Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Alumni and friends of Mississippi State often honor classmates and colleagues through special contributions, such as the recent one creating an excellence fund in the Division of Student Affairs.
Designed specifically for enrolled university students with learning disabilities, the anonymous gift is establishing the Wanda Mills Excellence Fund in the department of student support services.
Named in honor of the Starkville resident, the endowment will be used to purchase special-needs equipment and devices, as well as provide individual tutoring services at no cost.
"I have a lot of faith in the student support services department, and it is very rewarding to have my name associated with the university in this manner," said Mills, who was reared in Ocean Springs before moving to Starkville to attend Mississippi State.
"This fund makes me realize what an impression I made on other people's lives and I am very proud of that," the 1994 educational psychology graduate added.
Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder also known as brittle bone disease, she is confined to a wheelchair. She also has a learning disability, something she was unaware of until adulthood.
While attending the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, she learned of support services offered at Mississippi State and chose to further her education at the land-grant institution primarily for that reason.
"While Wanda Mills personally inspired this gift, the donor also was served by and benefitted from the services we provide," said Julie Berry, assistant dean of students and director of the department.
Berry and other departmental professionals work to provide educational access and opportunity through the delivery of resources, advocacy, personal collaborations, and academic accommodations. The unit currently serves more than 250 campus clients, 178 of whom have diagnosed learning disabilities.
After completing her bachelor's degree, Mills went on to complete coursework towards an MSU master's in counselor education, with an emphasis in vocational rehabilitation. Having also worked as a support services staff member, she has an obvious and especially deep appreciation for the department's mission--and ongoing challenges.
"The private donor and Wanda believe that one-on-one time spent with a tutor is among the most important services needed," Berry explained. "Tutoring of this nature was responsible for each of their personal academic successes."
Mills agreed, adding, "I do believe it is so important for a person to further their education regardless of their age. In fact, I didn't realize I had a learning disability until I began pursuing my master's.
"It just makes me feel great that the ties I made at MSU will not be broken," she continued. "So many young people and adults are ashamed to be labeled with a learning disability, but now Mississippi State can help to further combat that misconception."
For more information on assisting the Division of Student Affairs with this or other private gifts, contact development officer Richard Daniel at 662-325-9129 or rdaniel@foundation.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.