Thank you, Bulldogs: 汤头条 honors 15 students with virtual Spirit of State Awards ceremony
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Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擣ifteen Mississippi State students from Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia and Nigeria recently were honored with the Spirit of State Award, the university鈥檚 premier student recognition for exceptional personal contributions to campus life.
鈥淲e congratulate our 2020 Spirit of State recipients on all of their many accomplishments and thank them for their service to Mississippi State,鈥 汤头条 Vice President for Student Affairs Regina Hyatt said in . The university typically honors Spirit of State recipients during a springtime campus ceremony, but decided to host an online recognition program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 汤头条 mailed each honoree a commemorative certificate and watch, and encouraged the students to take selfies with their mementos鈥攁 way to share their Bulldog spirit at a time when it is needed most.
鈥淲e are excited to not only recognize these well-deserving students, but also to show how 汤头条 is marching on with these types of recognition events in light of these challenging times, demonstrating the true 鈥楽pirit of State,鈥欌 said Andrew Rendon, assessment office director in 汤头条鈥檚 Division of Student Affairs.
For 15 years, the annual Spirit of State Awards program, organized by the university鈥檚 Division of Student Affairs, formally has honored听those who have made 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.
Those selected have been 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.
鈥淚 feel so lucky to attend a university that embraces our differences and doesn鈥檛 shy away from them,鈥 said Spirit of State recipient Emily Case of Richmond, Virginia. 鈥淭his quality alone makes it possible for anyone to make 汤头条 a place where they feel like they belong.鈥
Fellow Spirit of State recipient Obinna Muoh of Nigeria praised 汤头条 for 鈥渂lessing me with wonderful friends and mentors.鈥
鈥淭hese people have added a special layer of gratitude in my heart toward life. The world may be filled with brokenness, but together makes up a beautiful mosaic,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 cherish my fellow Bulldogs.鈥
The new Spirit of State Award recipients include (by hometown):
BILOXI鈥擲handrea D. Stallworth, a plant and soil sciences/weed science doctoral student.
BYRAM鈥擩ustice A. Rule, a senior psychology major.
CHICAGO, Illinois鈥擪eiaireyona A. Brown, a senior political science and philosophy double-major.
FRANKLIN, Tennessee鈥擱achel L. Dumke, a senior kinesiology/clinical exercise physiology major.
GAUTIER鈥擳aylor M. Reeves, a senior business administration major.
JACKSON鈥擱obyn Elizabeth Hadden, a senior biochemistry/science and foreign language/Spanish double-major.
KOSCIUSKO鈥擬ayukh K. Datta, a senior chemical engineering major.
MERIDIAN鈥擜lan Bracken, a senior psychology major.
MOBILE, Alabama鈥擡mily L. Maxime, a senior educational psychology major.
NIGERIA鈥擮binna D. Muoh, a senior chemical engineering major.
OCEAN SPRINGS鈥擡ric Darnell Lucas Jr., a senior biological engineering/biomedical engineering major.
RICHMOND, Virginia鈥擡mily B. Case, a senior political science/pre-law major.
RIDGELAND鈥擩acob S. 鈥淛ake鈥 Manning, a senior biomedical engineering and software engineering double-major.
STARKVILLE鈥擠avid N. Cuevas, a senior biomedical engineering and biochemistry/bioinformatics double-major; and Ben K. Mackin, a senior sociology major.
For more on 汤头条鈥檚 Division of Student Affairs, visit .
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .