.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> BLYTHE DUNAWAY Major: Accounting and finance Columbia

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HEN BLYTHE DUNAWAY decides to do something, she goes all out. For instance, she doesn’t just have one major at the University of Southern Mississippi, she’s got two — accounting and finance

(or banking).

Blythe just traveled the handful of miles from her hometown of Columbia to attend USM in Hattiesburg, and sometimes it feels even closer than that.

“Not only did both of my parents graduate from Southern, but the overall feeling I got when I toured the campus for the first time gave me a sense of home,” Blythe said. “Also, due to the Accounting Department’s rating, I knew I would get a quality education.”

Blythe stays pretty busy. She is president of the student chapter of the Financial Management Association, and works in the Finance Lab. She is also participating in the College of Business Leaders Program that exposes students to leadership lectures given by business professionals and to study abroad and scholarship opportunities. She is also in the Real Campus Ministry.

Still, she finds time for fun, too.

“USM offers a variety of sports for students to participate in. I have found running to be a personal outlet, and there are multiple opportunities for students to participate in 5Ks, half marathons, etc., that support a cause,” Blythe said. “In addition, participating in multiple student organizations gives me a sense of belonging and allows me to fulfill my desire to offer guidance and motivation to others.”

S ITS NAME IMPLIES, the University of Southern Mississippi is the only public university in the state located in South Mississippi. However, USM’s impact can be seen well outside the region and state.

Location is definitely a plus at the 102-year-old Southern Miss. The 300acre main campus is located in Hattiesburg, which is known as the “Hub City” because of the roads that lead to Jackson, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In fact, USM offers a separate campus on the Coast in Long Beach that is known for its outstanding academics as well as its beautiful, beachfront landscape. The bottom line is you’re never too far away from fun and learning at USM. In total, Southern Miss is composed of seven colleges – Arts & Letters, Business, Education & Psychology, Health, Nursing, Science & Technology and Honors. Nursing, business administration, education, biology and art are the most popular majors, but USM also is noted for its academic programs in polymer science, music and its unique construction education program.

With 27 residence halls housing more than 3,000 students, living on campus is convenient and is a great way to get involved! Living as a Golden Eagle is

everything it’s cracked up to be.

What is the most important meal of the day? The next one, right? Eagle Dining has got you covered with locations around campus that fit your busy schedule. USM provides scores of places to grab a bite, an espresso or just hang out with your partners.

The Southern Miss Activities Council brings entertainment and educational programs to campus throughout the year. In addition, USM offers student government, Greek life, religious activities – there are more than 280 student groups on campus and an average of 500 events each month, and more than 80 percent of students participate in some type of activity.

A member of the highly competitive Conference USA, Southern Miss athletics have a long history of success. In all, the university offers 16 sports programs – seven for men and nine for women. The school has been a member of Conference USA since fall 1995 and has captured championships in baseball, football, men’s basketball, softball and volleyball.

The University of Southern Mississippi is known far and wide as a place where the location is great and the education and experience even better.

– WALLY NORTHWAY

>> UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI >> www.usm.edu >> Address: 118 College Drive #5166, Hattiesburg, MS 39406 >> Phone: (601) 266-5000 >> Fax: (601) 266-5148 >> Email: admissions@usm.edu >> Website: www.usm.edu/admissions >> Year Founded: 1910 >> President: Dr. Aubrey K. Lucas (interim) >> Undergraduate Enrollment: Approximately 17,000 >> Financial Aid: Available to those who qualify >> Annual Tuition: Mississippi residents – $6,336; Out-of-state residents – $14,448 >> Average Annual On-campus Room and Board Costs: $8,446 >> Average ACT: 22 >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 70 percent >> Faculty-to-student Ratio: 17:1 >> Popular Majors: Accounting, Education, Nursing, Athletic Training, Music, Biological Sciences >> Satellite/Annex Campuses: Gulf Park in Long Beach >> Director of Admissions: Allison Bruton >> Famous Alumni: Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, Brett Favre, Natalie Allen, Jimmy Buffett

>> What is the most important thing a parent needs to know about your school? With attentive faculty, nationally recognized academic programs, studyabroad opportunities and support offices for freshmen, you’ll find that Southern Miss is a great value. >> What is the coolest thing a potential student should know about your school? Your experience at Southern Miss lasts longer than four years.

You’ll carry it with you throughout your life. And what you learn here – in and out of the classroom – will inspire you to make the world a better place. What you do with your life matters – and we’ll prepare you for that.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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Belhaven University Page 54

Blue Mountain College Page 55

Millsaps College Page 56

Mississippi College Page 57

Rust College Page 58

Tougaloo College Page 59

William Carey University Page 60

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>> SARAH RIVERA Major: Communications Clermont, Fla.

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ARAH RIVERA IS A communications major at Belhaven University of Jackson, but that’s not what she originally wanted to do.

Rivera, a senior from Clermont, Fla., attended a community college near her hometown. When it came time to look at four-year schools, she wanted one with a good creative writing program.

“I wanted to focus on that, and the bigger universities back home combined that with other majors,” Rivera said. “I really wanted a school that offered that stand-alone, and I found out that Belhaven did that. So I went ahead and applied, but at the same time, I thought it might have been far-fetched.”

But once she got to Belhaven, she came to another realization.

“I wasn’t finding my niche, something I could connect with,” she said. “There was nothing wrong with creative writing, I was just trying to figure out who I was.”

She started taking a couple communications classes, which snowballed into her changing her major to that, with an emphasis in broadcast journalism.

“Now I can combine writing with meeting new people, which I really like to do.”

‘NOW I CAN COMBINE WRITING WITH MEETING NEW PEOPLE, WHICH I REALLY LIKE TO DO.’ 54 www.msnext.com

ELHAVEN UNIVERSITY, formerly Belhaven College, is a Christian liberal arts university dedicated to excellence in Christian higher education.

The school sits in the heart of one of Jackson’s most beautiful historic neighborhoods, and offers a residential campus minutes from fine dining, good shopping and a thriving arts community.

Belhaven was founded in 1883. Today’s Belhaven is the culmination of three separate institutions of higher learning which merged over the years. Belhaven College, now Belhaven University, was founded in 1883 in Jackson as a privately owned institution. In 1911, Belhaven was merged with McComb Female Institute, and in 1939 merged with the Mississippi Synodical College. The founding date of the latter institution, 1883, was adopted by the board of trustees as the official founding date of Belhaven College.

Until 1972, the college was owned and operated by the Synod of Mississippi, Presbyterian Church in the United States, through a Synod-elected board of trustees. In 1972, the Synod gave ownership of the College to a self-perpetuating board of trustees. The school has a covenant relationship with the Synod of Living Waters of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Belhaven University seeks to fulfill the mission in its motto: “to serve, not to be served.”

Belhaven has received national recognition for its academic programs and affordability, and has earned regional

accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Belhaven is one of just 30 schools in the U.S. to be nationally accredited in all four of the arts: dance, music, theatre and visual art.

Belhaven University has been recognized for outstanding individual academic programs. It was selected as one of the Top Christian Business Colleges in the country by Business Reform Magazine.

The Belhaven University School of Business also received special recognition as an editor’s pick for “most biblical curriculum and focus.” In addition, most all business programs at Belhaven have received a special accreditation from the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE).

Belhaven also offers programs of general studies, pre-professional and certificate programs and graduate degree programs.

Belhaven fall 2012 enrollment shattered all records with 3,725 students across all seven campuses. This is an increase of 433 students over last year, and a oneyear jump of over 13 percent.

The University enrolled 1,150 traditional age students (18-22) on the main Jackson campus, causing leaders to utilize every available space to meet student needs. When combined with the University’s 930 adult and graduate students at the Lefleur’s Bluff building on I55 North, Belhaven is serving nearly 2,100 students in Jackson.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> BELHAVEN UNIVERSITY >> www.belhaven.edu >> Institution: Belhaven University >> Address: 1500 Peachtree Street, Box 153, Jackson, MS 39202 >> Phone: (800) 960-5940 or (601) 968-5940 >> Website: www.belhaven.edu >> E-mail: admission@belhaven.edu >> Year founded: 1883 >> President: Dr. Roger Parrott >> Director of admission: Suzanne Sullivan >> Undergrad enrollment: 1,100 >> Annual tuition and fees: $19,200 ($19,800 for arts majors) >> Annual on-campus room and board: $6890 >> Application deadline: Rolling admission >> Average ACT: 24 >> Average SAT: 1120 >> Financial aid: Yes >> Faculty-to-student ratio: 12 to 1 >> Popular majors: Dance, sports administration, biology, business administration >> Satellite/annex locations: Belhaven Online;

Memphis, Tenn.; Houston, Texas; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Orlando, Fla. >> What’s the most important thing a parent should know about your institution? Belhaven cares for its students. We are here to help them grow not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know? Belhaven’s campus is diverse culturally and geographically. We have over 80 international students from 28 countries and 68 percent of freshman are from out of state.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> SHAQUINTA ROBINSON Major: Physical Education Starkville

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HEN SHAQUINTA “Bam Bam” Robinson was in fifth grade in Starkville, she earned her nickname because of the commotion she caused in class.

By her own admission, she was “really bad.”

Things changed, and she eventually wound up at Blue Mountain College on a basketball scholarship. She plays point guard for the Toppers and is majoring in physical education.

“When I came on the visit, it was the atmosphere, the coach and the overall people,” Robinson said, explaining why she chose the school. “It’s a small college, but people here have big hearts.”

After graduation this spring, Robinson plans to attend the University of Southern Mississippi and get her master’s in sports management. Her goal is to one day work for a professional sports franchise.

“I do want to use my physical education degree and teach and coach eventually, but not right off the bat.”

Her advice to prospective students is simple: arrive at Blue Mountain with an open mind.

“Don’t be quick to judge it because of the small atmosphere,” she said. “The more involved you get, the better your time here will be.”

‘DON’T BE QUICK TO JUDGE IT BECAUSE OF THE SMALL ATMOSPHERE’

LUE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE was founded way back in 1873

by Civil War Brig. Gen. Mark Perrin Lowrey.

The distinctive atmosphere of Blue Mountain is due to a blending of several factors: the college’s sense of its mission as a Christian and specifically a Baptist institution, the traditions created by a distinguished founding family and Christian educators, a careful balancing of liberal arts and vocational studies, a special kind of student life with a system of student government and honor uniquely available in a small Christian liberal arts college and a family-like environment where students, faculty and administrators genuinely believe in the worth of the individual.

Blue Mountain College has over the years sought to prepare students for meaningful lives. Emphasis has been given to the development of strength of character and the ability to live creatively.

Through small classes, a close facultystudent relationship and a focus on the importance of the individual, the College has endeavored to produce graduates who are well-prepared academically and spiritually to accept places of leadership in their professions, in their communities, and in the work of the denomination.

Blue Mountain College was independently owned and administered until 1920, when control was turned over to the Mississippi Baptist Convention. From 1873 to 2005, the school operated as a traditional liberal arts college for women.

In 1956, at the request of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, the College opened

its doors to men preparing for churchrelated vocations.

On Oct. 4, 2005, the Blue Mountain’s Board of Trustees voted to make all programs available to male students, thus making BMC fully co-educational.

Blue Mountain is committed to providing a solid liberal arts education which has proven to be the best preparation for most professions. Through a strong education in the arts and sciences, students acquire a broad understanding and diverse skills required for life in the 21st century. Having a small, student-centered campus with a caring faculty and staff, the college exhibits a climate of personal attention, respect, and inclusion.

The school offers courses of study leading to three undergraduate degrees — bachelor of arts, bachelor of science and bachelor of science in education.

Student activities and organizations are designed to enhance the overall educational experience of BMC students. The college offers student organizations where students can socialize, interact and experience leadership opportunities. Some of the clubs and organizations include theatre honor society Alpha Psi Omega, Baptist Student Union, English Club, Commuter Club, Fellowship of Minister’s Wives, Ministerial Association, Ministerial Association, Physical Education Club, Physical Education Majors Club, Society of Mathematicians and Scientists, Student Body Association and the BMC Ambassadors.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> BLUE MOUNTAIN COLLEGE >> www.bmc.edu >> Institution: Blue Mountain College Address: P.O. Box 126-BMC; Blue Mountain, MS 38610 Phone: (662) 685-4771 Website: www.bmc.edu E-mail: admissions@bmc.edu Year founded: 1873 President: Dr. Barbara Childers McMillin Director of admissions: Maria Teel Undergrad enrollment: 555 Annual tuition and fees: $8,250 Annual on-campus room and board: $4,000 Application deadline: Open Average ACT: 20 Average SAT: Not applicable.

Financial aid: Federal, state, veterans assistance programs; BMC scholarships (academic, athletic and service).

Faculty-to-student ratio: 1:15 Popular majors: Elementary education, English, natural

science, business, Biblical studies and Christian ministry Satellite/annex locations: None What’s the most important thing a parent should know about your institution? It’s a small, safe environment in a rural setting.

What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know?

Everybody will know their actual name (not just their ID number) in a matter of days.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> ALEX LAWSON Major: Business Administration Gulfport

LEX LAWSON ENJOYED serving as director of programming for Millsaps College’s Student Body Association so much he decided to run for a second term.

He won, and that provides a perfect example of Lawson’s advice to those considering Millsaps: Get involved.

“Millsaps will change your life for the better,” said Lawson, a senior from Gulfport. Lawson is majoring in business administration with a concentration in financial services. “But once you get here, get involved. Don’t just sit in your dorm room and study all the time.”

The community feel at Millsaps, which sits just north of downtown Jackson, was what jumped out at Lawson when he first visited the campus.

“I liked that the class sizes were small, and you pretty much knew everybody on campus,” Lawson said. “Everybody waves when you see them. Even the teachers know who everybody is. The community feel is one of the best things about Millsaps.”

Lawson has grown to love Millsaps so much that he plans to stay after he graduates to pursue his master’s in business administration.

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‘BUT ONCE YOU GET HERE, GET INVOLVED.’ 56 www.msnext.com

ILLSAPS COLLEGE prides itself on creating the perfect learning environment.

With one teacher for every nine students and an average class size of 14, nobody gets lost in the crowd.

The school is associated with the United Methodist Church, and is located on 100 acres just north of the downtown area of Mississippi's capital of Jackson, whose metro area has a population of almost 500,000 people. Millsaps is home to just more than 900 students from 26 states and 23 countries.

Millsaps was founded in 1890, when Major Reuben Webster Millsaps made a personal gift of $50,000, matched by contributions from Mississippi Methodists, toward the establishment of "a Christian college within the borders of our state," a college that would bear his name.

In keeping with its character as a liberal arts college and its historic role in the mission of the United Methodist Church, Millsaps College seeks to provide a learning environment that increases knowledge, deepens understanding of faith and inspires the development of mature citizens with the intellectual capacities, ethical principles and sense of responsibility that are needed for leadership in all sectors of society.

Millsaps offers nearly 40 majors and minors that range from accounting and

business administration to sociology and Spanish. Its Else School of Management is perennially recognized as one of the top 200 business schools in the nation.

The school also offers a litany of study abroad programs. From religious research in Israel to cultural studies in Tanzania to language classes in France, study abroad provides students with a tool for understanding and appreciating the world.

Millsaps also participates in semester and year-long direct exchange programs.

Millsaps operates a 4,000-acre tropical forest biocultural reserve in the heart of the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. The Living in Yucatán program offers courses in the study of archaeology, business, ecology, education, geology, history, literature and sociocultural anthropology.

Millsaps students enjoy a variety of on-campus activities and events. These include lectures by world figures such as Jane Goodall, conferences featuring authors like Ann Patchett, concerts and plays (spectating or performing), indie film series presented by the film directors, sorority and fraternity events, athletics, intramurals and over 80 clubs and organizations.

