Profiles

By Reagan Poston, Photos submitted

TOP: Glenn LaRue Smith in his office. (Photo by Kevin Assie) FAR LEFT: Derryck-Anderson Brownstone Garden in Harlem, NY. (Photo by PUSH Studio, LLC) BOTTOM RIGHT: Phi Beta Sigma International Centennial Monument, Howard University. (Photo by PUSH Studio, LLC) W here others might see an banks of the St. Johns River, which flows unimpressive vacant lot, through the heart of the city. 1974 landscape architecture “Many projects helped shape me alumnus Glenn LaRue Smith sees the professionally, like the Southbank opportunity to honor a community. Riverwalk in Jacksonville and later, the Whether it’s a winding riverbank in Stafford County Armed Services Memorial a southern city or a monument that in Stafford, Virginia,” he said. “It was doing recognizes the armed services, sculpting the work that really built my confidence.” communities and empowering the next Smith has focused on urbanism projects generation of minority landscape architects and competitions across the globe, from is all in a day’s work. California to Copenhagen. He said every

From serving in university leadership design pays homage to the site’s intrinsic across the nation to founding the value while also addressing the needs of the first-ever network for Black landscape community and the density of buildings, architects, Smith has landscape, infrastructure proven himself an “Many projects helped and people that comes industry leader invested in racial equity. shape me professionally, like with an urban area. Creating this sense of

Through his current the Southbank Riverwalk place or the ability to work as co-founder of in Jacksonville and later, show the relationship landscape and urbanism between the community design firm PUSH the Stafford County Armed and its environment is studio, Smith aims to Services Memorial in what landscape architects uplift communities and up-and-coming Black Stafford, Virginia. It was strive to achieve. “Something always landscape architects. doing the work that really exists or has existed on a However, he admits his built my confidence.” specific site that should career hasn’t always been smooth-sailing. ~ Glenn LaRue Smith inform the design,” he said. “An installation in

“When I started at Detroit will be different Mississippi State in 1970, the university had from one in Washington, D.C., even only been integrated for five years,” Smith though the design process is the same.” explained. “I was among the first African Some of the work he’s done has also Americans to attend. Honestly, I wasn’t sure prioritized environmental justice, such as if there was another Black landscape architect the project in Harlem where he helped that existed in the world. It was, in a sense, transform vacant lots into gardens, play very isolating. I had plenty of professional areas and passive parks. He’s done similar rejection after my graduation, not because of work in the nation’s capital, where he’s my work but because I was Black.” collaborated with the city and professional

The isolation from other accomplished teams to create safer commutes for drivers, African American landscape architects and cyclists and pedestrians alike and partnered the rejections left Smith with dreams he with private developers to implement suddenly wasn’t sure he could achieve. green infrastructure for residential and

Still, armed with a quality landscape commercial projects. architecture education—both in his “We designed a dozen green roof bachelor’s from MSU’s College of terraces for developers participating in Agriculture and Life Sciences and Washington, D.C.’s Green Area Ratio a master’s from the University of program, aimed at increasing the quantity Michigan—he pressed forward, finding and quality of environmental performance a niche in urban centers. His first across the city’s landscape,” he explained. major project was to reshape downtown Smith said the design process is also Jacksonville, Florida by designing a intertwined with his own experiences as a pedestrian boardwalk space along the Black man.

“The work that PUSH studio tends to focus on—urbanism— by definition, deals with urban communities, and so often, these communities are some of the most underserved in the nation,” Smith said. “Urban landscape architecture is my way of demonstrating that they’re deserving of the same things as more privileged communities. Why accept a vacant lot when you know you deserve more?”

Throughout his career, Smith has maintained the effort to serve the Black community when possible, working closely with several historically Black colleges and universities such as Florida A&M and Morgan University for teaching assignments and others like Howard University to design urban spaces. Two of his most recent additions to Howard University are centennial monuments for campus Greek life, where he has taken the commemorative intent and melded it with something unique to each organization.

“The Zeta Phi Beta symbol, for instance, is a dove. For their monument, we built off the idea of doves, flight and the wings to make what could have been a run-of-the-mill installation unique to the sorority and its history,” Smith said.

Additionally, he has recently set out on a journey to empower the community of Black landscape architects. As a longtime member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Smith was intimately aware of the profession’s lack of Black landscape architects both at home and abroad. With this in mind, he created the Black Landscape Architects Network to connect and share knowledge around the globe.

