The Mississippi State University Alumni Association is proud to honor 25 outstanding young alumni as the 2023 class of The Reveille 25 awards program.
Launched in the fall of 2021, The Reveille 25 seeks to highlight the remarkable accomplishments of the university’s growing number of young alumni. The familiar name of the program derives from MSU’s former yearbook, The Reveille, which chronicled student life throughout the institution’s history, and paid tribute to the university’s foundational military history.
Accordingly, the signature program annually honors 25 high-achieving, young alumni who are answering the call of the university’s mission for excellence, and inspiring others through the positive impact they are making in their communities and professions.
The 25 honorees, chosen from among 460 applicants, were recognized during banquet ceremonies in March.
Lance Atchley of Starkville. A native of Indianola, Atchley is a 2006 microbiology graduate with a chemistry minor. He completed his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine and is an anesthesiologist at OCH Regional Medical Center in Starkville.
Emily Boothe of Madison. She is a 2010 biological sciences graduate who went on to earn a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Boothe is a genetic counselor for the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Nakeitra Burse of Madison. A two-time MSU graduate, Burse earned from MSU a bachelor’s in biological sciences and a master’s in food science, nutrition and health promotion in 2006 and 2008, respectively. She also earned a Doctor of Public Health from Jackson State University. She is the owner and principal strategist for public health consulting company Six Dimensions LLC.
Joseph Chen of Louisville, Kentucky. The Starkville native earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biological and biomedical engineering in 2008 and 2010, respectively. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University in 2015 and is an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Louisville.
Ben Cox of Clinton. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering in 2011, 2012 and 2015, respectively. The Meadville native is a senior research engineer with the Geotechnical and Structures Laboratory of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Eduardo Garay Lagos of Saint Paul, Minnesota. A native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, he earned a master’s degree from MSU in plant and soil sciences in 2020. He previously earned a bachelor’s degree from Zamorano University and is pursuing a doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota. He is a director of the impact investing training programs for the Kirchner Impact Foundation focused on the Central American region.
Jesse Grady of Starkville. A three-time MSU graduate and Corinth native, Grady earned bachelor’s, master’s and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees in 2005, 2007 and 2012, respectively. He is an assistant clinical professor at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
Joslyn “Joy” Hartfield of Durham, North Carolina. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2012, and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas. The Madison native is pursuing a doctoral degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and serves as assistant vice chancellor and dean of students at North Carolina Central University.
Faith Haslebacher of Clermont, Florida. A 2015 MSU computer engineering graduate and Collierville, Tennessee, native, she also holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of Florida. Haslebacher is a software project manager in the Technology Studio at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Charla Howard of Lexington, Kentucky. The New Albany native is a 2008 biological engineering graduate. She earned a doctoral degree from Arizona State University. She is co-founder and chief clinical officer with the neuroscience development company Spike Neuro.
Cameron “Blake” Jeter of Madison. A 2010 biological engineering graduate and Brandon native, he currently serves as the president and chief operating officer at Relias Healthcare.
Krista LeBrun of Brandon. The Enterprise native is assistant executive director of e-learning and instructional technology for the Mississippi Community College Board. She is a 2006 education graduate of MSU and earned a master’s degree from the University of Phoenix, as well as a doctoral degree from the University of Alabama.
Melanie Lewis Dickerson of Denver, Colorado. A 2006 MSU political science graduate, she also holds a master’s degree from the University of Colorado. The Hattiesburg native is director of large scale change at Community Solutions.
Lindsay Linhares of Washington, D.C. The Starkville native is a 2013 double major, earning bachelor’s degrees in communication and political science. She currently serves as legislative director for U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow.
Chasten McCrary of Atlanta, Georgia. A 2018 marketing graduate and native of Fayetteville, Georgia, she is pursuing an MBA from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she serves as the assistant director of the Office of Special Scholarships.
Sarah McEwen of Gluckstadt, Alabama. The Trussville, Alabama, native is a 2013 civil engineering graduate. A hydrology and hydraulics engineer, she serves as the water resources manager for the Ridgeland office of AECOM, an international infrastructure consulting firm.
Paromita Mitra of Houston, Texas. A two-time MSU aerospace graduate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in 2014 and a master’s degree in 2018. The Hattiesburg native is a principal investigator at NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Erica Moore of Philadelphia. The 2007 communication graduate works for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Pearl River Resort properties as the director of public relations, guest services, internal communication and special projects. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Christopher Nunley of Seattle, Washington. After studying meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Nunley earned a master’s degree in geosciences and a doctoral degree in earth and atmospheric sciences from MSU in 2015 and 2019, respectively. He is a television meteorologist for KING 5 TV, a lecturer in the MSU Department of Geosciences, and the co-owner of Firsthand Weather LLC.
Lauren B. Priddy of Starkville. The Newton native is a two-time MSU graduate who earned a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering in 2008 and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering in 2010. She later earned a doctoral degree in bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Priddy currently serves as an associate professor in the MSU Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.
J. Tedrick Ratcliff Jr. of Brandon. A Brookhaven native, Ratcliff is the executive vice president of CLAW Forestry Services LLC. He earned three degrees from MSU, including a 2007 bachelor’s in forestry, a 2008 MBA and a 2020 doctoral degree in forest resources.
Caroline Riley of Atlanta, Georgia. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native is a 2015 interior design graduate who serves as an associate at Gensler, the world’s largest architecture firm.
Victor C. Warnsley II of Washington, D.C. A 2009 business graduate, he is an airpower strategist and futurist for the U.S. Air Force. The Morton native also attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Tim Wolverton of Washington, D.C. The Starkville native is a 2009 MSU communication graduate who also earned a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He currently serves as the legislative director for U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
Feifei Zeng of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is a 2018 double-major who holds bachelor’s degrees in marketing and foreign language. A native of Treviso, Italy, Zeng is currently pursuing a master’s in public policy from Harvard University.
For more about The Reveille 25 program and to learn more about the accomplishments of each of the honorees, visit www.alumni.msstate.edu/reveille25.