Almost 90 percent of Millsaps students live on campus in the school’s residence halls which include traditional dorm rooms, apartment-style housing and suite style residence.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> MILLSAPS COLLEGE >> www.millsaps.edu >> Institution: Millsaps College >> Address: 1701 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39210 >> Phone: (601) 974-1050 >> Website: www.millsaps.edu >> E-mail: admissions@millsaps.edu >> Year founded: 1890 >> President: Dr. Robert W. Pearigen >> Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management: David J. Wottle >> Undergrad enrollment: 848 >> Annual tuition and fees: $30,974 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $6,110$8,682, room rent; $4,716, meals >> Application deadline: Early Action, Dec. 1; Regular Decision, Feb. 1 >> Middle 50 percent ACT: 23-29 >> Middle 50 percent SAT: 1060-1230 >> Financial aid: 67 percent receive need-based aid; the College awards scholarships for academic excellence >> Faculty-to-student ratio: 9:1 >> Popular majors: Accounting, business administration, biology, chemistry, education, English, history, psychology, political science, neuroscience, sociology/anthropology, religious studies

>> Satellite/annex locations: None >> What’s the most important thing a parent should know about your institution? Parents can feel confident that they are not only investing in their child’s academic journey and intellectual development, but also in that intangible human component of the college experience, in which a student learns about himself or herself by immersion in such a community. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know? You can be exactly who you want to be at Millsaps.

You can be an athlete, start your own club or become a member of a sorority or fraternity all while being a scholar first and foremost. At larger institutions you usually have to pick and choose.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> CAMERON TREADWELL Major: Political Science Brandon

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HEN IT CAME time to decide where he wanted to go to college, Cameron Treadwell couldn’t figure out if he wanted to go to a large state university or a notso-large institution.

His visit to Mississippi College cleared things up.

“I’d been trying to decide between a big school and a smaller school,” said Treadwell, a junior at Mississippi College from Brandon. “My senior year of high school I made lots of visits. On my visit here, I just fell in love with the people.”

Treadwell, a political science major with an emphasis in pre-law, said it was the familiarity everybody had with each other that made him the most comfortable.

“My teachers know my name. They email me when I miss class to check up on me. There’s a great sense of community, that you really belong.”

And his advice to prospective students is to create that sense of community by being active outside the classroom.

“Get involved,” Treadwell said. “Your experience wherever you go is what you make it. Join a club or an organization.

Don’t just go to class. Get involved in something.”

‘ON MY VISIT HERE, I FELL IN LOVE WITH THESE PEOPLE’

ISSISSIPPI COLLEGE, affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, is a private, Christian university of liberal arts and sciences serving more than 5,300 students from 39 states and 23 countries.

Founded in 1826, Mississippi College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Mississippi and second-oldest Baptist university in the nation.

With more than 80 areas of study, 15 graduate programs, a doctor of jurisprudence, a doctor of education leadership degree and a doctor of professional counseling degree, Mississippi College seeks to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.

Originally called Hampstead Academy and later Mississippi Academy, the school was named Mississippi College in 1830 and authorized “to confer... such degrees in the arts, sciences, and languages as are usually conferred in the most respectable colleges in the United States... “ A private institution, MC was for several years coeducational and in 1831 was the first such college in the United States to grant a degree to a woman. In 1842, the institution was given to the Presbyterian Church, which upon encountering financial difficulties, returned MC to the original owners in 1850. Later that same year, the Mississippi Baptist Convention obtained the school and began operation

through a board of trustees.

In 1850 the Female Department was discontinued; and in 1853 a Central Female Institute, later renamed Hillman College, was established in Clinton. In 1942, Mississippi College purchased and absorbed Hillman College, and the institution was again coeducational.

MC offers over 80 areas of study covering every area of a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum. Majors range from accounting and biology to social work and studio art. Semester-long study abroad programs are offered in Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Germany, London and Spain. Summer programs abroad are offered in China, France, Japan and Spain.

With more than 40 chartered student organizations, ranging from academic societies to campus ministries, MC offers ways for everyone to get involved.

Different organizations focus on academics, intramural sports, campus ministries, cultural clubs, honor and recognition societies and music and the performing arts, to go with service clubs and social tribes.

Mississippi College also seeks to offer nationally competitive teams in hunter and jumper horseback riding and clay target shooting and bass fishing, hosted at Providence Hill Farm, to help students continue their love of the outdoors while in college and to advance the cause of Christ through outdoor sports.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE >> www.mc.edu >> Institution: Mississippi College >> Address: 200 Capitol Street, Clinton, MS 39058 >> Phone: (601) 925-3000 >> Website: mc.edu >> Email: N/A >> Year founded: 1826 >> President: Dr. Lee Royce >> Director of admissions: Kyle Brantley >> Undergrad enrollment: 3,084 undergraduate students; total enrollment 5,145 students >> Annual tuition and fees: $14,430 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $6,950 >> Application deadline: None >> Average ACT: 24 for freshmen >> Average SAT: N/A >> Financial aid: Yes >> Faculty-to-student ratio: N/A >> Popular majors: Kinesiology, accounting and business, education >> Satellite/annex locations: Flowood Center, Rankin County, next-door to Flowood Chamber of Commerce,

Jackson School of Law, downtown Jackson >> What’s the most important thing a parent should know about your institution?

Mississippi College is a Christian university where teachers are your friends. There is a definite family-like atmosphere among teachers and students. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know? Check out the new construction taking place — from a three-story parking garage near the coliseum to a new bookstore and cafe in the heart of Olde Towne Clinton that's topped by lofts for 10 graduate students.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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RUST COLLEGE

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>> SHAKAREE HALE Major: Biology Marks

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ISS RUST COLLEGE 20122013 Shakaree Hale attended Madison Shannon Palmer High School in Marks, where she was an active member and leader of several high school organizations.

She graduated in the top five percent of her class, earning a scholarship to Rust in the process.

At Rust, Hale has served as a resident assistant, assistant residence hall director, Math and Science Club secretary, activities coordinator for the NAACP, secretary for the Mississippi Association of Educators, “Smart Kids” Conference coordinator for the E.A. Smith Honors Society, member of the PreAlumni Council, member of Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society, and vice president of the Theta Upsilon chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Upon receiving her bachelor of science in biology in April 2013, Hale plans to further her academic studies by attending graduate school and pursuing a doctorate in cancer biology.

Hale says she is a true advocate for change and the betterment of mankind. She believes “for everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else. It is about your outlook toward life. You can either regret or rejoice.”

‘IT IS ABOUT YOUR OUTLOOK TOWARD LIFE. YOU CAN EITHER REGRET OR REJOICE.’ 58 www.msnext.com

UST COLLEGE is a historically black, co-educational, senior liberal arts college founded in 1866 by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The College is related to the United Methodist Church, and dedicated to serve students with a variety of academic preparations, through instruction in the humanities, social and behavioral sciences, natural science, business, technology and education.

Rust recognizes the three-fold functions of education as being teaching, research and community service. Its primary mission, however, is teaching. It offers a well-rounded program designed to acquaint students with cultural, moral and spiritual values, both in theory and in practice.

Rust offers 21 degree programs, among them business administration, English, mass communication (broadcast and print journalism), biology, chemistry, computer science, political science and social work.

There are five residential halls on the Rust campus. Two are for males, Gross Hall, housing 92 students and DavageSmith Hall, housing 276 students. Three residential halls are for females: Wiff Hall, housing 92, E.L. Rust, housing 196 and Elzy Hall, housing 200. The on-campus capacity is 856.

There is a full-time professional who lives in each building and is responsible for the educational and operational functions of the residence hall.

The objectives of the athletic and intramural programs Rust offers are to teach sportsmanship, fair play and respect for the rights of others and to provide opportunity for recreation and physical fitness.

Rust participates in the following intercollegiate sports: basketball, tennis, cross-country; track and field, cheerleading, women’s fast pitch softball, volleyball and pep squad.

Rust has authorized chapters of the following national organizations: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc. Rust’s Student Activities Department provides students, faculty and staff with extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. This department also provides a place for students to relieve themselves from pressures of college life and work.

The department provides opportunities for students to connect through college experiences. The department encourages personal, social and professional growth and strives to improve the value of campus life for everybody at Rust. Activities are sponsored throughout the school year that provide learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

Whether you like swimming, basketball, weightlifting, aerobics, board games, billiards, ping pong, softball, flag football, etc., there’s something for everybody.

Rust’s varsity sports program is robust.

The Bearcats compete in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, fast pitch softball, track and field, baseball, tennis and cross country.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> RUST COLLEGE >> www.rustcollege.edu >> Institution: Rust College >> Address: 150 Rust Avenue, Holly Springs, MS 38635 >> Phone: (662) 252-2491 >> Website: www.rustcollege.edu >> Year founded: 1866 >> President: Dr. David L. Beckley >> Financial aid: Academic scholarships, federal and state grants and loans, work study >> Director of admission: Johnny McDonald, (662) 252-8000, ext. 4058, jbmcdonald@rustcollege.edu >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know: The world famous Rust College A’Cappella Choir is one of

American’s most renowned choirs which features a broad repertoire of classical, semi-classical, spirituals, opera, contemporary and traditional gospel. The choir has captured the attention of prestigious audiences worldwide.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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TOUGALOO COLLEGE

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> JAMAL WALKER PERKINS Major: Mathematics Greenwood

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AMAL WALKER PERKINS is the son of Rep. Willie Perkins and Sheriel F. Perkins of Greenwood.

At Greenwood High School, he was head drum major for the Greenwood High School band, winner of the Roy Martin Band Award, member of the Mayor’s Youth Council, and Mr. Greenwood High School 2008-2009. Even with all his involvement, he was still a scholar, graduating salutatorian of his high school class.

After high school, he decided to follow in the footsteps of both his parents and all his siblings, and become a Tougaloo College Eaglet, where he is now a senior mathematics major and has been named Tougaloo College King and Mr. Tougaloo College for 2012-2013. Perkins continues to be involved, becoming a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a Jackson Heart Study Scholar, an Alpha Lambda Delta Scholar, a Kincheloe tutor, a member of the Tougaloo College tennis team, and many other affiliations.

After graduation, Perkins wants to own a recording label and branch into other fields of business. He has interest in pursuing writing, music, law and public health.

AFTER GRADUATION, HE WANTS TO OWN A RECORDING LABEL AND BRANCH INTO OTHER FIELDS OF BUSINESS.

OUGALOO COLLEGE is a private, historically black, liberal arts institution, The college prepares students to be imaginative, self-directed, lifelong learners and mindful thinkers, committed to leadership and services in a global society by offering a high-quality liberal studies program.

Founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association, Tougaloo College was chartered on the principles that it “be accessible to all irrespective of their religious tenets, and conducted on the most liberal principles for the benefit of our citizens in general.”

Tougaloo acknowledges and respects its traditions, remains dedicated to the equality of all people and continues to be a value-oriented community where students are guided by a concerned faculty and staff.

The members of the Tougaloo community apply current knowledge to prepare students for lifelong learning related to new information and emerging technologies, as well as humane standards in a global society.

Tougaloo offers an undergraduate curriculum designed to encourage students to apply critical thought to all areas of life, to acquire a basic knowledge of the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences, to develop skills required in selected professions; and to provide leadership in a democratic society and in a changing world.

Tougaloo intends for its students to become self-directed learners and selfreliant persons capable of dealing with people, challenges and issues. Tougaloo intends to contribute to the social, health and educational needs of the local and state

communities through a program of community service.

The liberal arts curriculum at Tougaloo is based upon two assumptions: that students have a general education drawn from broad academic areas, as well as specialized training in one major department; and that students have freedom – within certain established guidelines and with the advice of the faculty – to choose their own course of study.

Official credit for academic work is measured in semester hours. To graduate, students must pass a minimum of 124 semester hours and must have earned at least a 2.00 grade point average. The 124 hours are subdivided into approximately 27-48 semester hours in a discipline major, and the remainder in general education, electives or professional requirements for certification in special fields selected by the student.

Tougaloo offers 29 majors. In addition to these 29 majors, six allow students to add one or more special emphases such as accounting, business administration, community health, computer science, health education, journalism, recreation for special populations and social work.

Students are expected to complete most general education requirements by the end of the sophomore year. At this time, students must select a discipline or area in which they will concentrate their study.

That discipline or subject area is referred to as a major. Through pursuit of a given major, students should develop a basic understanding of the concepts and principles of a discipline as well as of skills associated with related practical applications.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>>TOUGALOO COLLEGE >> www.tougaloo.edu >> Institution: Tougaloo College >> Address: 500 West County Line Road, Jackson, MS 39174 >> Phone: (601) 977-7700 or 1-888-42-GALOO (1888-424-2566) >> Website: www.tougaloo.edu >> Year founded: 1869 >> President: Dr. Beverly Wade Hogan >> Director of admissions: Juno Leggette Jacobs, (601) 977-7765, jjacobs@tougaloo.edu >> Annual tuition and fees: $10,400 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $5,200 to $8,512 (depending on residence hall) >> Application deadline: Rolling Financial aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study

>> Popular majors: Pre-law, pre-med, psychology >> What’s the most important thing a parent should know about your institution: Tougaloo College provides a nurturing, family-like living and learning environment that encourages students and transforms them into leaders.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY

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>> KENNA SPILLER Major: Education Petal

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ENNA SPILLER grew up in the Pine Belt in Petal. She’s now a sophomore education major at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, just a few miles from her hometown.

The decision to attend Carey, she said, was easy.

“The number one reason is I value the Christian atmosphere. That’s really important to me. I appreciated that they try to make everything about the Lord. The second reason is that they offer a lot of different scholarships, and I was able to get a full scholarship.”

Spiller’s plans after graduation are varied, but they don’t include leaving the Pine Belt.

“I would love to work in a kindergarten classroom,” she said. “I would love to stay in the Pine Belt, but I’m also called to full-time church ministry so I hope to work part-time in a church if I don’t teach.”

Her advice to students considering WCU is simple: get involved, and apply for every scholarship available.

“I just found out that I was eligible for something I didn’t even know about. In high school, activities come to you. In college, you have to kind of seek them out,” said Spiller, who’s in the school’s show choir and part of a traveling ensemble called “Carpenter’s Wood.” She’s also Miss William Carey University and plays flute in the symphonic band.

‘I APPRECIATE THAT THEY TRY TO MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LORD’ 60 www.msnext.com

HE INSTITUTION THAT is now William Carey University had its earliest origins in Poplarville when the noted educator W. I. Thames opened Pearl River Boarding School back in 1892.

As did many institutions of its day, Pearl River Boarding School offered elementary, preparatory and some college work.

Operating for decades as Mississippi Woman’s College, the institution was renamed in honor of the founder of modern missions in 1954 when the school became coeducational.

The dramatic developments over the years demonstrate that William Carey University has accepted William Carey’s challenging motto: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” William Carey University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor, master, specialist and the doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees.

WCU offers baccalaureate degrees in the areas of the arts and letters; education and natural and behavioral sciences; business; religion; music; and, nursing. The M.B.A., M.Ed., M.S. in psychology, M.Ed. in music and M.S. in biomedical science and M.S.N. degrees and a specialist degree in elementary education are also offered. A doctor of osteopathic medicine has been a part of the Hattiesburg school’s curriculum since the fall of 2010.

The main campus in Hattiesburg is set on 140 acres. William Carey University on the Coast is located on the new Tradition Campus off Highway 67 in Biloxi. The

School of Nursing has a site on the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisiana.

Interest in the individual student characterizes the classroom experience. Taught by outstanding faculty who has gained national reputations, students are challenged by professors dedicated to teaching.

The faculty has produced graduates who have compiled outstanding records of acceptance to medical, dental, law, seminaries and a wide variety of graduate schools across the nation.

Three trimesters of eleven weeks each comprise the academic year. Two summer sessions are also offered.

WCU offers many activities for the more than 3,200 students enrolled. Active campus organizations include the Student Government Association, Baptist Student Union, African-American Cultural Society, Delta Omicron Fraternity, Serampore Players, social clubs and many more.