“I don’t think I would have had to struggle as much if I’d started with the knowledge that my dream was by no means unreachable,” Smith said. “I started the BlackLAN as a way for Black students and professionals across the globe to mentor and support one another. It’s especially important because it’s something we’re doing for ourselves as Black landscape architects.”

Smith also served as the inaugural president of the organization, and though he is preparing to pass the organization’s leadership on to the next generation of landscape architects, by no means is he finished empowering himself and others with his art.

“With 40 years of experience under my belt as a Black landscape architect, it’s my responsibility to document our history,” Smith said. “Part of that is my own professional history, but part of it is raising up other Black landscape architects and showing the world, and more importantly each other, that we’re capable of incredible things.”n TOP LEFT: Smith meeting with clients. (Photo by PUSH Studio, LLC) TOP RIGHT: Stafford Armed Services Memorial in Stafford County, VA. (Photo by Peter Vanderwaker) MIDDLE RIGHT: An aerial photo of the Stafford Armed Services Memorial. (Photo by Peter Vanderwaker) BOTTOM RIGHT: Stafford Armed Services Memorial in Stafford County, VA. (Photo by PUSH Studio, LLC)

By Sasha Steinberg, Photos submitted

Throughout his life, Natchez native Lucien

NASA chief engineer Lucien Junkin enjoys mentoring K-12 students and promoting careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. His passion for helping others was inspired by various mentors, including knowledgeable mechanical engineering professors at Mississippi State.

the newly formed robotics division at NASA’s Houston, Texas-based Johnson Space Center in 1990. Currently, he serves as chief engineer of NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle, known as LTV, and Space Exploration Vehicle, abbreviated SEV, which are under development to support human surface exploration on the moon and Mars.

Junkin explained that the LTV will support two astronauts in spacesuits for exploration near a base, and the SEV will support two astronauts for up to two weeks while being capable of traveling hundreds of kilometers from a base. He’s been involved with the development of the SEV since the vehicle’s inception in 2005 and said it continues to be a significant element of NASA’s human space exploration architecture.

“At NASA, we’re integrators,” Junkin said. “We take things that exist and integrate them together to make a new system. That’s what we’re doing with these SEVs—breaking them down into subsystems that have different requirements and challenges.

Junkin said these complex vehicles are part of a broader mission to transform Mars into a habitable, Earth-like environment.

“This is about your great-great-greatgreat-great-great-grandchildren going to Mars and being able to play soccer there underneath trees and a blue sky versus in a space suit,” he said. “It’s going to take commitment and generations, but the science we’re doing will help us figure out how we can make that happen.”

Along with leading the teams developing the next generation of moon vehicles, Junkin is actively involved in K-12 robotics education and enjoys making an impact on youth, especially aspiring scientists and engineers. He leads NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project that provides students throughout America with opportunities to participate in various robotics programs. He also is head coach of the award-winning Robonauts, a robotics team with students from seven high schools in Texas’s Clear Creek Independent School District, and created the Engineering and Robotics Learned Young program that engages elementarylevel scholars in robotics and engineering.

In 2005, Junkin won the regional Woodie Flowers Finalist Award recognizing his passion for motivating and challenging students to be effective communicators and leaders in engineering and design. His mentees also nominated Junkin for the Championship Woodie Flowers Award, and this past spring, he was selected as the sole recipient from more than 200 finalist award winners.

“I’m a huge believer in giving back. Whatever you do or develop in your life, the real satisfaction comes from the influence you have on the next generation,” said Junkin, whose daughter Casey and son Billy are Robonauts members.

Over the course of his career, Junkin has found joy in empowering students to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields. Helping students become better people by developing good, lifelong habits is a responsibility he takes seriously.

“Family, school, robots—we promote strongly those priorities in that order to help the robotics students get better,” Junkin said. “Strive to be world class, stay disciplined, never lose focus of what’s really important and take the best lessons from everyone with whom you interact. That’s what I believe in, that’s what I teach these students, and that’s the advice I would give current MSU students.”

Thinking back on his own time at Mississippi State, Junkin said the university did him “a great service by putting seasoned professors in the classroom who tied the theoretical to the practical.”

“We had professors who came out of industry to teach, and they taught us tons of theory but also tons of application of that theory,” Junkin said. “That practical part of education and its application are why I am where I am today, and I’m super, super thankful.” n

As a NASA engineer, Lucien Junkin uses the engineering design process to develop complex space exploration vehicles with cutting-edge technology. Thinking like engineers, little Bulldogs can make their own rovers using materials found around the house.

Follow the steps of the engineering design process to build a moon rover for Bully.

ASK: What does a rover need?

RESEARCH: In its simplest form, a rover consists of a body, two axles and two sets of wheels.

IMAGINE: What household items can be used as a rover’s body? Its axles? Its wheels? How can they be connected?

PLAN: Sketch your design. Gather the items and tools needed to build it. Don’t forget to decorate the rover, so Bully’s new ride looks sharp. CREATE: Using the tools and materials, assemble the rover. Copy or cut out the Bully below, so he’s ready for the driver’s seat. Don’t forget to decorate his new ride.

TEST: Place Bully at the controls and take him for a spin in his new rover.

EVALUATE AND IMPROVE: Did it roll? Travel in a straight line? Could it be faster? Would different materials make it more durable?

The engineering process is never done. Things can always be changed, improved or adapted for different purposes. It’s up to your imagination.

Completing this project with your little Bulldogs? Send a picture of your completed or in-progress project to alumnus@msstate.edu. Be sure to include the names and ages (or graduation year) of the participants, and we might include it in the next issue.

ART ALUMNA FINDS SUCCESS IN EMBRACING THE UNKNOWN By Susan Lassetter, Photos submitted

Charlotte Smith needs to make things. It occupies her mind, it occupies her hands, and makes her happy. So, when as a fresh graduate she was still looking for work in her new home city of Atlanta, she decided to join a makerspace.

For a small monthly membership fee, the 2012 fine arts graduate gained access to a creative space equipped with a variety of tools and she soon got busy making cups. Big cups, small cups, patterned or plain—it wasn’t that her cup runneth over, but that her workspace ranneth over with ceramic cups.

Though she chose a sculpture emphasis for her degree from Mississippi State, Smith said there was something freeing about experimenting with ceramics.

“Clay is like the Wild West of materials,” Smith explained. “With wood or metal, you know if you cut it to a length, it’s going to stay that length. But with ceramics, you have to wonder: Is it going to crack? Is it going to blow up? Is the glaze going to turn out right after you’ve spent hours on this piece?”

She said she found the unknowns of the process daunting during her ceramics courses at State, but the challenge of the medium was a good way to expand her creative side when she arrived in Atlanta.

“The cups became these small pieces that I didn’t have to invest too much time in and could experiment with a lot, so I started developing this style around cups,” Smith said. “Most people wouldn’t describe clay as instant gratification but coming from working on sculptures in school—especially installationbased pieces—making these cups was instant gratification.”

As Smith developed her style, her instantgratification hobby turned into a near-instant business at the suggestion of an acquaintance who owns a coffee shop.

“She became my first wholesale client,” Smith said. “So, the business just kind of happened.”

In addition to her wholesale ceramics business, Smith sells her wares directly to consumers through the Charlotte Smith Studios website. She also creates custom pieces, like light fixtures, large planters and vases, for individuals and design firms.

“I make mostly functional stuff, and I don’t want the design to take away from it functioning well,” Smith explained. “That’s the thing I enjoy about these pieces—focusing on the form and how that form functions. The design becomes secondary; something to delight while the piece does its job.”

Smith, a graduate of the Mississippi School of the Arts, said she initially considered studying architecture, but her father, a contractor, encouraged her to follow her passion.

“I’m lucky that, even though they might have been skeptical sometimes about how things would work out, my parents were supportive,” Smith explained. “My dad would say, ‘Study what you enjoy because what you enjoy is what you’re going to be good at, and what you’re good at is what you’re going to make money at.’

“When I started taking my foundation courses at State, I realized sculpture was where I needed to be,” Smith continued. “It felt really intuitive and there’s not really any limits to it. You could work with any material and make whatever you wanted, and it allowed me more freedom to express myself.”

She said it helped that Mississippi State’s sculpture program is a “gem.”

“When people ask me what it was like being an art major at Mississippi State, I think they’re surprised when I tell them how great the facilities are,” she said. “Critz Campbell worked really hard to build a nice shop, and I felt really fortunate to have access to all of those tools.”

The sculpture program moved to the Howell building—former longtime home of agricultural and biological engineering— in 2008 just as Smith was enrolling at State. And while Campbell says not many would characterize the aging building as “nice,” its 4,000-square-foot shop space—with an abundance of light, large garage doors and excellent ventilation—makes an excellent studio.

