Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Fifty high school graduates have completed the Summer Bridge Program at Mississippi State, helping them prepare for their first semester as university engineering students.
The SBP, hosted by the Bagley College of Engineering Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education program, is a part of the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation. It is designed to help incoming minority freshmen adjust to university life and is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Chevron Corp., and Southern Company.
Incoming engineering majors attend the second term of MSU's summer session and receive an overview in pre-calculus, chemistry and physics, as well as educational strategies for other college courses.
"It has allowed them to take courses, network with other students, and become familiar with campus resources in order to hit the ground running during their first week of class here at MSU," said Angela Clinkscales-Verdell, interim director of diversity programs in the Bagley College of Engineering.
Students completing the Summer Bridge Program, listed by hometown, are:
ACKERMAN--Brittany Miller, Ackerman High School;
ATHENS, Ala.--Marcellius Moore, Athens High School;
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--Jasmine Mayes, Oak Mountain High School;
BRANDON--Blake Forte and Phillip Ward, Northwest Rankin High School;
BROOKSVILLE--Jazzetta Anthony, Mississippi School for Math and Science; Fantasi Curry, Noxubee County High School;
BYHALIA--Xavier Harris, Mississippi School for Math and Science;
CANTON, Ga.--John Laws III, Cherokee High School;
CARTHAGE--Krandale Cager, Carthage High School;
CLINTON--Dexter Lowe, Clinton High School;
COLLIERVILLE, Tenn.--Jonathan Henderson, Houston High School;
COLUMBIA--Loren Stewart, East Marion High School; DaVonta Whalum, Columbia High School;
COLUMBUS--Yasmine Petty, Columbus High School;
CRUGER--Me'Lanae Garrett, Mississippi School for Math and Science;
EDWARDS--Jericho Harris, Warren Central High School;
GREENVILLE--Fredricka Brown, Riverside High School;
GREENWOOD--DeAndrill Smith, Pillow Academy;
GULFPORT--Christina Lewis, Harrison Central High School; Amber Thomas, Gulfport High School;
INDIANOLA--Jaleesa Kennedy, Gentry High School;
JACKSON--Gwendolyn Davis, Andre' Jones, Samuel Madden III, Murrah High School; Kymesha Taylor, Provine High School;
LAUREL--Robert Collins Jr., Laurel High School;
LELAND--Amberly Dennis, Antwanise Harris, Leland High School;
LINDALE, Ga.--Richard Huether, Pepperell High School;
LITTLETON, Colo.--Ethan Jones, Heritage High School;
MADISON--Frederick Alexander, Benjamin Kendrick, Madison Central High School; Darius Mangum, Jim Hill Senior High School;
MANDEVILLE, La.--Kenneth Newton Jr., Mandeville High School;
MARKS--Kaila Peggs, Clarksdale High School;
MCCOMB--Kaleigh Gombako-Lee, Parklane Academy;
MEMPHIS, Tenn.--Mystery Hill, Ridgeway High School; Victoria Vaughn, Arlington High School; Darilyn Woodson, Germantown High School;
MERIDIAN--Maya Luster, Meridian High School;
OVIEDO, Fla.--Jessica Avellan, Lake Highland Preparatory School;
PASCAGOULA--David Allen, Pascagoula High School;
PRAIRIE--Chancedy Pulliam, Houston High School;
RIDGELAND--Steddman Bell, Ridgeland High School;
ROLLING FORK--Kayla Ivory, South Delta High School;
SHUBUTA--Derius Galvez, Quitman High School;
VICKSBURG--Jasmine Butler, Warren Central High School;
WEST POINT--Daricus Duncan, West Point High School;
YAZOO CITY--Tia Brown, Yazoo City High School.
For more information about the SBP, visit www.bagley.msstate.edu/programs/diversity.