WCU also has a strong intramural program offering students the opportunity to play basketball, flag football, soccer, softball and volleyball in a friendly setting.

Athletic teams compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). The institution sponsors 14 intercollegiate sports including: (Men) baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, cross country, track & field and (Women) softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, cross country, and track and field. The Crusaders have an impressive history of athletic excellence.

– CLAY CHANDLER

>> WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY >> www.wmcarey.edu >> Institution: William Carey University >> Address: 498 Tuscan Avenue, Hattiesburg, MS 39401 >> Phone: (601) 318-6051 >> Website: www.wmcarey.edu >> E-mail: admissions@wmcarey.edu >> Year founded: 1892 >> President: Tommy King, Ed.D. >> Undergrad enrollment: 2,315 >> Annual tuition and fees: $10,350 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $3,975 >> Application deadline: Rolling >> Average ACT: 22.5 >> Average SAT: N/A >> Financial aid: Grants, loans, work study, scholarships >> Faculty-to-student ratio: 1:13 >> Popular majors: Education, nursing, business, psychology, medicine >> Satellite/annex locations: Biloxi and New Orleans >> What’s the most important thing a parent

should know about your institution? William Carey University offers a quality education in a secure and nurturing Christian environment where service is an important component of academics. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a prospective student needs to know? Common Grounds Coffee House, on the Hattiesburg campus, serves great coffee!

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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Our name says it all.

PUBLIC SERVICE

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NATIONAL DEBATE

CRISIS GAVE METROPOLITAN OPPORTUNITIES IT NEEDED

BANKING AND FINANCE

ALABAMA SAYS IMMIGRATION REFORM COSTLY

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COMMISSION

Deadline me t, Commission ers mull proposed Kemper orde rs

By CLAY CHAND LER clay.chandler@msbusin I

ess.com Last Monday was the deadli submit propo ne for parties to sed Mississippi Power final orders related to generation plant Company’s lignite coal-fi red in Kemper Count Joinin y. g longtim

By TED CARTER I STAFF WRITER Mississippi chaptee adversaries MPC and the r of the Sierra ted.carter@msbusiness.com Flori da-ba Club was sed Entegra Power Alabama’s immigration ID law will cost the state Group, which 70,000 to 140,000 direct and indirect jobs annually in markets electri and could put a dent of $2.3 billion to $10.8 billion c power from natthe state’s GDP. ural gas-fueled So says a report issued Jan. 30 by the University of plants to whole Alabama’s Center for Business and Economic sale custom Research. ers.

In their submi Mississippi’s is making a far different calculation. sweek last sions, conference press a at each entity Gov. Phil Bryant said will for how the offers its preferred scenar that he expects immigration reform in Mississippi io Mississippi Commission save the state $25 million a year in costs related to should handle Public Service the ect in light of social services, education and law enforcement. the Mississippi Kemper projSupreme Court 9-0 decision Bryant said he did the calculation in 2006 during March ’s an to grant the plant’s 15 that the PSC’s decisio his time as state auditor and based his findings on n ience and necess certificate of public conven the in population migrant undocumented assumed ity tial evidence presen was not based on “subst anstate of 49,000 people. He said his office reached Commissione ted.� rs voted in April the $25 million figure after deducting income tax the project to move forward, 2010 to allow withholdings collected from the unauthorized work- MPC capping the cost could pass on ers. to ratepayers lion, and at Bryant concedes, however, that he has not ana- charge stipulating that customers $2.4 bilcouldn’t be d for the plant lyzed the economic impact to agriculture of an until it was operat That essentially ional. killed the Alabama-style immigration bill he has endorsed for saying

By CLAY CHAND it couldn’t build project, with MPC LER Mississippi. He said he has not looked into he costs condit the plant under clay.chandler@msbusin I

ions. ess.com because he does not think Mississippi farmers are amounted The power company filed those to a motion for what using undocumented workers. reconsideration, Since March ing for the cost Vicksburg has 2011, the old Mississippi The head of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federal,and for custom cap to be raised to $2.88 askbillion, ers to be charge River five times.been struck by barge traffic River bridge in Randy Knight, put the costs to the state’s agricultural d for the projec on the Missis an t That many sippi sector in the “hundreds of millions� of dollars over impacts explai impac n why the bridge ted on the extended time.

See KEMPE is the U.S. Coast GuardMississippi River, accord R, Page 6 Alcorn State University agriculture economist ing to figures most. Since the 1970s from the of , when statist Magid Dagher puts the impact closer to the “tens ics started being millions� of dollars over time. More immediately, the uncertainty over whether sufficient labor will be available could cause growers of specialty crops such as fruits and vegetables to reduce the acreage they

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Journal STEPHEN McDILL / The Mississippi Business

in the Jackson market Curt Gabardi will cement the bank’s presence Right: Metropolitan Bank founder and CEO (see construction above) at the end of the month. with the opening of a new headquarters in Ridgeland

>> Gabardi’s idea was to cultivate a niche space in which Metropolitan’s bankers would compete against other bankers — not other banks

>> WATCH MBJ-TVs VIDEO TOUR of the new Metropolitan Bank www.msbusiness.com/video

MBJ FOCUS

Advocates want more flexible charter school bill >> Some propose to limit

See IMMIGRATION, Page 3

Begins page 15

FILE/ Mississipp

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kept, the bridge Greenville bridge has been struck 76 times. was replaced Before the old ed bridge on the Mississippi in 2010, it was the mostimpactRiver system The Vicksburg . fic, with Kansa bridge, built in 1930, is open s of the bridge. City Southern Railways being only to rail trafThat company to Burlington periodically leases the primary user Northern Santa use of the bridge The last strike Fe Railroad. came in mid-M grain barges broke loose from arch, when nearly three the bridge’s pier dozen their tow. Some 4. of those struck Before that, the bridge was from 2011’s histor last struck July ic flood were 7, as the waters fourth strike slowly recedi in about four months. On March ng. That was the 20 and March 23, See

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FULL STORY PAGE 2

EDUCATION

>> State calls it moneymaker

MANUFACTUR

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INSURANCE & EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

believe this is Charter school advocates i to make progress in the year for Mississipp school choice through more flexible charter school legislation. the In his first State of State address, Gov. Phil Bryant said now is the time for Mississippi to pass a “workable� charter school

by Barksdale law. A 2010 law passed the state Legislature allows public schools that have been chronically underperforming for three consecutive years to be conif verted to charter schools parents from the failing schools petition the state board of education. No Thigpen charter schools have been created under this law. lment public Charter schools are open-enrol the rules, some of schools that are freed from that apply to other regulations and statutes accountability for for public schools in exchange of results. certain College the producing Chair Gray will accomm odate the next 30 years, Senate Education Committee a bill that for an Business’ growth sponsor to USM business college Tollison is expected to soon WRITER >> Donor: $5 million gift school officials say. in the Legislature.

By TED CARTER I STAFF Page 10 years that USM’s should have some traction investment — not a payback, And it is in those for comment at achieve notice ted.carter@msbusiness.com Business intends to Tollison could not be reached of College of Mississippi.�

The University of 90,000 square-foot home a year ahead of as “The School of Business for press time. for HATTIESBURG — University is is for fall of the Mississippi Center College of Business as Mississippi State an opening planned pi’s coalition Just A with Mississip school ng schedule, the Southern over First, the building will get its prestigious engineeri law, the future somewhere Public Policy (MCPP), Mississippi 2014. The $30 million the cramped circa known for not looking for its medicine and has found it situatout of and Ole’ Miss for the rainbow. The College between M.M. business school Hall, where a space gravel 9 1960s Joseph Green to See CHARTER, Page ed on an expanse of limiting enrollment McCarty Hall.

10 See GROWING, Page Roberts Stadium and han-expected fund- squeeze has been students.

2,150 around Thanks to quicker-t the new building will be the new address With 1,200 seats, raising, the gravel lot state-of-the-art for the College of Business’

ess USM’s College of Businns growing its expectatio >> College expects to break

home new 90,000 square-foot ground this summer on

MBJ FOCUS

Begins page 12

KFORCE

EDUCATION/HR/WOR

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Mississippi com and junior colleg

>> The Muse Center at Hinds Community College in Pearl.

STEPHEN McDILL/Mississippi Business Journal

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ommunity leges

Coahoma Page 64

Copiah-Lincoln Page 65

East Central Page 66

East Mississippi Page 67

Hinds Page 68

Holmes Page 69

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Jones County Page 71

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MISSISSIPPI JUNIOR AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES >>

COAHOMA

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> MELODY DIXON Major: Psychology Clarksdale

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ELODY DIXON may be working on a psychology degree from Coahoma, but that’s only a backup plan.

“I want to go into music, that’s really my interest,” Dixon says, “It is a huge dream of mine to produce my own music as a solo artist, both vocally and instrumentally.”

Dixon competed across the state and won several band awards playing the flute and piccolo at Clarksdale High School. “I fell in love with the sweet sounds of the flute when I first picked it up in sixth grade,” she says.

The National Honor Society graduate is active in Phi Theta Kappa and was elected Miss Coahoma Community College this past year.

Having older sisters and a brother who made their own marks at CCC has inspired Dixon to have confidence in continuing her education there without being doubtful or scared about going to college.

“It's gratifying to know that (my parents) allowed me to decide my college choices and let me follow in their footsteps,” Dixon says.

Dixon encourages new college students to accept themselves as they are. “Remember, the only thing constant in life is change,” she says. “They should take judgment lightly, take life day-by-day, and keep an open mind.”

‘REMEMBER, THE ONLY THING CONSTANT IN LIFE IS CHANGE’ 64 www.msnext.com

OAHOMA COMMUNITY College continues a proud Delta legacy of community education that first started in 1924 and today serves an average of 3,000 students from the surrounding Bolivar, Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie and Tunica counties.

CCC administration and faculty seek to foster a nurturing environment for students entering the workforce or choosing to pursue a four-year degree.

A recent federal grant for historically black colleges in Mississippi netted the Clarksdale campus more than $2.4 million. In October, it hosted its annual Morgan Freeman Scholarship Golf Tournament to raise financial assistance funds.

The college has also pursued publicprivate institution development partnerships with Delta State University, Delta Blues Museum, Baptist Memorial Medical Center and Teach for America among others.

CCC offers associate of arts degrees, associate of applied science degrees and certificates of career education giving students affordable and eclectic posthigh school opportunities.

Associate of arts degrees range from fine arts to math and science. Students can also pursue an associate degree in nursing, a licensed practical nursing degree or earn their EMT license from the Division of Health Sciences.

COAHOMA OFFERS ASSOCIATE OF ARTS DEGREES, ASSOCIATE OF APPLIED SCIENCE DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES OF CAREER EDUCATION, GIVING STUDENTS AFFORDABLE AND ECLECTIC POST-HIGH SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES.

Coahoma’s career and technical offerings range from medical billing and carpentry to computer servicing and culinary arts.

In addition to a thriving athletic department, CCC students can enjoy a range of student activities and organizations from Spanish club to the annual Tennessee Williams Festival.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> COAHOMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.coahomacc.edu >> Institution: >> Institution: Coahoma Community College >> Address: 3240 Friars Point Road, Clarksdale MS 38614 >> Phone: (662) 627-2571 >> Website: www.coahomacc.edu >> E-mail: admissions@coahomacc.edu >> Year Founded: 1949 >> President: Vivian Presley >> Director of Admissions: Michael Houston >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,006 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,100 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $983 >> Application Deadline: August 11 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work-study >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:23 >> Popular Majors: Health sciences, criminal justice, general education >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Clarksdale, Charleston, Marks, Mound Bayou, Rosedale, Shaw, Tunica, Webb >> What’s the most important thing a parent

would need to know about your institution?

Coahoma’s commitment to academic excellence, personal attention, from faculty to students, the school’s rural setting assures safety. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students have a full calendar of social activities, sports and music, a first-class Lyceum Series presenting drama, comedy, festivals, and entertainment.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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COPIAH-LINCOLN

>> WILL GATLIN Major: Business Bogue Chitto

HEN NOT HUNTING or in class, Bogue Chitto sophomore Will Gatlin stays busy working at his family’s cattle feed and hydraulics businesses.

“We have horse feed, livestock feed and we ship all over the South and parts of the Midwest,” Gatlin says of Gatlin Feed. He said he hopes for a career in agriculture business management.

Gatlin says he has spent most of his life playing football and baseball and is currently playing first base for the Co-Lin Wolfpack. The team had its first winning season in four years and got within one game of the playoffs last year.

“Right now, I’m just trying to do the best I can while I’m here,” Gatlin says. “If I’m blessed to go on and play at other places, then that’s okay.”

Athletes are required to live on campus, and Gatlin says Co-Lin has a good atmosphere. “The first couple of weeks you're here it’s just like any other school, but within a month you make a lot of friends,” he says. “The teachers bend over backwards for you.”

Gatlin is active in Co-Lin Trailblazers student recruiting and has served as president of the student government association and district representative for the Phi Theta Kappa honors society. He enjoys reading Louis Lamour novels and hopes to duck hunt next season in the rice fields of Arkansas.

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‘IF I’M BLESSED TO GO ON AND PLAY AT OTHER PLACES, THEN THAT’S OKAY.’

For Mississippi Business Journal

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OPIAH-LINCOLN Community — or “Co-Lin” — believes that college is more than going to class and earning a degree. It’s about becoming an individual and creating lifelong friendships whether it’s on the practice field or in a study group.

It’s the only community college in Mississippi that was named “Military Friendly” by Victory Media, and it fielded not just one but two students to the 2012 All-USA Community College Academic Team.

In addition, applications for a new federal workforce training grant kicked off in October is sure to open the door for more Co-Lin students to have access to high-skilled training programs like information technology, medical coding and cyber security.

It’s a long way from the school’s humble beginnings as an agricultural high school, but Copiah-Lincoln has continued to grow in size and prestige and now occupies a prominent position in the state’s educational system with an enrollment topping 3,000.

With the goal of meeting the academic pursuits of students, Copiah-Lincoln Community College has grown over the years to include three campuses offering classes in Wesson, Natchez and Magee.

Today, the college offers classes and training in everything from commercial truck driving and electronics to humanities and business.

Copiah-Lincoln also has several accredited career and academic tracks for students interested in the medical field, including associates or technology programs for nursing, radiology, laboratory and respiratory care.

As an institution, Copiah-Lincoln not only provides educational opportunities for South Mississippi, it also strives to provide economic development services and cultural and recreational opportunities through “quality instruction, high expectations and service in a safe, student-centered environment.”

Throughout its campus, CopiahLincoln’s staff and faculty are held to high standards and are eager to make sure every student is well prepared for employment or a successful transition into a baccalaureate program.

Dual enrollment at Co-Lin allows eligible high school juniors and seniors to enroll in a college courses prior to high school graduation, giving them first-hand exposure to the requirements of collegelevel work while gaining high school and college credit simultaneously.

Financial aid is available in the form of loans, grants as well as memorial, athletic and academic scholarships.

Veteran’s Administration resources and training credits are provided for returning military veterans making the switch from the battlefield to the classroom.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> COPIAH-LINCOLN COLLEGE >> www.colin.edu >> Institution: >> Copiah-Lincoln Community College >> Year Founded: 1928 >> Address: 1028 J.C. Redd Drive, Wesson, MS 39191 >> Phone: (601) 446-1254 >> Website: www.colin.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,799 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,050 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $1,200 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, grants and loans >> Students with Financial Aid: 80 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:14 >> Popular Majors: Education, pre-medical, business, pre-professional >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Natchez, Mendenhall >> President: Ronnie Nettles >> Director of Admissions: Chris Warren >> Famous Alumni: Cindy Hyde-Smith, Nick Fairley, Ed Thompson >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

Co-Lin provides educational programs, development services, cultural and recreational opportunities through quality instruction and high expectations in a service in a safe student-centered environment. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Co-Lin offers many leadership opportunities, scholarships, as well as activities for students. We offer the state’s first and only Military Technology Program. Our award-winning faculty and staff want each student to succeed.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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EAST CENTRAL

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> ANDREW HANNA Major: Secondary Education Union

NION SOPHOMORE Andrew Hanna says he “surrendered to the ministry” during his senior year in high school. The Newton Academy graduate is now a sophomore at ECCC majoring in secondary education with an emphasis in science.

