Category: Our People

When a young Shivangi Nakoom wanted to learn fluent English, she found help in an unusual place—with Dora, Boots and the gang from Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer,” who she says not only helped her learn English but also perfect her American accent. Though born in...

Reflecting on life’s struggles and triumphs may be normal for most retirees, but few are writing novels well into their 90s to share these lived experiences. At 95, J. William Rush’s mind remains vibrant and filled with stories of his life and stories shared by...

Fellow Mississippi State University alums remember Hattiesburg native and current director of athletics at San Diego State University John David Wicker as driven, intensely focused and somewhat of a workaholic.

Calvin Waddy was sitting in a Mississippi State business law class in spring 2018 when his phone made a surprising noise. The “cha-ching” from the Shopify app meant the online clothing store he launched with a fellow student had made its first sale.

When Brittany Keyes was a Mississippi State communication student, she never imagined her career taking her as far as the Hawaiian islands. The Laurel native also never imagined being part of the team that responded to the worst natural disasters in the state’s history.

When Boeing engineers need help, they have some of the best problem-solvers in the world on call—including twin Bulldogs who not only have a reputation as some of the company’s best brains but are also putting their minds to work helping NASA return to the...

MSU alums answer call to medicine, advocacy while raising sons with cerebral palsy When Wade and Carol Shrader were nearing graduation in the early 1990s, the careful planners sat in Mississippi State’s Chapel of Memories to sketch out a life plan in a notebook of...

MSU poet uses written word to reflect on life Ask Saddiq Dzukogi how he landed at Mississippi State University, and he’ll laughingly explain how he came for the catfish but stayed for the crawfish. The theme of the joke is pretty common among non-native Mississippians...

MSU alumna merges career, ‘Saint’hood to feed lifelong passions While growing up, Alexis Moran knew she wanted to have a positive impact on her community. So, when she came to Mississippi State in 2014, the question wasn’t what she wanted to accomplish in her career,...

Jesse Goliath speaks for the dead—not through last words or wills and testaments but by making sure their stories don’t go unfinished. A forensic anthropologist, he uses his knowledge and skills to identify and determine possible causes of death for people who met unfortunate ends.