However, Campbell, a professor and head of the art department, said he thinks part of what makes the program special is its focus on the “how.”

“Sculpture students spend much of their time working out how to bring their ideas to fruition,” he said. “The process is direct and less forgiving than digital media, which is a valuable learning experience. I love to tell students there is no delete button for mistakes.

“But ultimately, what makes it a ‘gem’ is the culture of the space,” he continued. “We work hard to create a safe and relaxed environment for students to work with machines and processes they initially fear.”

That’s a mindset that undoubtedly helped push Smith to challenge herself both in experimenting with ceramics and her decision to move from her hometown of Brandon to Atlanta with no sure job prospects.

“I didn’t have much of a plan in terms of where I wanted to work, but I knew in Atlanta, there were galleries, museums and artists I could potentially work under,” she recalled. “The economy still wasn’t great, but it seemed like there would be more opportunities in a bigger city, so it seemed like a good gamble.”

Now, with a successful career doing what she loves, it’s safe to say trusting her intuition has paid off.

“Charlotte is a unique, multi-talented artist,” Campbell said. “Her drawing and design skills are equally as impressive as her skills in sculpture and ceramics. She has an instinct for proportion and form that takes many artists years to develop. I am so proud and impressed by the creative life she has carved out for herself.

“It’s always a joy to see students use their talents and education to build exceptional and creative lives,” he continued. “Their success feeds the students who come after and reminds faculty of their importance in the process.” n “My dad would say, ‘Study what you enjoy because what you enjoy is what you’re going to be good at, and what you’re good at is what you’re going to make money at.’” ~ Charlotte Smith

In the early days of the pandemic, many people turned to baking as a way to while away the hours while hunkered down at home. But as safer-at-home orders continue to encourage limited social gatherings, it might be time to try a new hobby.

Perhaps fashioning a new platter or bowl to serve up those delicious baked goods?

Charlotte Smith says handcrafting pottery can be a relaxing and rewarding way to pass the time.

“With clay, there’s an immediate response to your action, so it can be a very gratifying process,” Smith said.

She explained that air-dry modeling clay is a good introductory medium for beginners. It comes in a variety of colors and does not require a kiln to harden. The clay, as well as a basic pottery tool kit, can be purchased online from large discount chains or specialty art supply or craft stores. Local retailers might also have kits available for online purchase or curbside pick-up.

She adds that specialized tools are not necessary for basic potting or sculpting. Items found around the house—like forks, knives and credit cards—can be used to cut, score, smooth or give texture to the clay.

For those looking for a little guidance or inspiration to get started, she recommends checking out the local library or online instructional videos. Smith recommends trying the search terms pottery basics, hand-building, pinch pot or slab-built pottery and seeing where it leads.

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

In the northwest corner of the Magnolia State, deep in the heart of rival territory, Bulldog faithful are making their presence known.

With over 2,600 alumni living in the area, Bulldogs in DeSoto County have the area wrapped in Maroon and White.

Twenty years ago, Randy Allen got a letter inviting him to join other Mississippi State alumni for a meeting at a Southaven hotel. He had no particular reason to go, but he had no reason not to go either. In fact, if history was any indicator, he had pretty good luck at alumni functions having met his wife Amy, a 1992 management graduate, at one years earlier.

Out of curiosity, the 1987 business administration graduate went to the meeting where he and roughly 20 other Bulldogs began what would become the DeSoto County chapter of the MSU Alumni Association, known as DeSoto Dawgs.

One suggestion for building a Bulldog base in the county was to establish a scholarship, which the group did through a fundraising golf tournament. Within two years, the chapter had raised enough money for an endowed scholarship and soon it began awarding one $1,000 scholarship to a deserving Bulldog-bound senior at each of the county’s nine high schools.

Now in its 21st year, Allen said the group is thankful for its past success at not only building an active community but in fundraising to support local schools. It’s that success that helped ensure the chapter will still be able to award all $9,000 in scholarships in 2021 despite not being able to host its annual golf tournament last spring due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“We had hoped to push the tournament into the fall, but it became obvious that wasn’t going to be possible either,” said Allen, who is scholarship chair for the chapter. “We were just really lucky that over the last 20 years we’ve raised enough to cover our scholarships at a time when our usual events and fundraisers are on hold.”