“Personally, I didn’t want to come here in the first place because I grew up here and wanted to get out,” Hanna says. “I’m OK with it now. I made a lot of friends. It wasn’t like going to another year of high school.”

In addition to his studies, Hanna is interning as a youth minister at Clark Venable Baptist Church and is active in the East Central Baptist Student Union, Phi Theta Kappa and Fellowship for Christian Athletes. “If you get involved with all that you can, it makes you mature,” he says. “You just learn how to handle life and different situations.”

Hanna is also well-traveled. This year alone, he did a mission trip to Thailand and went on a conservation trip to the Smoky Mountains as a member of the ECCC environmental club.

“I’ve always wanted to coach and teach,” Hanna says.

“Whatever opportunities God gives me I’m just gonna keep walking till the door closes. I’m not gonna tell God he can’t do anything. Whatever it is, I’m game.”

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‘I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO COACH AND TEACH’ 66 www.msnext.com

INCE ITS 1928 founding, East Central Community College has exhibited a pioneering spirit that continues to uphold its commitment to demonstrate accessibility, affordability, excellence and integrity for students in and outside the classroom.

New president Billy Stewart has overseen leadership changes among the administration and staff, and he says the college has a firm foundation and a bright future.

Health care education and workforce development are two of the highest staffed departments at ECCC, and students can choose a variety of routes from an associates in nursing, EMT or surgical technology to automotive technology, medical coding or collision repair. ECCC offers Mississippi Virtual Community College and is committed to providing quality, online instruction as an alternative for those unable to schedule time to come on to the Decatur campus.

For students able to live on the Decatur main campus, the school accommodates a plethora of extracurricular activities from ice cream socials to the Wall O’ Sound marching band.

Intramural and athletic fields are located behind the Vo-Tech annex on 10th Street, and tennis courts are available on 6th Avenue. Student safety is paramount at East Central and the campus includes a fully certified 24-hour

HEALTH CARE EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ARE TWO OF THE HIGHEST-STAFFED DEPARTMENTS. on-duty police department that responds to emergencies and provides crime prevention, criminal investigation, traffic control and other related services.

East Central’s financial aid office offers federal Pell grants, Stafford loans, state tuition grants, work-study and participates in Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership. Athletic scholarships are also awarded to qualifying students who play baseball, basketball, football, golf, soccer, tennis and women’s softball.

Burton Library and East Central’s Learning Skills Center offer students additional support as they take their first steps in secondary education.

When a student is ready to get a job or transfer to a four-year institution, East Central offers professional guidance and counseling to that will confront any challenge.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> EAST CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.eccc.edu >> Institution: East Central Community College >> Year Founded: 1928 >> Address: 275 West Broad Street, Decatur MS 39327 >> Phone: (601) 635-2111 >> Website: www.eccc.edu >> E-mail: dcase@eccc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,900 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,160 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $2,880 >> Application Deadline: Open >> Average ACT: 18 >> Financial Aid: All state and federal aid, faculty scholarships >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 75 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:18 >> Popular Majors: Nursing, business, pre-engineering, elementary education >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Decatur >> President: Billy Stewart >> Director of Admissions: David Case >> Famous Alumni: Randy Houser, Marcus Thames

>> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

High-quality academics and guaranteed transferability of courses all at one of the lowest tuitions in the state. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

East Central Mississippi has the only college rock band in the state — The Collegians.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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EAST MISSISSIPPI

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> KAITLYN JENKINS Major: Nursing Columbus

OLUMBUS HOME SCHOOL graduate Kaitlyn Jenkins says the commuter campus she attends at Mayhew has grown since she first started.

“More than 4,500 students commute,” she says. “We’re growing so much we are running out of parking spaces… so get to class early.”

With plans on becoming a nurse practitioner, Jenkins says her love for nursing grew after she went on a mission trip to Haiti in the summer of 2011. “I want to be a nurse and do mission trips,” she says.

Jenkins advises students with home education backgrounds to not be afraid of college. “Try out for things, get involved,” she says. “The classes aren’t big, and teachers will know you by name and come give you a hug.” Jenkins is active in Phi Theta Kappa and Ambassadors student recruiting.

In addition to faithfully attending Fairview Baptist Church in Columbus, Jenkins works as a Full Out head coach and is learning to turkey hunt this year.

“You can’t talk which is hard for me,” she says. “You have to crawl around and do those little calls.”

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‘THE CLASSES AREN’T BIG, AND TEACHERS WILL KNOW YOU BY NAME AND COME GIVE YOU A HUG.’

AST MISSISSIPPI Community College continues to grow with new and varied classes and campuses for students in the Golden Triangle region.

For nearly a century the college has remained steadfast in its own guarantee of providing a quality education whether it’s for a new career or an advanced four-year degree. State-of-theart laboratory and shop facilities combined with experienced faculty ensure vocational graduates are job-ready upon successful completion of instruction.

The college’s acquisition this year of the old Columbus Country Club, for instance, will create a facility for the school’s upcoming culinary arts and hospitality management programs. Preston student Byron Foster and 10 other EMCC students recently earned degrees in the school’s funeral service technology program, the only mortuary college of its kind in the state.

More than 5,000 students enroll in classes each year at the EMCC main campus in Scooba and at satellite locations in Columbus, Mayhew, Maben, Macon, and Meridian. The college’s eLearning program is also offering new intensive online courses in a condensed semester for students who can’t attend a live class.

EMCC also boasts the only welding program in Mississippi that offers a twoyear associate degree. Its automotive program is a national NATEF-certified program, one of only a few in the state.

Programs are also available in cosmetology, practical nursing, and EMT services.

Whether pursuing academic tracks from landscape management to international business, EMCC students don’t have any trouble finding the tools to reach their full potential. Workforce training is available at all EMCC extensions including programs for military personnel stationed in Meridian and Columbus.

Financing a college education is never easy but EMCC helps every student achieve any goal they want to set for themselves. More than 80 percent of students receive some type of financial aid from traditional federal or state programs to memorial and institutional scholarships to money for band, cheerleading, student recruiting and other activities.

For students living at the main campus in Scooba, housing accommodations can be found for both men and women in Sullivan, Noxubee, Gilbert-Anderson and Lauderdale halls. Up to 46 males can be housed in an honors residence hall.

Social activities range from newspaper/yearbook staff and amateur radio club to campus chapters of the Future Educators of America and Phi Theta Kappa. In addition to a vigorous conference athletic program, intramural athletics also abound at EMCC including baseball, basketball, football, golf, cheerleading, softball and last but not least, rodeo.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> EAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.eastms.edu >> Institution: >> Institution: East Mississippi Community College >> Year Founded: 1927 >> Address: 1512 Kemper Street, Scooba MS 39358 >> Phone: (662) 476-5000 >> Website: www.eastms.edu >> E-mail: kbriggs@eastms.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,257 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,290 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $3,560 >> Application Deadline: Rolling >> Average ACT: 18 >> Financial Aid: Pell Grant, FSEOG, LEAP, college work study, Stafford, EMCC scholarships >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 90 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:21 >> Popular Majors: Liberal arts, nursing, elementary education >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Scooba, Macon, Mayhew, West Point, Columbus AFB, Meridian NAS

>> President: Rick Young >> Director of Admissions: Karen Briggs >> Famous Alumni: Billy Joe Cross, Eddie Briggs, Fred Adams, Beth Clay, Rick Hodges >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

EMCC takes your child’s future as seriously as you do. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

EMCC’s instructors are committed. They make time for each student and their doors are always open.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> JENNA BUSH Major: Communications Clinton

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HERE’S MORE THAN one Hinds Eagle in Jenna Bush’s family.

Bush’s father, “Mississippi Outdoors” videographer Rusty Bush, went to Hinds, and her older sister just finished the school’s Nursing Allied Health program.

The Clinton native wants to follow in her dad’s footsteps with a marketing or communication degree and is happy to have started at Hinds.

“I like the whole idea because they’re so many different directions you can go,” she said.

A recent trip to visit family in Hawaii included a hike to one of the volcanoes. It sparked Bush’s interest in photography.

“It’s above the clouds and freezing up there,” she says. “You wouldn’t think it would be great pictures.”

In addition to being a Diamond Darling and Hinds Connection student recruiter, Bush also does work study in the HCC community and public relations office and works at a local consignment store.

“One of things I really like — even though (Hinds is) 15 minutes away and could have felt like the 13th grade — is it feels more like a university,” Bush says when describing the Raymond campus.

Another impression on her was the friendly faculty right on up to Hinds president Dr. Clyde Muse. “Dr. Muse remembers all our names and comes up and talks to us,” Bush says. “I wouldn’t expect that of a college president.”

‘IT FEELS MORE LIKE A UNIVERSITY.’ 68 www.msnext.com

INDS COMMUNITY College puts as much of an emphasis on community as it does college. The largest community college in Mississippi makes headlines large and small, from knitting classes for local residents to a new partnership with a trucking company to train drivers.

Always a partner in aviation education, Hinds recently launched a new program at its airport in nearby Bolton to attract the nation’s next generation of unmanned aerial vehicle operators to what instructors are calling a coming “gold rush” of jobs in the military, engineering and law enforcement sectors.

Serving more than 12,000 credit students each fall semester, Hinds has grown steadily over the years from that Raymond cotton patch in 1917, when it was then known as the “Poor Man’s College.”

From registration to graduation, Hinds transfers more students to four-year colleges than any other community college in the state. Whether 18 or 80, Hinds students can get a large-school campus experience while enjoying the personal feel of a community college through affordable costs, smaller classrooms and engaging instructors.

For non-traditional students making career changes or exploring academic enrichment opportunities, Hinds offers

HINDS RECENTLY LAUNCHED A PROGRAM TO ATTRACT THE NATION’S NEXT GENERATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE OPERATORS. FastTrack classes that are the same as traditional classes, but can be completed in a shorter or more convenient time frame.

The dozens of vocational and technical classes at HCC can prepare any Mississippi high school graduate for a career in a number of ways including automotive mechanics, plumbing, cosmetology, graphic arts or stonemasonry.

Traditional academic programs range from history and music to accounting and microbiology.

Whether getting home runs at Moss Field, touchdowns at Renfroe Stadium or three-pointers at Boyd Gym in Utica, the Hinds Community College athletic department always gives a warm welcome to its Magnolia State rivals.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> HINDS COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.hindscc.edu >> Institution: >> Hinds Community College >> Year Founded: 1917 >> Address: 608 Hinds Boulevard, Raymond, MS 39154 >> Phone: (601) 857-5261 >> Website: www.hindscc.edu >> E-mail: info@hindscc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 13,000 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,040 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $2,100 >> Application Deadline: December 15 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work-study >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:18 >> Popular Majors: General studies, nursing, biology, accounting, business administration >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Raymond, Pearl, Jackson, Utica, Vicksburg >> President: Clyde Muse >> Director of Admissions: Randall Harris >> Famous Alumni: Faith Hill, Zig Ziglar, Phil Bryant

>> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

Students get an excellent education at a very reasonable cost which will transfer to any senior college in the state or prepare for direct entry into a career. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students can find their niche at Hinds whether they want art, music, drama, athletics, or a leadership program.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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HOLMES

For Mississippi Business Journal

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>> DUDLEY MOORE Major: Undecided McAdams

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OOTBALL IS A FULL-TIME job, not just a game, for Dudley Moore.

The 6-foot-2, 285-pound McAdams native attends the Goodman campus of Holmes Community College and was recently named to the 2011-2012 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College All-Academic Team.

When he’s not playing offensive left tackle for the Bulldogs, Moore is an active member of Beta Club and the Phi Theta Kappa honor society as well the Exodus Project, a nonprofit mentoring program in Kosciusko. He attends Abundant Life Church and is a junior deacon at St. James First Deliverance Church.

Moore advises incoming freshmen at the Goodman campus to focus on their school work and not what’s happening at the parties or malls. “Get your work down without getting distracted,” he says. “Don’t ever take the back seat. Always be the best you can be.”

Moore is studying math and computer science with plans to attend a four-year school in the Southeastern Conference.

He wants to pursue a career in either law or computer engineering after graduating.

‘DON’T EVER TAKE THE BACK SEAT. ALWAYS BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE.’

OLMES COMMUNITY College started out in 1911 with 82 acres and a board of trustees. The college was awarded its first associate of arts degree at the dawn of the Great Depression. After years of growth, new campuses were approved and built in Grenada and Ridgeland in 1985.

Growth and expansion continues to be a big part of the Holmes tradition.

Pending grant approval, a 2012 expansion of the college’s Attala Educational Center in Kosciusko would include housing for extra classrooms, labs, as well as a business incubator and WIN Job Center.

Holmes has grown over the years in both real estate and population. The 2012-2013 academic year saw a 35 percent increase in graduates, the highest spike in the state. The school was also named one of the most distinguished chapters in the country by the Phi Theta Kappa community college honors society.

Students at the Goodman main campus can take full advantage of the school’s career programs including classes in cosmetology, welding and practical nursing. Career offerings range from collision repair technology to heating and air conditioning technology. Those wanting a more academic flavor can pursue everything from transferable degrees in art and engineering to mathematics

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE THE OPTION OF BOTH DUAL AND EARLY ENROLLMENT AT HOLMES. and criminal justice.

The Ridgeland and Grenada campuses of Holmes are conveniently located within minutes of Interstate 55 and also offer many liberal arts courses as well as academic and cultural enrichment. For adults and young professionals there are evening credit and noncredit courses available and classes are designed to meet the needs and interests of the area.

Holmes cares for the social as well as academic health of its students and community. High school students have the option of both dual and early enrollment at the college, and Holmes also offers online counseling. Military servicemen and women at Holmes can earn credits for military experience toward a degree or certificate. Students all over Mississippi have chosen Holmes not only for its flexible and comprehensive vision but for the high quality standards it imposes on its institution and faculty.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> HOLMES COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.holmescc.edu >> Institution: Holmes Community College >> Year Founded: 1925 >> Address: 1 Hill Street, Goodman, MS 39079 >> Phone: (800) 465-6374 >> Website: www.holmescc.edu >> E-mail: jguest@holmescc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,100 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,938 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $2,330 >> Application Deadline: Rolling >> Average ACT: 18 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study >> Percentage of Students with Financial Aid: 70 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:25 >> Popular Majors: Business, education, nursing >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Eupora, Grenada, Kosciusko, Ridgeland, Yazoo City, Winona >> President: Glenn Boyce >> Director of Admissions: Joshua Guest >> Famous Alumni: David Donald, Roy Oswalt

>> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

Holmes offers a quality education at an affordable price. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

All campuses feature highly-skilled instructors and up-todate teaching and laboratory equipment.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> ANNA KATHERINE FEATHER Major: Psychology Saltillo

HILE MOST ITAWAMBA Community College students come from the surrounding counties, Anna Katherine Feather says she’s made friends on campus from as far away as Russia and Australia.

It’s Feather’s natural friendliness and ability to carry on a conversation with anyone that has led her to major in psychology with a long-term goal of becoming a fulltime recruiter and guidance counselor for ICC. It will be a full-circle journey for Feather who has been “hooked on Itawamba” ever since the recruiting team visited her as a student at Saltillo High School.

“I just want to work with college students forever,” Feather says. “They have the coolest outlook on life.”

Feather says she has enjoyed living on campus because it saves her a 30-minute commute and gives her a little taste of college freedom. She was still close enough to home in case she “needed to wash clothes or get a home-cooked meal.”

Feather was recently voted Miss ICC and is active in the Indian Delegation recruiting team and Phi Theta Kappa. She is also a student government officer and a leader in the Baptist Student Union.

When she’s not busy with school and social life, Feather is a volunteer Bible verse coach in the children’s ministry at Trinity Baptist Church in Fulton.

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‘I JUST WANT TO WORK WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS FOREVER.’ 70 www.msnext.com

AST SUMMER, Linkie Marias, celebrity chef and star of the reality cooking show “Food Network Star,” went home to North Mississippi to thank her fans and former instructors at Itawamba Community College.

The ICC alumna taught a series of gourmet cake baking classes as a way to give back to the community that got her off to such a good start.

From healthcare to the auto industry, Itawamba Community College is making sure that students in northeast Mississippi are prepared for their future careers, whether it’s on national television or back in their hometown.

Beginning as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural High School, ICC first organized in 1920.

By 1948 the campus had developed its first full curriculum for incoming freshmen students.

With campuses in the cities of Fulton and Tupelo, ICC maintains its main purpose to provide comprehensive educational opportunities of the highest quality through academic, vocational-technical and personal enrichment programs in order to meet local needs of students.

The college has an open admissions policy that provides qualified students an opportunity to pursue a low cost college/university parallel associate of arts degree, a technical associate of applied science degree or an occupa-

tional vocational certificate. Non-credit programs in economic and community services have been available at Belden Center since 2009.

There are dozens of academic majors offered at ICC that prepare students for transition to a four-year institution from law to architecture. Students interesting in entering into the industrial or medical workforce upon graduation have accredited opportunities at ICC in automotive technology, nursing, EMT technology and more.

Faculty members teaching academic transfer courses hold advanced degrees ranging from the specialist to the doctoral.

All faculty members hold degrees or advanced experience in their area of concentration and programs of leadership training and professional growth are offered to improve skills of both faculty and staff.

Many high-pay/high-demand jobs in today’s society do not require a fouryear degree, and ICC maintains close relationships with businesses and industries for the placement of graduates into mid-level positions at good salaries. ICC is one of four members of the Mississippi Corridor Consortium, a group of community colleges that handles workforce training for Toyota workers at the auto manufacturer’s Blue Springs plant.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> ITAWAMBA COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.iccms.edu >> Institution: >> Itawamba Community College >> Year Founded: 1948 >> Address: 602 West Hill Street, Fulton, MS 38843 >> Phone: (662) 862-8000 >> Website: www.iccms.edu >> E-mail: admissions@iccms.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,961 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,900 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $3,000 >> Application Deadline: Varies >> Average ACT: 17 >> Financial Aid: Federal, state and institutional programs >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:17 >> Popular Majors: General studies, nursing, business >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Tupelo >> President: David Cole >> Director of Admissions: Cay Lollar >> Famous Alumni: Peggy Webb, Joe Horn, Kareem Moore >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

ICC has a family environment where student success is a priority and each student is important. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

ICC offers a wide variety of opportunities for student involvement.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> DePAUL FOXWORTH Major: Pre-med Columbia

VER SINCE HIS third-grade gifted science class, DePaul Foxworth has wanted to be an anesthesiologist.

Born in New Orleans but a graduate of Columbia High School, the sophomore biology/pre-med student says that he’s not regretful he chose to attend JCJC before going to a major university.

“I’m happy I chose Jones,” Foxworth said. “They offer a lot of hope, and the teachers are very supportive. Having that one-on-one attention helps you get a better foundation. I feel more prepared.”

Foxworth said he won’t ever forget his first visit to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson with the JCJC science club.

“We got to meet with the board member who chooses the medical school students,” he said.

“They talked to us about requirements and then we went to a room and used a scope to check the vital signs of human simulation dummies that were able to blink, breath and move.”

In addition to being SGA president, a Bobcat Brigade student recruiter, and Student Voices member, Foxworth has since taken a job shadowing an anesthesiologist at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg. He knows that no matter what he pursues in the medical field it can’t just be about the paycheck. Foxworth has to have a passion for what he would be doing.

Foxworth challenges any student, especially medical ones, to get as much job shadowing and hands-on experiences as they can even if they don’t yet have a major picked out.

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OCATED JUST OFF Interstate 59 in Ellisville, Jones Junior College takes seriously its slogan: “Inspiring greatness.”

The Ellisville campus has an array of well-maintained facilities to suit all of the college’s academic and technical offerings. The Agriculture Building at JCJC contains classrooms and faculty offices for the meat processing, horticulture and agriculture programs in addition to a livestock-judging arena.

The JCJC Allied Health Center contains classroom, laboratory and office facilities for the associate degree nursing division as well as EMT-paramedic, healthcare assistant, radiology and other healthcare-related programs.

The college’s Home and Health Services Building contains classroom and faculty offices for cosmetology, pharmacy technology and licensed practical nursing programs.

JCJC also manages a preschool program on campus to serve as a modellearning situation for children ages three and four years old.

The faculty and administration at JCJC know how important financial aid is to potential students. The college awards three types of academic scholarships – full tuition for students who have a composite ACT

score of 26 or above plus awards for academic and career/technical excellence. Institutional scholarships are also available through the non-profit Jones County Junior College Foundation Inc. Not every student at Jones will transfer to a four-year school; some just want to start working as soon as they have valuable high-skills training in hand.

The college’s newly accredited precision manufacturing and machining program will prepare students for future careers in local industries like Hol-Mac and GE. Certificate options are also available in automotive technology, business and office technology, civil engineering technology, electrical technology, food production technology, heating and air conditioning technology, horticulture technology and machine tool technology.

Established in 1911 as an agricultural high school for Jones County, JCJC has withstood decades of growth and transition, all while maintaining a longstanding commitment to academic excellence.

The junior college also boasts a legacy of community service, leadership, innovation, integrity, entrepreneurship and stewardship.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> JONES COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE >> www.jcjc.edu >> Institution: Jones County Junior College >> Year Founded: 1911 >> Address: 900 S. Court Street, Ellisville MS 39437 >> Phone: (601) 477-4000 >> Website: www.jcjc.edu >> E-mail: tara.dupree@jcjc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,044 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,074 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $1,738 >> Application Deadline: Open >> Average ACT: 19 >> Financial Aid: Service scholarships, Miss Hospitality, Junior Miss, academic, career & technical, honors, presidential, ACT, foundation, Pell grants, MTAG, work study >> Students with Financial Aid: 70 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:24 >> Popular Majors: Nursing, elementary education, radiography, criminal justice >> President: Jesse Smith >> Director of Admissions: Rick Hamilton

>> Famous Alumni: Deion Branch, Charles Pickering >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

JCJC is still growing with a brand new social science/humanities hall and female dormitory. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

JCJC-TV is the college’s official online video channel including video on demand and live streaming of athletic and academic events.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> JUANITA JONES Major: Surgical Tech Meridian

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HEN I FIRST started, I thought this is going to be strange, being as old as I am,” says MCC surgical tech major Juanita Jones, 50. “The very first semester I went there I all but adopted a bunch of the kids. They looked at me as the momma, and I fussed at them like a momma.”

Jones said that a medical degree was something she had wanted to do for herself once she got most of her children raised. “The younger kids don’t look down on the older generation that are going back to school,” she says.

Jones works in the school library and attends classes with daughter Winnie, an education major pursuing a career in early childhood development.

“The whole two years I’ve been going with my daughter,” Jones says. “We have enjoyed it and it couldn’t have been better. It amazes me to be my age and to make the grades I am.”

Teamwork is one thing that helps Jones get through a day of classes. She’s taught the other students to each ask a question in class so they can all learn together. “They get a kick out of me and all my different colored ink pens,” she says.

After MCC, Jones hopes to earn a four-year degree in forensic science so that she can come back one day as the next surgical tech instructor for the school that has meant so much to her.

“I would encourage anyone my age or older, if you want to go back to school that MCC is the place to do it,” Jones said.

“They make you feel comfortable, and anyway they can help you they will.”

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HEN MERIDIAN Community College puts on the white and green, it means a little something. The college recently celebrated its 75th anniversary as an education partner in Lauderdale County and the surrounding area.

MCC is noted as a Servicemen’s Opportunity College and welcomes veterans and military personnel, with in-house staff that can walk a returning soldier through the application, financial aid and registration process.

The campus special populations office specialized in networking with MCC students who may be economically or educationally disadvantaged, disabled or single parents.

Students who choose Meridian Community College can select courses leading to an associate of arts degree from the school or a transfer to other senior colleges and universities.

Academic opportunities also abound whether a student is still in high school and wanting to earn dual credit or if they are adults interested in continuing education at Meridian’s “Evening College.”

Young Mississippians interested in entering the workforce with competitive skills training can earn career and technical education certificates or earn an associates degree in applied sciences.

Practical nursing, cosmetology and truck driving are just a few of the careers students can ready for at MCC. New grants will also train and prepare more students for the high-skilled fields of information

MERIDIAN IS THE ONLY COLLEGE IN MISSISSIPPI TO OFFER AN AAS DEGREE IN FIRE-PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. and medical technology.

Finally, MCC is the only college in Mississippi to offer an AAS degree in fire-protection technology and emergency management.

Students wanting to live on campus have both residence hall and apartment options. Eagle Residence Hall for men houses 126 while Thornton Hall for women houses 44. The College Crossing Apartments, located on the MCC campus, has 72 units available including one- and two-bedroom apartments.

“MCC is a college that’s just the right size,” says Meridian president Dr. Scott Elliot.

“We’re big enough to offer a complete college experience, both curricular and extracurricular. Yet, we’re small enough to insure that our students don’t get lost in the crowd.”

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> MERIDIAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.iccms.edu >> Institution: Meridian Community College >> Year Founded: 1937 >> Address: 910 Hwy 19 North, Meridian 39307 >> Phone: (601) 483-8241 >> Website: www.meridiancc.edu >> E-mail: apayne@meridiancc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,506 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,240 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $3,050 >> Application Deadline: April 1 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:23 >> Popular Majors: Nursing >> President: Scott Elliot >> Director of Admissions: Angela Payne >> Famous Alumni: Sela Ward, Gene Goldman, Videt Carmichael >> What’s the most important thing a parent

would need to know about your institution?

MCC Foundation underwrites the cost of tuition for four semesters of study at MCC for any graduate of a Meridian or Lauderdale County High School. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

From residence halls to sand volleyball court to first-rate extra-curricular events, students can get a myriad of college experiences.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> ANNE MARIE PAINTER Major: Pre-health sciences Isola

CHEERLEADER SINCE the seventh grade, Isola native Anne Marie Painter is attending Mississippi Delta CC on a full cheer scholarship.

Painter says she has decided on a degree in pre-health sciences and eventually wants to be a neonatal nurse. She became interested in the health care and the medical fields during high school when she had to care for her father and babysit children.

“I love kids and babies,” the sophomore says. The recent birth of a cousin with Down syndrome only reinforced her career decision. She hopes to soon shadow in the Jackson medical community. Painter lives on campus and works in the admissions office. She is active with Baptist Student Union.

“MDCC is a great college and good atmosphere,” Painter says. “All the teachers are very nice and helpful and know you by name.”

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THE RECENT BIRTH OF A COUSIN WITH DOWN SYNDROME REINFORCED ANNE MARIE’S DECISION OF A CAREER IN HEALTH CARE

ISSISSIPPI DELTA Community College first saw the academic light of day in the fall of 1926 when the first freshman class enrolled at Sunflower Agricultural High School. By 1930, the school was fully accredited and by 1989 had made the final transition into MDCC. Today, students converge on the college’s Moorhead campus to take advantage of the college’s vision of providing quality educational experiences including intellectual, academic, career, technical, social, cultural and recreational learning opportunities, all at a nominal cost.

At a time of economic uncertainty and financial instability, money for college becomes very important. MDCC offers a multitude of institutional scholarships as well as federal Pell grants, FSEOG, federal work-study and state plans such as LEAP, MTAG, MESG and HELP. Students interested in science, technology, nursing or workforce training have academic and skills training opportunities at the college’s four additional locations in Greenville, Indianola, Greenwood and Drew. Tutoring is also available through the MDCC Center of Learning, while career counselors stand ready to assist students with personality profile testing and job placement.

The Moorhead campus is stretched out over 220 acres and includes 20 principal buildings ranging from J.T. Hall Coliseum (home of the Trojan and Lady Trojans basketball teams) to the Greer-Stafford Allied

MISSISSIPPI DELTA STUDENTS INTERESTED IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, NURSING OR WORKFORCE TRAINING CAN GET ACADEMIC AND SKILLS TRAINING AT MOORHEAD OR AT LOCATIONS IN GREENVILLE, INDIANOLA, GREENWOOD AND DREW. Health Building (which includes a 32,000square-foot dental hygiene clinic.) MDCC is also home to a Class I law enforcement training academy.

Students are encouraged to play as well as study and, socially speaking, there are lots of activities to choose from whether it’s a quiet afternoon with friends at Trojan Lake or the Who’s Who Beauty Revue.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> MISSISSIPPI DELTA COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.msdelta.edu >> Institution: >> Mississippi Delta Community College >> Year Founded: 1926 >> Address: Hwy. 3 & Cherry Street, Moorhead MS 38761 >> Phone: (601) 276-2000 >> Website: www.msdelta.edu >> E-mail: admissions@msdelta.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,302 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,220 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $4,760 >> Application Deadline: Rolling >> Average ACT: 17 >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:20 >> Popular Majors: Allied health >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Greenwood, Greenville, Indianola, Drew >> President: Lynda Steele >> Director of Admissions: Joseph Ray >> Famous Alumni: John Benge >> What’s the most important thing a parent

would need to know about your institution?

Classes at MDCC are still small by standards today in higher education that allows students to study in an environment where they are known by their name instead of a number. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students in Ambassadors, show choir or student public relations receive full scholarships.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> KATIE DAY Major: Medicine Wade

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ATIE DAY ISN’T supposed to be here.

Leukemia was supposed to have kept her mother from ever having children.

Miraculously, Katie (and later a little sister) were born anyway, and today the Wade sophomore credits her love for medicine to a childhood of growing up watching her mother’s work as a regis-

tered nurse.

While still forging her own future medical career, Day got a first-hand look at human suffering this year while working with an orphanage in earthquake-ravaged Haiti. She helped round up medical supplies, make building repairs and find a building for 100 refugee children who were living in tents.

“We think that they need what we have, but I realized that we need what they have,” Day said. “They are so much better because they have an appreciation for life. It’s all they have.”

Day didn’t like community college when she first started. “I was in the top 10 percent of my class so I thought scholarships would be coming from everywhere,” she said. She cautions incoming freshmen to have an open mind about wherever they first attend.

“One of my friends wanted to be homecoming queen, and I was helping her with her posters, and then I was nominated,” she said.

Day’s campus involvement snowballed soon after and has included work with Phi Theta Kappa and the student government association. She is also president of Reflections student recruiting and is a Coca-Cola Gold Scholar. “(It was) a complete turnaround. I hate to leave, I’m gonna miss so many people.”

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ISSISSIPPI GULF COAST Community College continues to expand its horizons each year with the goal of building a world-class educational institution that is committed to student learning.

The college was founded in 1911 after the Harrison County School Board agreed to establish an agricultural high school for students living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Construction began a year later on donated land in Perkinston.

Enrollment continues to increase at MGCCC, and the school was recently named one of the state’s top providers of associate degrees. The expanded George County Center in Lucedale saw a fulltime student increase of 20 percent and offers classes ranging from cosmetology to welding.

The school’s Naval Construction Battalion Center at the Seabee Base in Gulfport prepares students for careers in the biological, environmental and marine sciences fields. Other post-secondary programs include apprentice electric lineman, commercial truck driving, office systems technology, accounting technology, practical nursing and surgical technology. GED preparatory classes are available at the campuses as well as at most college centers.

