āSome pretty outstanding studentsā: Ļć½¶Ö±²„honors 22 Spirit of State Award recipients
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.āIn a year when maroon and white spirit has been needed most, 22 Mississippi State students are seeing their efforts recognized with the Spirit of State Award.
Ļć½¶Ö±²„President Mark E. Keenum thanked this yearās recipientsā"some pretty outstanding students"āfor their perseverance and contributions throughout their time at the university and especially during āchallenging times presented by this unprecedented year.ā
āYou personify the spirit of this university; you live it every day. I commend, congratulate and thank you for what you have done to contribute to the well-being of this institution, our community and our state,ā Keenum said. āIām so proud of you all and canāt wait to see the great things youāre going to continue to accomplish in your lives and how youāll continue to bring great pride to all of us back here at your beloved Mississippi State.ā
Spirit of State recipient Julianna Mills of Brookhaven said reflection on her Ļć½¶Ö±²„experience brings back fond memories of three thingsāacademics, extracurricular involvement and people.
Ā āItās the people who make Mississippi State such a special university,ā she emphasized. āOur students, faculty, staff and administrators prioritize serving others in lasting and selfless ways. Ļć½¶Ö±²„has loved and supported me well these past four years and because of the growth I have gained here, Iām ready to take the āspirit of stateā into my future while always remembering the people at MSU.ā
Organized by the universityās Division of Student Affairs, the 16th annual Spirit of State Awards program formally honored those making a positive impact on peers and the broader campus community through organizational involvement, service to the institution and personal actions promoting school spirit and tradition.
Recipients are nominated either by faculty and staff members or fellow students. A minimum 2.25 grade point average and good academic and disciplinary standing within the university are among the eligibility criteria.
The new Spirit of State Award recipients include (by hometown):
ALBUQUERQUE, New MexicoāApril B. Yazza, an educational leadership masterās student.
BAY SAINT LOUISāDimetri D. āMetriā Lyons, a senior communication/theatre major.
BELMONTāSofia Alvarez, a senior political science major.
BIRMINGHAM, AlabamaāAnirudh K. Aditya, a senior biochemistry/pre-MBA major.
BROOKHAVENāJulianna G. Mills, a senior chemistry major.
CLINTONāSydney G. Wicks, a senior psychology major.
COLLIERVILLE, TennesseeāNirmal K. Bhatt, a junior mechanical engineering major.
EDO STATE, NigeriaāAsishana B. Ajayi, a senior aerospace engineering major.
FRANKLIN, TennesseeāClaire M. Hamblen, a senior elementary education major, and Kaitlyn T. āKateyā Koon, a senior educational psychology major.
FULTONāMadison S. Taylor, a senior biomedical engineering major.
GREENVILLEāAlex A. Jackson, a senior fashion design and merchandising major.
GULFPORTāJames D. āJayā Warren, a senior biomedical engineering major.
HAMBURG, GermanyāPhilippe C. Schicker, a senior mechanical engineering major.
JACKSONāSarah Helen Skelton, a senior communication/public relations major, and Elliott Ware, a senior software engineering major.
MACONāShondell S. āDellā Ivy, a senior communication/public relations major.
MERIDIANāKarsten E. Taylor, a senior social work major at MSU-Meridian.
OCEAN SPRINGSāEthan P. Utterback, a senior industrial engineering major.
RAYMONDāMakayla N. Brister, a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture masterās student.
RIDGELANDāMalon V. Stratton, a senior biomedical engineering major.
STATE LINEāTyler I. Packer, a senior political science/pre-law major.
Learn more about MSUās Division of Student Affairs at .
Ļć½¶Ö±²„is Mississippiās leading university, available online at .