While past success has helped the group

Much of Robbie Hayes’ life revolves around sports. A former Diamond Dawg, he volunteers as coach for his son’s baseball team, which often involves weekend-long tournaments. For a while, he even entertained notions of coaching professionally. Then there’s Bulldog sports.

“For me and my family, our main activity outside of my son’s sports is attending Mississippi State athletic events,” the Liberty native said.

With season tickets to football and baseball, and a tried-and-true tailgating crew that not only pregame parties but also vacations together, Hayes says Bulldog athletics has become about more than just cheering on the teams. To his family and friends, it’s a main source of entertainment and connection to the university.

That’s why, he says, it’s been hard to maintain a sense of community in the wake of the pandemic and its restrictions on events and social activities. Still, when it comes to supporting MSU, Hayes said he’s “all in.”

“I enjoyed my time at Mississippi State and have always wanted to give back and be involved,” said Hayes who earned a weather the pandemic, chapter president Allen Courson said they’re not resting on their laurels. Through social media and video conferencing, the group is staying connected, fundraising and continuing to support future Bulldogs.

“As close as we are to that other school, we know it’s important to keep our efforts up,” said Courson, a 1999 education graduate. “Sometimes it feels like we’re outnumbered but when everyone shows up, we’re well represented.

“There are nine high schools up here and we’ve got a passionate group of alumni who are ready to let those students know that Mississippi State is the best university in this state and that this community is here to support them.” bachelor’s in social studies education in 1992 and master’s in secondary education in 1996. “Going to games and alumni events has allowed me to stay in touch with friends and make new friends through our involvement with the Alumni Association.”

Hayes became formally involved with the Alumni Association as part of the Central Mississippi chapter while working in Jackson after completing law school at Mississippi College. He later moved to Southaven where he is city prosecutor and opened Hayes Law Firm. He and his wife Emily, a Bulldog who earned a fitness management bachelor’s in 1995 and physical education master’s in 1996, then became active in the DeSoto County chapter, which he currently serves as vice president.

Together, the couple is working to instill that sense of Bulldog pride in their son Rob, a high school sophomore. Even during the pandemic, they’ve found time to visit Starkville every month or so to show their unwavering support for the university and the surrounding community.

“We try to support Starkville and Oktibbeha County as a whole,” Hayes said. “It’s not just Mississippi State but all the local businesses, too, because we understand that the university and the

Robbie Hayes and family town are connected, so we try to stay involved and continue to shop in Starkville and eat out when we visit.

“Mississippi State and Starkville have been a big part of my life,” he continued. “I met my wife there and most of my closest friends. I always look for an excuse to come back and we hope to retire in Starkville one day, so we want to do what we can to support the university and the

Growing up in the Sessums community of Oktibbeha County, Zwan Landfair spent most of his life in the shadow of Mississippi State, with relationships and family ties stretching across its campus. So, naturally, when it came time to pick a college there was one logical choice.

And he did, for a year.

Though he admits it took a little longer to hit his stride academically, and he probably “spent too much time on the steps of the Union watching girls,” Landfair wasted no time expanding his social circle once enrolling at State. He joined a fraternity, professional organizations, and from the early 1990s until the mid-2000s he was known to most around Starkville as “DJ Zwan.”

A 1993 industrial technology graduate, Landfair currently works as a logistics manager for a biotech company in Memphis. And through a combination of his social skills and logistics expertise, he is working to create events and community for MSU’s Black alumni.

In 2008, in conjunction with the MSU vs. Jackson State football game, Landfair hosted an event for African American

Zwan Landfair

alumni, even reviving his DJ persona for the occasion. It brought together 600 Bulldogs.

Though Landfair credits Abraham, the former longtime director of the Alumni Association, for giving him the push to “think big” with his plans to engage Black alumni, he says Jeff Davis, who took over the director role in 2013, has been instrumental in helping encourage the involvement of Black alumni.

Landfair continued to host annual events around football games until 2014 when he was approached by the university to help plan Black Alumni Weekend. First held in 2016, the biennial event features a slate of social, informative and discussion sessions. The inaugural weekend had 479 attendees, while 2018’s drew a crowd of 800. This year’s program was on track to surpass 1,000 before COVID-19 precautions brought an end to in-person events.

While plans for Black Alumni Weekend 2020 had to be halted, the pandemic hasn’t stopped Landfair’s efforts entirely. A Facebook group he created for Black alumni—MSU Black Alumni Network—has almost 3,900 members, just under 24% of the total living Black MSU alumni. On Juneteenth of this year, he launched a similar group for all Southeastern Conference schools—SEC Black Alumni Network, which has more than 17,000 members across all 14 conference institutions.

He said these online communities are a great way to spark conversations, exchange ideas and form connections that become collaborations to effect change.

“People are naturally going to gravitate to things that are like them, so having groups where alumni can connect to others with similar experiences and outlooks can help encourage their participation on a broader scale,” Landfair explained. “Without those voices, you’re missing out on the full breadth of what Mississippi State can be.” n

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The Mississippi State Alumni Association knows how much you miss campus and the Starkville community. Through State To You, we want to bring some of the campus and town right to you! Through campus video tours with expert faculty, researchers and staff, as well as local, alumni-owned businesses, we hope to share what is happening on campus and in Starkville. Alumni.msstate.edu/statetoyou

Join the Mississippi State Alumni Association as we visit faculty, staff and researchers through webinars that explore how the university is making an impact. Your MSU Alumni Association will bring to you a variety of experts on various topics across our state and country, and provide an opportunity to ask questions and learn more.

Join the Mississippi State Alumni Association as we visit faculty, staff and researchers through webinars that explore how the university is making an impact. Your MSU Alumni Association will bring to you a variety of experts on various topics across our state and country, and provide an opportunity to ask questions and learn more.

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The MSU Alumni Association is announcing four new leaders of its student organization known as the Alumni Delegates. Alumni Delegates officers for 2020 include:

Joshua “Josh” Stanford of Grenada, president, a senior biological sciences/pre-medicine major;

Dylan McDonald of Frisco, Texas, secretary, a junior industrial engineering major;

Allison “Ally” Galinsky of Houma, Louisiana, vice president of member education, a sophomore secondary education major; and

Kylie Watts of McComb, vice president of public relations, a junior human development and family sciences major.

The 45-member group helps the university and MSU Alumni Association maintain strong ties with the nearly 150,000 living graduates of the land-grant institution. Founded in 1980, Alumni Delegates serve as liaisons between the Alumni Association and MSU students. Delegates often serve as the first points of contact for graduates, friends and other special campus guests and assist with tailgate gatherings, class reunions, graduation ring presentations, and senior celebrations, among other events.

Donny Andrade of Manama, Bahrain John Nix Arledge of Jackson, MS Laney Armstrong of Flowood, MS Daniel Bond of Hattiesburg, MS Lizzie Bowman of Jackson, MS Warner Buxton of Jackson, MS Sam Cagle of New Albany, MS Brian Carmicheal II of Berkeley, IL Gracie Chavez of Canton, TX Parker Cunningham of Birmingham, AL Bailey Dean of Spring Grove, IL Gabby Dear of Madison, MS Grayson Dill of Pelham, AL Piper Doherty of Dothan, AL Rohan Fisher of Colorado Springs, CO Allison Galinsky of Houma, LA Jaime Garcia of Senatobia, MS Julia Garletts of Flora, MS Will Hardin of Vicksburg, MS Cooper Hays of The Woodlands, TX Rachel Hendricks of Hoover, AL Joy Hickman of Franklin, TN Hollis Hoggard of Moss Point, MS Jake Hughes of Tupelo, MS Courtney Johnson of Madison, MS Sophie Jones of Birmingham, AL Bryson Marretta of Destrehan, LA Dylan McDonald of Frisco, TX Ashley McLemore of Starkville, MS Taylor Neyland of Frisco, TX Chinwe Okorie of Lagos, Nigeria Elizabeth Orr of Somerville, TN Alex Rial of Tupelo, MS Nathaniel Roesener of Decatur, AL Sarah Singley of Columbus, MS Caroline Sleeper of Corinth, MS Josh Stanford of Grenada, MS Sarah Suddoth of Memphis, TN Coleman Taylor of Frisco, TX Jay Warren of Gulfport, MS Kylie Watts of McComb, MS Alysse White of Mandeville, LA Erin Wicht of Ocean Springs, MS Drew Wright of Tupelo, MS Mary Seitz Young of Madison, MS

From L-R: Secretary Dylan McDonald, a senior in industrial engineering from Frisco, Texas; vice president of member education Allison “Ally” Galinsky, a junior in secondary education from Houma, Louisiana; President Joshua “Josh” Stanford, a senior in biological sciences from Grenada; and vice president of public relations Kylie Watts, a senior in human development and family sciences from McComb.