MGCCC doesn’t wait for students to enter college before it begins educating them. High school students are often

MGCCC’S NAVAL CONSTRUCTION BATTALION CENTER AT THE SEABEE BASE IN GULFPORT PREPARES STUDENTS FOR CAREERS IN THE BIOLOGICAL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND MARINE SCIENCES FIELDS. bused to and from welding, culinary, foods technology and allied health programs. Academic tracks can prepare MGCCC graduates for a fruitful experience in everything from advertising and geology to medicine and liberal arts.

Support teams are available on each campus to serve the needs of students with disabilities, students entering nontraditional fields, students who are single parents or displaced homemakers, students who are economically disadvantaged and students who have difficulty with the English language.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.mgcc.edu >> Institution: Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College >> Year Founded: 1912 >> Address: 51 Main Street, Perkinston, MS 39573 >> Phone: (601) 928-5211 >> Website: www.mgccc.edu >> E-mail: mollie.barger@mgccc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,120 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,800 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $3,570 >> Application Deadline: Open >> Average ACT: 19 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:23 >> Students Receiving Financial Aid: 61 percent >> Popular Majors: Nursing, business, language arts >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Gulfport, Gautier, Lucedale, Long Beach, Keesler AFB >> President: Mary Graham >> Director of Admissions: Terri Ormes

>> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College staff have a vision for it to be a world-class educational institution that values integrity, diversity and leadership. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students can chronicle their campus life experience through MGCCC numerous social media networks.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> GRANT VANDIVER Major: Kinesiology Booneville

OPHOMORE GRANT VANDIVER grew up on the campus of Northeast Mississippi Community College as the son of a Baptist Student Union minister.

The former wide receiver and track star for Booneville High School is turning a childhood love for sports into a career as a physical therapy major. After earning a kinesiology undergraduate degree, Vandiver plans on applying to PT school.

“I always knew I wanted to do something medical,” Vandiver says. “Being around sports and wanting to help people with sports injuries.”

Vandiver is active in Phi Theta Kappa and BSU activities at Northeast. As a leader of the BSU Harvesters drama team, he performs at local churches and events. His love for drama began at First Baptist Booneville acting in plays for Operation Christmas Child and Easter events.

“You’re not going to see your high school friends every day,” Vandiver advises new college students. “You’re going to have to meet some new people.”

While college is full of new relationships its also full of new experiences, something Vandiver relishes.

“In Biology 2 we dissected a pig, and in A and P we’re supposed to dissect a cat,” the dog-lover says. “I’m looking forward to that as weird as it sounds.”

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‘YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO MEET SOME NEW PEOPLE’

IGH SCHOOL BANDS from around North Mississippi crowded into Northeast Mississippi Community College’s Tiger Stadium in October for the 31st annual Dixie Marching Band Championship. It’s just one of the many ways the college has made itself an active member of this tight-knit region.

Founded in 1948, Northeast Mississippi Community College has become a pillar of education for students not only from North Mississippi but from neighboring states like Tennessee and Alabama.

More than 3,700 students are making the “big decision … smart choice” each year to attend Northeast, and the school continues to meet and surpass its goal of being a comprehensive college offering a convenient, affordable, quality education.

On the academic front, money from a 2012 federal grant is sure to open the door for more Northeast students to have access to high-skilled training programs like information technology, medical coding and cyber security. Associate of arts degrees are also awarded in a number of concentrations from architecture and chemistry to occupational therapy and psychology.

Associate of applied science degrees range from dental hygiene to paralegal and Northeast awards career certificates in auto body repair, automotive service technology, culinary arts, diesel power technology, heating/air conditioning,

machine tool & die, office systems and practical nursing (LPN).

To help stay ahead in class, individualized assistance in math, reading, English and study skills is available through the student success center. Counselors are available to provide up-to-date information to help students make decisions about colleges, occupations and other personal matters. Students at Northeast have at their disposal a full array of financial aid, counseling, placement and housing services.

Classes may also be taken off-campus in Booneville, Corinth and New Albany. Transfer, career or technical courses are offered in day, evening, weekend and online formats. Training for the NMCC hotel and restaurant management program takes place at the Tiger Bed & Breakfast in Booneville, a two-bedroom efficiency apartment that is staffed by students.

Living away from home for the first time can be exciting and daunting so Northeast makes sure students are comfortable and safe on their Booneville campus including at their five multi-level residence halls for men and women.

When not in class or working, students can enjoy a variety of social and recreational activities at Northeast, from intercollegiate and intramural athletics to bingo and Zumba events at Haney Union.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>>NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.nemcc.edu >> Institution: >> Northeast Mississippi Community College >> Year Founded: 1948 >> Address: 101 Cunningham Blvd., Booneville, MS 38829 >> Phone: (662) 728-7751 >> Website: www.nemcc.edu >> E-mail: admitme@nemcc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,700 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,100 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $1,600 >> Application Deadline: Rolling >> Average ACT: 18 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work-study, tuition assistance >> Popular Majors: Business administration, nursing, education >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Booneville, Corinth, New Albany >> President: Johnny Allen >> Director of Admissions: Lynn Gibson >> What’s the most important thing a parent

should know about your institution?

Northeast provides comfortable and safe residence halls for students who wish to live on campus. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

The “Tiger Dancers” hold the tradition of being one of the top precision drill and kick lines in the South.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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>> SHELBI DUNLAP Major: Accountancy Coldwater

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OLDWATER SOPHOMORE Shelbi Dunlap is a daddy’s girl who loves to both shop and hunt deer.

“I took accounting in high school and loved it,” Dunlap says. “I’m a numbers person and was good at math in high school.” Dunlap says she is taking advantage of the smaller classes and one-onone interaction with instructors at Northwest as she prepares for an eventual master’s in accountancy.

A cheerleader for six years for the Magnolia Heights Chiefs and now for the Northwest Rangers, Dunlap took extra classes last summer and worked in the recruiting office. She says she enjoys meeting Northwest’s variety of students as a recruiter and helping them with campus tours and orientation.

“Get your stuff in on time,” Dunlap advises new students, “Try to do everything early. See if you can get a good dorm and have fun.”

Dunlap’s faith is an important part of helping her balance college and other responsibilities. An active member of First Baptist Church of Senatobia, Dunlap has traveled the country doing community service for World Changers and the Southern Baptist Convention.

‘I’M A NUMBERS PERSON AND WAS GOOD AT MATH IN HIGH SCHOOL.’ 76 www.msnext.com

ORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI Community College puts as much emphasis on improving its communities as it does on improving its many classrooms.

Students and instructors get involved in everything from food drives to golf fundraisers. Education majors involved in the Northwest Mississippi Community College Education Association take time away from class to read to kindergartners and learn firsthand what it means to be a teacher.

They also organized a special food drive for a local animal shelter.

NMCC was first organized at Tate County Agricultural High School in 1915 and began offering college classes in 1926. One uplifting story from the college’s early years was its decision to let Great Depression-era students pay for board by donating garden and farm products to the campus cafeteria.

Continuing its commitment to education in the community, Northwest offers diverse academic and technical studies, including associate of arts degrees, associate of applied sciences degrees and career certificates.

Courses range from marketing and elementary education to surgical and aviation maintenance technology. Tech programs in graphic design, heating/AC and refrigeration technology are also offered. EMT students can even ride along with local first-responders and

EMT STUDENTS CAN EVEN RIDE ALONG WITH LOCAL FIRSTRESPONDERS AND SHADOW THEM DURING LIVE RESCUE OPERATIONS. THEY RECENTLY MET MEMBERS OF THE HOSPITAL WING, A NONPROFIT EMERGENCY AIRLIFT FLIGHT CREW. shadow them during live rescue operations. They recently got to meet and learn from the men and women of Hospital Wing, a non-profit emergency airlift flight crew.

High-skills job training is important for the area, and the college continues training students for companies like Senatobia’s new energy manufacturer Twin Creeks Technologies. The company recently agreed to offer two fulltuition scholarships to the college for pre-engineering majors.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> NORTHWEST MS COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.northwestms.edu >> Institution: >> Institution: Northwest Mississippi Community College >> Year Founded: 1927 >> Address: 4975 Highway 51 N., Senatobia 38668 >> Phone: (662) 562-3200 >> Website: www.northwestms.edu >> E-mail: recruiting@northwestms.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,364 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,950 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $1,200 >> Financial Aid: Scholarships, federal aid, student loans, work study >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:26 >> Popular Majors: Nursing, cosmetology, automotive technology >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Senatobia, Southaven, Oxford, Olive Branch, Ashland >> President: Gary Lee Spears >> Director of Admissions: Larry Simpson >> Famous Alumni: John Grisham, Cortez Kennedy,

Ronnie Musgrove >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

Northwest has an articulation agreement with every statewide public university agreement in Mississippi. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

At Northwest, you’ll find more than 200 academic and career and technical classes online.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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PEARL RIVER

For Mississippi Business Journal

S

>> SARAH ANTHONY Major: Radiation Therapy Columbia

C

OLUMBIA NATIVE Sarah Anthony grew up the proud member of a Wildcat family and says she appreciates PRCC for its “big family atmosphere” where every student is valued and accepted.

Already finished with her primary level courses, Anthony is plugging into the school’s radiology program at Forrest General Cancer Center in Hattiesburg.

“I’ve wanted to do that since the seventh grade,” says Anthony, who used to volunteer helping her mother with X-rays at the local hospital. She took anatomy and physiology courses in high school and was active in the allied health program her junior and senior year.

“I’m looking into radiation therapy,” Anthony says. “You get to meet so many people and be with them the whole time they’re in therapy.”

Anthony is active in Phi Theta Kappa, is a River Navigator student recruiter and works as a cashier at Winn-Dixie when she’s not attending classes.

SARAH USED TO VOLUNTEER HELPING HER MOTHER WITH X-RAYS WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL.

INCE OPENING IN 1909, Pearl River Community College has grown from a small agricultural high school in Poplarville to a network of campuses and facilities in South Mississippi filled with professionally competent and successful educators.

As one of the oldest community colleges in South, PRCC has weathered political, economic and even meteorological storms and it just keeps rolling with the punches. Construction of the college’s new $8.9 million Marvin R. White Coliseum began last spring after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the original facility in August 2005.

Faculty members are encouraged to expect a high standard of conduct from students and to develop a profitable association with them. The school was recently one of the top 120 two-year colleges in the nation selected to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

In addition to five departments (humanities and social sciences, fine arts and communication, health and physical education, nursing education and science/mathematics/business), PRCC is committed to providing vocational and career and technical training and certification for students in the South Mississippi area.

PRCC renews its commitment to U.S. military veterans each year by allowing undergraduate course eligibility to those

CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW $8.9 MILLION MARVIN R. WHITE COLISEUM BEGAN LAST SPRING AFTER HURRICANE KATRINA DESTROYED THE ORIGINAL FACILITY IN AUGUST 2005.

who are attending college after a period of active duty.

Technical Advance Placement program offers advanced credit for PRCC courses to qualified (“B” average) high school students who have completed two years of an articulated career/technical program.

The Counseling, Advisement and Placement Center plays an important role in the overall educational program of Pearl River Community College with services including advisement, testing, tutorial services, career planning, personal counseling and job placement.

Services are free.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> PEARL RIVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.prcc.edu >> Institution: >> Pearl River Community College >> Year Founded: 1908 >> Address: 101 Highway 11, Poplarville, Pearl River, MS 39470 >> Phone: (601) 403-1312 >> Website: www.prcc.edu >> E-mail: wlewis@prcc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,500 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $1,000 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $1,200 >> Application Deadline: Rolling >> Financial Aid: Student scholarships, loans, Pell grants >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:25 >> Satellite/Annex Locations: Hattiesburg, Waveland >> President: William Lewis >> Director of Admissions: Dow Ford >> Famous Alumni: Jimmy Buffett, Whitney Miller >> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

PRCC offers quality instruction at an affordable cost.

>> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students with a minimum ACT score of 25 and 3.4 GPA can apply for the PRCC Honors Institute.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

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MISSISSIPPI JUNIOR AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES >>

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SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI

For Mississippi Business Journal

S

>> ANDRE’EL BROWN Major: General Studies Summit

O

NE OF THE ADVANTAGES to living at home and commuting to college is you don’t have to worry about roommates or sharing anything.

That’s according to Miss Southwest 2012 Andre’El Brown. “I'm at Southwest because my parents wanted me to be close to home when I'm starting off,” Brown said. “My house is literally a mile away from campus.”

The Summit native graduated from high school a year early and is majoring in general studies at SMCC. She plans to transfer to one of Mississippi’s four-year institutions after completing her core classes.

Dance is Brown’s passion — she enjoys everything from jazz to modern — and she admits it keeps her both mentally and physically fit.

She also earns money with that passion. When Brown is away from her job at Hibbett Sports at Meridian’s Edgewood Mall, she teaches hip and lyrical dancing at Main Street Dance Company. She also volunteers teaching dance for the Boys & Girls Club.

“I have been a dancer since seventh grade and was on the dance team all the way to my junior year of high school,” Brown says. “Most of us came from North Pike (School District), and we’re on the Southwest Red Line.”

The Red Line won’t be the final stop in Brown’s dancing career. She has already been invited to visit a dance university in Los Angeles.

While she could be the next Beyonce or Christina Aguilera, Brown says she would happy just owning her own dance studio one day.

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OUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI Community College has come a long way since its days as an agricultural high school in the former resort town. Moving beyond just dairy, beef and row-crop operations, Southwest continues to grow and develop.

SMCC prides itself in being a lowcost institution and financial aid is available in the form of scholarships, grants, work-study jobs or a combination of any of these programs. Students can also earn money through part-time jobs on campus.

The campus now includes 28 buildings, a stadium and a baseball field located around a central lake with walks, bridges and paths connecting the buildings. In keeping with its agricultural roots, the remaining acreage of the campus is now a tree farm.

Southwest has a robust athletic program including soccer, basketball, football, baseball, and softball. All SMCC intercollegiate sports teams abide by the rules and regulations of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College and the National Junior College Athletic Association. For the athletically challenged, SMCC maintains a dedicated Student Government Association that is always willing to help plan many of the activities held on campus.

SMCC offers a number of academic and career/technical courses from nurs-

THE CAMPUS NOW INCLUDES 28 BUILDINGS, A STADIUM AND A BASEBALL FIELD LOCATED AROUND A CENTRAL LAKE WITH WALKS, BRIDGES AND PATHS CONNECTING THE BUILDINGS. IN KEEPING WITH ITS AGRICULTURAL ROOTS, THE REMAINING ACREAGE OF THE CAMPUS IS NOW A TREE FARM. ing and the humanities to math to social science. Their automobile technology program prepares students for careers in automobile servicing and maintenance. Other programs range from website design to medical billing.

– STEPHEN MCDILL

>> SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE >> www.smcc.edu >> Institution: Southwest Mississippi Community College >> Year Founded: 1929 >> Address: 1156 College Drive, Summit, MS, 39666 >> Phone: (601) 276-2000 >> Website: www.smcc.edu >> E-mail: mattc@smcc.edu >> Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,140 >> Annual Tuition and Fees: $2,090 >> Annual on-campus room and board: $2,730 >> Application Deadline: Ongoing >> Average ACT: 19 >> Financial Aid: Pell, SEOG, ACG, MTAG, MESG, LEAP, institutional, work study >> Students with Financial Aid: 80 percent >> Faculty-to-Student Ratio: 1:18 >> Popular Majors: Nursing, electrical technology, office systems technology, welding >> President: Steven Bishop >> Director of Admissions: Matthew Calhoun >> Famous Alumni: Jerry Clower, Paul Ott Carruth

>> What’s the most important thing a parent would need to know about your institution?

SMCC is an economical choice that provides its students an excellent quality education. >> What’s the coolest thing about your campus that a potential student needs to know?

