Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Natchez Trace, Delta blues, academics, and industry are on the agenda Saturday [Aug. 27] during a bus tour for out-of-state and international students attending Mississippi State.
"Our state has a rich heritage, a growing economy and outstanding academic institutions," said Jon David Cole of Brandon, president of the university's Student Association, sponsor of the trip.
"We believe Mississippi State to be among the premier universities in the region, and we want students who are new to Mississippi to experience the breadth of our university and of the state that will be home for several years," the senior history major added.
The first-ever "Welcome Tour of Mississippi" is being co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, English as a Second Language Center and the International Services Office.
Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, a native of India and SA director of international student affairs, said response to the tour exceeded his expectations.
"We held registration for the tour Aug. 22 at the Student Association offices and had more than 50 students register in the first hour," he said. "We have filled all our spaces and have a waiting list."
Leaving campus during the early morning, the group is traveling down the Natchez Trace to Jackson, where participants will tour Mississippi State's fifth-year architecture program and the nearby Old Capitol. Succeeding stops include the Nissan manufacturing plant near Canton, lunch in Greenwood and Clarksdale's Delta Blues Museum and Ground Zero blues club.
"It will be a full day packed with educational and cultural highlights," Cole said. "The Student Association is very proud to sponsor this introduction to Mississippi."
For more information, telephone the Student Association office at (662) 325-3917.