Contact: Robbie Ward
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Whether it's John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barrack Obama who makes history as the next U.S. leader, a Mississippi State senior will participate in the national presidential inauguration in January.
Mechanical engineering major Malcolm C. Conley of Jackson recently earned a position with the 2009 presidential and vice presidential swearing-in ceremonies in Washington, D.C. He is a newly named inaugural scholar with the University Presidential Inaugural Conference.
Conley, a 2004 Provine High School graduate, also will have opportunities as a WPIC Scholar to hear well-known speakers while interacting with White House press, policy and other staff members. He is the son of Paula Conley of Jackson and Wayne Conley of Birmingham, Ala.
While the opportunity is not guaranteed, Conley said he has considered possible questions he might ask the new president if given the opportunity. "It would have to do with concerns of college students and young professionals in our region," he added.
Conley's selection for the presidential inauguration was based on his role in the International Scholar Laureate Program. Through his involvement with the youth leadership organization, he has visited China as a member of the program's technology division.
While at MSU, Conley also has been involved in the cooperative education program, Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education, National Society of Black Engineers, and American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Tommy Stevenson, assistant dean of diversity programs and student development at MSU's Bagley College of Engineering, said Conley has been an excellent ambassador for the land-grant university.
"Malcolm exhibits leadership skills and the desire to broaden his understanding of the world," Stevenson said. "He has become a role model for other students."
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Stevenson at 662-325-2270 or tommy@engr.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.