Students enjoy sporting events, school sponsored trips, religious activities, tailgate parties, musical and drama productions, and leadership opportunities.

DISCLAIMER: The information for the school profile was taken from the institution’s web site, and was assumed to be accurate at publication.

to you?

$925, $1,200, or even $2,405?

Having brains pays off big time at Holmes Community College. )BWJOH B HPPE "$5 TDPSF TFUT ZPV VQ GPS B HSFBU GVUVSF TUBSUJOH XJUI BO FEVDBUJPO BU )PMNFT

Three different ACT scholarship options are available, just for you.

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Holmes Community College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, or age in its educational programs and activities, employment, or admissions. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries and grievances regarding non-discrimination, compliance policies, and procedures for the College: Compliance Officer, 662-472-9429. Written inquiries may be emailed to: compliance@holmescc.edu or sent to: Compliance Officer, Holmes Community College, 412 West Ridgeland Avenue, Ridgeland, MS 39157.

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MEET OUR

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REAL

John Ruskey, modern-day Huck Finn 82 Justin Mapp, professional soccer player 84 Mary Cracchiolo Spain, entertainment coordinator 86 Libby Story McRight, designer and entrepreneur Jeff Seabold, architect and ultra-marathoner 90 Steve Azar, country music singer, songwriter 92 Price Walden, student and composer 94

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JOHN RUSKEY

HUCK FINN LIVES! J OHN RUSKY/Quapaw Canoe Company

>> Fourteen years ago John Ruskey, left, took a leap of faith, leaving his job as curator of the Delta Blues Museum and opening the Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale. His canoe tours offer spectacular sights of the Mississippi River, such as this one at Prairie Point Towhead, near Helena, Ark.

River man encourages others to follow their heart, dreams

J

DAVE GLATT DAY

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By

LYNN LOFTON

OHN RUSKEY IS a modern-day Huckleberry Finn and river explorer. He fell in love with the Mississippi River years ago and even floated down it on a homemade raft like the famous Mark Twain character. As the owner of Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale, he also earns a living on the river.

Fourteen years ago, Ruskey was the curator for the Delta Blues Museum, but became tired of being indoors all the time. He had observed that people coming to Clarksdale had no way

to get on the river. This river man took a leap of faith and opened Quapaw Canoe Company with custom guided canoeing and kayaking tours on the Mississippi River. “We go when customers want to go and do everything from top to bottom; cooking on sandbars and taking tents to stay overnight,” he said.

What gave him the courage to make this dramatic change? “In a word, my heart,” he said. “My parents encouraged us to follow our hearts. It hasn’t always been an easy road, nor the safest, nor the most logical road, but it has made for a very satisfying life.”

Ruskey, 48, encourages others to follow their hearts and dreams too. “I

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always tell people to follow their passions, especially the youngsters that we teach or talk to,” he said. “Life is too short to do otherwise.

The other thing is, if you know something that could be of value to someone else, then you’d better share it because it will die when you die if you don’t.”

Growing up in Colorado in the shadow of Mt. Evans, Ruskey first fell in love with the Mississippi River through the books of Mark Twain. That love brought him to Mississippi when he and a friend rafted the river in 1982 aboard a 12-by-24-foot homemade raft. His life has not been the same since that five-month rafting trip. “The Mississippi River swirled me around so much it got in my blood,” he says.

“I’ve always loved the water. I’m a water baby.”

Ruskey says everything about the Mississippi River fascinates him. “The river is endlessly fascinating, endlessly creative and dynamic,” he said. “There is no boring stretch of river. You could paddle the same piece of river every day and every day you would see something new, learn something new, be challenged and humbled and then later be inspired and rejuvenated.”

When his Quapaw Canoe Company reached the 10-year milestone, Ruskey expanded across the river to Helena, Ark., where he operates an outpost for canoeing and kayaking on the lower Mississippi. “The lower Mississippi River should be a big canoeing destination. It’s great for it,” he says. “We have been doing it longer than anyone thought we would survive. We bring people out, they have an incredible experience, and we bring them safely home.”

Noting that fear is a big hurdle to overcome for river outings, he points out that the trick for safety is how the river is used. Safe canoe practices as established by the Red Cross are used, and everyone must wear a life jacket.

Canoes have been used for thousands of years as a major form of transportation. “Accidents usually involve alcohol and 95 percent of people having accidents aren’t wearing life jackets,” Ruskey says.

Ruskey’s company is busy conducting trips along with canoe-paddling classes and a variety of school programs. A recent day included taking 13 teachers from the Teach for America program on a trip while being followed by a German film crew doing a documentary for German public television.

Quapaw uses voyager style canoes – modeled after those used by fur trappers on the Great Lakes – and they hold 12 people. Yet, Ruskey can put enough gear and supplies for a week in a two-person canoe. “The thing is knowing how to pack them and paddle them,” he affirms.

JOHN RUSKY/Quapaw Canoe Company

>> Ruskey hand-builds voyager style canoes – modeled after those used by fur trappers on the Great Lakes – and they hold 12 people. Ruskey can put enough gear and supplies for a week in a two-person canoe. “The thing is knowing how to pack them and paddle them,” he said.

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REACHING HIS GOAL Northwest Rankin grad finds success on the soccer field

CHARLES WILLIAM-PELLETIER/Montreal Impact

>> Justin Mapp, 27, played soccer in at Northwest Rankin in Brandon and at Bradenton Academy in Florida before playing professionally.

Mapp lands on new team for 2012 season By

LYNN LOFTON

S

PORTS WERE AT THE center of life for Justin Mapp as he was growing up in the reservoir area of Brandon. However, this Northwest Rankin High School graduate was able to take it to the next level as a professional soccer player. He is one of the fortunate sports enthusiasts who makes a living playing a game he loves for the Montreal Impact, a young team in the Eastern Conference of the Canadian League.

“I started playing soccer at age 6 or 7, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” Mapp said. “I played all other sports, too — basketball, football, baseball — but I excelled at soccer more than the others. I just loved it from the beginning and was passionate

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about it. My parents were supportive and took me to practice, games and out-oftown tournaments.”

Mapp, 27, played in high school and at Bradenton Academy in Florida a couple of years before returning to Mississippi to graduate. Right out of high school he was able to join the D.C. United team, part of a minor league that leads to the professionals. “There was a lot of scouting at the Youth National team where I was playing. Going into the draft there’s a three-day period where they can see all those who’re playing,” he said. “They saw me, and I was invited to join them.”

Playing for D.C. United led to playing for teams in Philadelphia and Chicago.

Thus far, the highlight of his career was winning two U.S. Open Cup Championships with the Chicago Fire.

“Those are prestigious tournaments that involve all leagues,” he said. “It was great to win and be able to celebrate with my

team mates.”

This is his first year with the Montreal Impact. Mapp was playing in Philadelphia when he was chosen by the Impact to fill the new team’s roster. “I’ve enjoyed my time here and have taken to my new city,” he says. “It gets real cold here but I’ve lived in Philly and Chicago where it also gets cold.”

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Mapp plays left to right mid-field. He says he’s considered an average size for a soccer player — not too big or too small. “There’s too much running in soccer for a player to be too big,” he said.

Although Mapp is doing exactly what he wants to do, he says things aren’t always peachy and rosy. “Like anyone in any sport, there have been some discouraging times for me,” he said. “That includes disappointing coaching decisions and injuries. Any sport will have those times of ups and downs.”

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Mapp’s advice to high school students who have big dreams is to be optimistic and follow those dreams in whatever field they love. “If you’re passionate about it and really want to strive to achieve it, go for it. It’s not easy.

Work hard and don’t take no for an answer,” he said. “It takes a lot of commitment. I’ve sacrificed my social life to do what I’m doing.”

The games are the thing he most enjoys about being part of the Montreal Impact. “We work hard all week, and then have the opportunity to play in front of thousands of people,” he said. “I like the camaraderie with my team mates. We get to know each other on and off the field. Also, I’ve enjoyed the experience of living in other places.”

Asked if he thinks enough emphasis is put on soccer in Mississippi schools, Mapp said, “It’s tough to tell because I’ve been away, and I’m not back there a lot. I know youth soccer leagues have gotten bigger and the numbers participating have grown.”

Even though he likes Montreal, he misses friends and family and southern cooking. A visit home is coming soon when Mapp returns to Mississippi during the holidays. As the son of the late Janet and David Mapp, he still has grandparents, aunts and uncles living in the Jackson area.

“If you’re passionate about it and really want to strive to achieve it, go for it. It’s not easy.”

– Justin Mapp

CHARLES WILLIAM-PELLETIER/Montreal Impact

Mapp’s career MLS statistics (Regular Season) Year

Club

GP

GS

G

MIN

A

SHT

SOG

FC

OFF

Y

R

2012 2011 2010 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

Montreal Impact Philadelphia Union Philadelphia Union Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire Chicago Fire D.C. United

25 29 15 10 21 30 13 26 29 24 21 3

21 24 10 6 11 26 10 22 28 19 18 0

2 3 1 0 1 2 0 2 3 3 3 0

1596 1861 855 552 1013 2229 808 1865 2356 1625 1383 28

5 4 4 1 3 8 1 8 8 4 3 0

30 29 11 6 16 42 15 36 48 23 19 0

11 8 5 2 4 21 8 10 19 8 11 0

8 19 7 9 3 13 7 16 28 19 17 0

6 3 0 2 2 7 3 3 16 8 2 1

0 1 1 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

246

195

20

16171

49

275

107

146

53

9

0

Career Totals

GP: Games Played, GS: Games Started, G: Goals, MIN: Minutes Played, A: Assists, SHT: Shots, SOG: Shots on Goal, FC: Fouls Committed, OFF: Offsides, Y: Yellow Cards, R: Red Cards, GF: Goals For, GA: Goals Against, SO: Shutouts, SV: Saves, PKA: Penalty Kick Attempts, PKG: Penalty Kick Goals, PKS: Penalty Kick Saves

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MARY CRACCHIOLO SPAIN

SHE MAKES SURE THE SHOW GOES ON For Mississippi Business Journal

>> Mary Cracchiolo Spain is regional director of public relations for MGM Resorts International Mississippi Operations

Casino PR director has met hundreds of stars By

BECKY GILLETTE

M

ARY Cracchiolo Spain’s life is a tight wire. Or you might call it a juggling act. Spain has one of the most interesting jobs around, interacting with performers such as tight wirewalkers, acrobats, jugglers, dancers and famous recording artists who entertain at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi and the Gold Strike Casino in Tunica.

“We do get to have a great deal of fun as well and are involved in a number of special events and promotions including the launch of this past sum-

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mer’s production show Fata Morgana,” said Spain, regional director of public relations for MGM Resorts International Mississippi Operations, which includes the 1,740-room Beau Rivage Resort & Casino on the beach in Biloxi and the 1,200-room Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica. “Comedic daredevil and the show’s featured performer Bello Nock did a breathtaking high wire walk 32-stories above Beau Rivage and 360 feet across one rooftop corner to the other. It was an exciting day. We regularly work with entertainers and I have met hundreds of them through the years.”

Some of those hundreds are famous entertainers like David Copperfield, Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz, B.B. King, Joe Walsh, the Black Crows, Hall and Oates, Alice Cooper,

Liza Minnelli, Diana Ross, and Placido Domingo. Spain’s work includes helping plan and host lavish receptions for many of the performers.

While her job could be considered to be in the gaming industry, she prefers to refer to it as the entertainment and hospitality industry. “Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, where I have worked for the last 11 years, is considered a full-service resort rather than merely a casino,” she said.

It is also considered one of the nicest hotel properties in the Southeast, the largest in the region to receive the AAA Four Diamond Award. It has been named one of the top 100 hotels in the country by “Travel + Leisure.” A centerpiece is a multi-story, lush indoor arboretum in the lobby that is filled with trees and flowers that will put you

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more in the mind of a jungle paradise than a casino.

“It is an absolutely gorgeous facility, but it is the employees who really bring our place to life,” Spain said. “I get to work in a beautiful resort around some of the nicest people anywhere. It is one of the greatest jobs ever. MGM Resorts International is one of the world’s leaders in entertainment and hospitality with a portfolio of some of the most respected and recognized brands in the industry: Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Aria, Mirage, Luxor, New York, New York, Beau Rivage, Gold Strike and MGM Grand Detroit.”

Spain grew up in Peachtree City, Ga., near Atlanta, and moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast after she graduated college from Park University in North Kansas City, Mo., with a degree in business.

“My dad started in the airline business around the time I was born, so I grew up as a jet-setter and always had a love for travel and tourism,” Spain said. “I worked for Marriott, and spent time at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Mississippi Division of Tourism before coming to work for a casino resort.”

Spain directs a small team responsible for everything from communications strategies, message and content development, media relations and daily employee communications to promoting special events and entertainment, to crisis communications.

“My communications team plays a valuable role during times of crisis and we’ve had no shortage of them through the years including a number of hurricanes, 9/11, the historic Mississippi River flood, the BP oil spill, the economic recession and too numerous individual crises’ to count,” she said.

Beau Rivage supports many worthy causes in South Mississippi.

“I am proud to work for such a generous organization,” Spain said. “Personally, I have a very strong affinity for the American Red Cross and have ever since learning about them while participating in Leadership Gulf Coast more than a decade ago. I have served on the board of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross for ten years. I have always respected the work that they do helping families in need, but after Hurricane Katrina and seeing the dramatic positive impact they’ve had on our community, I have become even more of an advocate and champion for the cause.

They not only play a key role in respond-

TOMMY TRIPLETT

>> Bello Nock walks a tightwire about 32 stories high above the Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi

For Mississippi Business Journal

>> Spain, second from left, poses with Mike Love, left, and Brian Wilson, right, of the Beach Boys, actor John Stamos, center, and Amy Corchis.

ing to natural disasters, but family fires, blood services, health and safety training, and so much more.”

Professionally, she is involved with the Public Relations Society of America and has served on the national board for the Travel & Tourism Section for the past six years.

For high school students who might want to consider a career in the gaming industry, Spain’s advice is to take time to

educate yourself about the company and the industry, focus on your performance and customer service, be willing and prepared to go above and beyond, have a cando attitude, find good mentors, network and be prepared to have fun.

“The gaming and hospitality industry is an exciting, dynamic, non-stop world with a great deal of opportunity,” she said.

“It is a 24/7 world.”

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Creative Spirit ‘Experience is the best teacher’

By BECKY GILLETTE

L

IBBY STORY MCRIGHT started out in clothing retail when she was only 16 years old. She opened her own store, Libby Story & Company, in 2004 after finishing her degree in marketing at Mississippi State University. Now she has another Libby Story in Ridgeland in addition to her online store at www.libbystory.com.

Customers often don’t expect to find such a young storeowner.

“Most people think I am just an employee, and are super surprised when they figure out that I am Libby,” McRight said.

Libby Story is a store that reflects the creative spirit of its owner. She doesn’t like stores that sell merchandise so much like the store next door that you can hardly tell the difference.

She hates to see anything go to waste and uses many recycled items in the decoration of her stores. They had so many requests to buy their displays that they have started selling more vintage and recycled clothing, accessories and housewares.

“Libby Story is more about an experience than about the latest trend,” McRight said. “We work very hard to make our store like no other.”

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For anyone who wants to own a business, McRight recommends taking as many business classes, especially accounting classes, as possible. The business classes taught her the fundamentals and the experience she gained by actually working in the industry taught her how to make it all work. She also found it really helpful to work for someone else in the retail field where she had an interest. While she was managing a business for someone else, she learned how to pay the bills, manage the payroll, handle the buying, etc.

“I feel like I had a special advantage because I was able to apply what I was learning in school as I was learning it,” McRight said. “School is important, but experience is the best teacher. Go to work for someone who does what you think you want to do, especially if you think you want to own your own business.”

Finding something that you really love to pursue as a career is the best way to be successful. “If you are doing what you love, it does not feel like work, so the extra hours that you put into it are actually fun,” she said. “ In addition to a college education and experience, the other keys to her success include very hard work, determination, trust in God and “a great husband who works with me and handles so many aspects of the business. I really could not do it all without him.”

Her husband, John Hunter McRight, is a graphic designer and photographer.

He and a small team do all of the online business.

“I really only critique their work,” she said. “The online store is a huge challenge. It is very difficult to establish a presence on the web. Our growth has been slow, but I do feel it is a very important part of our business. It is a great advertising tool for us, and I do believe that it has brought customers into our retail store. The hardest part about the web is trying to take how I merchandise in the store and translate it virtually.”

Libby Story is not a store that tries to appeal to everyone. “If you are the type of person that gets us, and what we are doing, then we are sure we will become the first place you look when you want something special,” she said.

“Our goal is for our customers and fans to enjoy the items we sell as much as

For Mississippi Business Journal

>> Libby Story McRight said she works hard to make sure her store is like no other.

we do.”

An online customer from Phoenix, Ariz., said she discovered libbystory.com while browsing online for interesting summery pieces to spruce up her wardrobe.

“I was using Google and Google shopping to look for sites where I could purchase clothing by Many Belles Down, but when I entered the Libby Story site I ended up looking at every item available,” the customer said. “I loved the cozy, hip feeling of the site, and found the selection of pieces eclectic and the prices reasonable. I also really like the ability to

view items from multiple angles and with a zoom option, which doesn't require the user to open a new window. The checkout process was smooth and problem-free.”

A customer from Washington, D.C., said she was enticed by Libby Story’s “‘rad’ clothes and non-scary prices. I ordered my purchase last week, and I don't really remember the checkout process. Which means it was probably pretty simple and efficient. There were no problems with my purchase. In fact, I love it, and it fits perfectly. I adored the packaging. Nothing makes me happier than fabric bags and sparkly yarn.”

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JEFF SEABOLD

THE LONG RUN Architect took his time to find perfect career By

S >> When he isn’t running his architecture business, Jeff Seabold runs ultra marathons and trains others for distance running. He coaches the marathon and half-marathon training program for Fleet Feet in Jackson.

ROSS RIELY / MBJ

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BECKY GILLETTE

ometimes entering into the family business after finishing school is a great idea.

But Jeff Seabold, 38, of Jackson couldn’t get excited about following his father into practicing law.

After graduating from Millsaps College in the mid-1990s, Seabold wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. He wasn’t ready for graduate school, so he traveled around cooking at different restaurants.

“I really liked the art side of things,” Seabold said. “I saw the kitchen as a vehicle to be paid as an artist.

Sure, it was art consumed in 20 minutes, but I was still making a piece of art and I really, really enjoyed that. I did realize, being in my early 20s, that it wasn’t something I saw myself doing long term.”

He considered law school. His dad was a lawyer, so that made sense. But Seabold didn’t see law providing the creative outlet he craved.

When an architect friend suggested a career in architecture, at first Seabold was thinking he didn’t want to

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JEFF SEABOLD

sit around and do math. His friend told him that while math was involved, it also involved writing, drawing and painting.

Seabold ended up going to Mississippi State University, graduating with a degree in architecture.

While a job should be a vehicle to make money, Seabold wanted more out of life.

At the end of the day, the money is important; you need to be able to earn a living. But success isn’t just about the amount of money you bring home, but the impact you have on the world around you.

“With the vehicle of architecture, I get to make a difference in the world,” said Seabold, owner of Seabold Architecture Studio in Jackson. “I get to create. I get to make something new. It is an amazingly positive thing. For me, that is what I needed in my life. I wanted to get up and be excited about going to work. I can honestly say that. I am excited about the things I get to do. My philosophy is architecture changes lives for the better. People don’t really understand that. It is really a lofty view of what we do, but people often take for granted the space they live in and work in. When there is a subtle change for better, their life changes. I have to say that is really, really cool, to be able to make a big difference in people’s lives.”

Seabold Architecture Studio has a focus on sustainability and green architecture.

Not every client comes and asks for that.

Some people think it might be too expensive. But when clients learn about the advantages of building energy efficient buildings designed to fit into the environment, and that it doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive, many are sold.

Sustainability is not merely the use of highly technical green products and systems. “It can be that, but more often it is the employment of techniques that are borrowed from our building heritage that have been tested over many generations and continuing to refine these principles such as deep overhangs to provide cooling shade from the summer sun, and wellinsulated buildings that shed water,” Seabold said. “It is making buildings and sites that will still be valuable years down the line—assets for future generations and models for future development and use of resources.”

Seabold does a lot of work in the historic Fondren neighborhood in Jackson.

He doesn’t want his new homes to stick out by looking too futuristic.

“We try to build in a traditional footprint and standpoint so you can’t necessarily drive down the block and say: ‘That

For Mississippi Business Journal

>> Jeff Seabold with his son, Windsor, 4, who likes to cheer his father at races and recently won his first medal. “I have a wall of them, and he wanted one of his own,” said Seabold.

is the sustainable house or the green house. It is different,’” Seabold said. “I don’t want to have work that dates itself.

We are designing timeless structures for people and making them fit the neighborhood. Our homes will have more advanced insulation, more advanced heating and air systems, and use lots of local materials, as opposed to just building what everyone is.

We are building better and it isn’t necessarily costing more to do it. I love that about what we do.”

When he isn’t running his architecture business, Seabold can be found running ultra marathons (which are distances longer than the 26-mile marathon courses) and training others for distance running. He also coaches the marathon and half-marathon training program for Fleet Feet in Jackson.

“I find inspiration in that,” Seabold said.

“I have one student running 15 miles this weekend, the longest she has ever run. I’m sad I can’t be there to see the expression on her face when she finishes. I think life is a journey. My personal theory is we are given one body, and you have the ability to treat it whatever way you want. It

should be treated so it is pristine instead of having smoking tires and a thrown rod down the road.”

Seabold’s personal journey with his running hobby is to see how far he can run.

“So far I have run 50 miles, and I know I can run farther,” Seabold said. “Mentally, I’m debating where I will go next.”

He could be at this running thing quite a while longer. His dad, John Seabold, has been a runner for more than 45 years. “He did run his first marathon at age 60, and challenged me to run my first, which ignited the passion I have for running long distances,” Jeff Seabold said.

Seabold’s son, Windsor, 4, likes to cheer his dad on during races.

“Windsor is pretty awesome,” Seabold said. “I love seeing the joy of life in his eyes. Everything is new to him. The world is a wide-open and amazingly positive place. I really just hope to show him, yes, bad things will happen in this life. But you have two instincts inside you. One is negative and one is positive. Whichever one you choose to feed will grow more.

There is a positive and negative way to look at everything.”

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STEVE AZAR

‘Doin’ It Right’ High school experiences in Greenville were inspiration for country music singer

By

BECKY GILLETTE

R

ECORDING ARTIST Steve Azar, who grew up in Greenville, has gone on to a music industry career that would be only a dream to most people. One song he wrote and performs, “I Don’t Have to Be Me ’Til Monday,” is one of the Top 5 most played songs of the last decade on country radio.

Azar’s single “Doin’ It Right” was the title credit track for the Sony Pictures film “Here Comes the Boom” starring Kevin James and Salma Hayek, which was released in October.

After 20 years in Nashville, Azar and his family have moved back to Greenville. Since moving back home, he has had a number of high school students and their parents reach out to ask him how to succeed in the music industry.

Photo courtesy of Mark Brett

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“The deal is, I wasn't one of the best at the music thing compared to some of my peers growing up, but I worked a lot harder than everyone else,” Azar said. “I was the only one writing (good or bad), and eventually that would separate me from the pack. That's why Nashville made sense for me, and by the time I got there I was a lot more prepared than I thought.

So just work hard and have fun doing it.

Become familiar with GarageBand, Logic or Pro Tools. It’s good to teach yourself how to channel emotion from a song into the recording process once it's written.

That way you won't spend your time like I did, just “Waitin' On Joe.’” His advice to high school students about deciding what to do after high school is find your passion, and chase it down with all your might.

“No matter what it is, work every day at getting better,” said Azar, a graduate of Delta State University. “But, most importantly, get your degree and enjoy your college experience. I did!”

In high school, Azar and his friends focused on sports big time. “We tried to win every state title in every sport,” he said. “We won a couple and lost a lot, but the memories of the successes and failures have stuck with me in everything I continue to do.”

What was the worst part of high school? “I have to say, there wasn't anything too horribly bad ... Okay, maybe not seeing eye-to-eye with a coach or two (and not getting as much playing time as I felt I deserved),” Azar said. “But I was able to write and record a song about it years later titled, ‘The Coach.’ That healed some scars.”

Most recording stars live in larger cities. Azar was in the Nashville and Franklin area for 20 years when he and his wife, who have three children, decided it would be a nice change to get back home.

“It’s always good to be closer to family,” he said. “And I’ve been flying to my shows for the past four years, meeting my band who still bus out of Nashville, so as long as there is an airport around me, it’s all good.”

It can be tiring being on tour. Azar is away from home about half the year. He says while the traveling part is usually pretty taxing and airlines keep it interesting, to say the least, once they hit the stage, it's always like the first time. “That part never will ever get old,” he said.

Azar’s time in Nashville was very productive. On his first day in Music City, he

Steve Azar Discography >> Heartbreak Town (1996) I Never Stopped Lovin’ You Nights Like This What Are We Waitin’ For Someday Thunderbird As Long as Harley Gets to Play Dreams of a Dancer Heartbreak Town I Go Crazy Caught Between the Rock and the Roll Love Had No Right You Don't Even Have to Try >> Waitin’ on Joe (2002) I Don’t Have to Be Me (’Til Monday) How Long Is This Time Gonna Be Damn the Money Waitin’ on Joe My Heart Wants to Run The Underdog One Good Reason Why Lay Your Heart Next to Mine Goin’ to Beat the Devil (To See My Angel Tonight) You Don’t Know How It Feels River’s on the Rise >> Indianola (2007) Crowded You Don’t Know a Thing You’re My Life Still Tryin’ to Find My Way Around Empty Spaces What’s Wrong with Right Now

The River’s Workin I Won’t Let You Lead Me Down The Coach Prelude Flatlands Bluestune Indianola >> Slide on over Here (2009) I’ll Find Me Sunshine All I Need Moo La Moo Hard Road Back to Memphis Apart at the Seams Sinkin’ or Swimmin’ (With You) Take Your Time (Ryan's Song) Let Go of the Rope Sweet Delta Dreams Startin’ Today Beautiful Regret >> Delta Soul – Volume One (2012) Highway 61 Flatlands Mississippi Minute Gonna Be Good Lovin’ U Bluestune Indianola Doin’ It Right Goin’ To Beat The Devil The River’s Workin’

received multiple songwriting and publishing offers. In 1996 he released his debut album, “Heartbreak Town.” His second studio album, “Waitin’ on Joe,” released in 2002 by Universal Music Group Nashville’s Mercury Records, charted to No. 29 on the Top Country Albums chart. His next single was the title track from the record, “Waitin’ on Joe.” “Waitin’ on Joe” became a Top 10 radio hit and reached No. 1 on the CMT video charts. The “Waitin’ on Joe” video featured Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, another famous Mississippi Deltan.

In 2007, Azar performed 46 shows with Bob Sager on what was rated the No. 1 Tour in America by Pollstar magazine. Azar's next album, “Indianola,” exposed his bluesy roots (his mother grew up above a grocery store at the famous Crossroads of the Blues intersection on Highway 61 and 49 in Clarksdale). One of the hit songs from the album, “You Don’t Know a Thing,” featured golf professional John Daly.

>> Steve Azar

In 2009, Azar released his fourth album “Slide On Over Here.” That album’s song “Sunshine” set a record for highest-charting song from a true independent label on the Billboard Activator chart. “Sunshine” also got the endorsement of country star Taylor Swift when she named it the “Song She Loved in 2010” in People magazine.

“Sunshine” was also featured on Oprah’s “Favorite Things” list for Christmas in 2011 and was the most-requested wedding song of the year. “Sunshine” was again featured in US Weekly magazine in June 2012 as a popular celebrity wedding song.

Azar released “Soldier Song,” a tribute to U.S. soldiers and their families, on Memorial Day 2011. “Soldier Song” was chosen by Fox News Channel and used as the theme music behind its Memorial Day special “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

His album “Delta Soul: Volume I” was released in November 2011. In 2012, Azar released a track titled “American Farmer.”

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the song is being donated to local chapters of the Future Farmers of America.

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A STUDENT OF NOTE Music, composing fuel Ole Miss student’s soul By

LYNN LOFTON

M

USIC reaches deep into Price Walden’s soul. The 21year-old Ole Miss student is a classical pianist who has also composed music. He’s in his fourth year at Ole Miss where he has a double major of music and English.

As for future plans, he says he’s looking at going to graduate school for music composition with the ultimate goal to make a living as a composer.

That’s not such a stretch of the imagination. Walden started composing music at around age 15 while in high school. “I never realized I was doing it until I showed something to someone one day who said ‘oh you’re a composer?’ So I said ‘I guess I am,’” he recalls.

Walden’s composing started with arranging music for church and grew into composing without his really thinking about it. During his freshman year in college, he composed Hydrogen Jukebox, a five-minute piece for wind ensemble, commissioned by David Wilson, director of the Ole Miss Wind Ensemble. The composition was played during a regional conference for band directors that Ole Miss hosted. “I’ve been really fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had,” Walden said. “Reading goes into my music. I compose music similar to writers writing stories and poetry.”

The title, Hydrogen Jukebox, is based on a short clip from an Allen Ginsberg poem. “I was reading this poem while working on a composition, and it jumped out at me as a perfect name for the piece,” he said. “It’s been played

BETSY BRUENING/Courtesy Ole Miss

>> Price Walden’s ultimate goal is to make a living as a composer.

about 15 times by six or seven ensembles at this point.”

Hydrogen Jukebox was also played by the Mississippi Lions Allstate Band last summer, which was a fun kick for Walden because he was a percussionist in that band during high school.

A graduate of Booneville High School, he is the son of Mark and Dawn Walden of Booneville. He began studying piano at age 12, which is older than the age at which accomplished pianists usually start. “I studied for about a year before that with someone who taught students how to play by ear. I didn’t want to learn music that way,” he recalls. “My mom played piano for church, and I tried to get her to teach me. She didn’t think that was a good idea, but I annoyed her enough that she saw to it that I started piano lessons.”

He began studying with Sarah

Peebles who had earned a doctorate at Ole Miss. He continued studying with her all through high school. At Ole Miss he takes lessons with Dr. Stacy Rogers, who was Peebles’ teacher.

“I fell in love with music and have never looked back,” he says. “When I’m at my piano, it’s pretty much all classical music, especially from the 20th century – with a little c – and I play traditional classical. Now I’m working on Beethoven’s 31st Sonata, which I really enjoy. I like music with a little bit of an edge to it. I can get my hands around it and really get into it.”

He’s busy rehearsing because he’s playing with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s concert series, Opus One, which plays at non-traditional downtown venues.

He will also play for a campus piano recital later in the school year. That means a lot of time spent practicing at the keyboard. He says that’s more some days than others, but at least one hour a day. As the performance date draws near, rehearsal time will increase to three hours each day. “It’s a major time commitment but it’s really something I love,” he said.

He’s pleased that he’s created a network of friends at school who’re supportive and are also into music. “My best friend is a soprano, and I’m writing songs that we will premiere together at her senior voice recital,” he said.

“I’ve been lucky in that I’ve met a lot of supportive people, and the faculty has been really supportive too.”

As for those graduate school plans, this Mississippian says he wants to leave his home state for his graduate degree. “I want to see what it’s like in the New England area or New York or Boston, but I will definitely come back to Mississippi,” he said.

“I’ve been really fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had. Reading goes into my music. I compose music similar to writers writing stories and poetry.” – Price Walden 94 www.msnext.com

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