DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Mary Bennamon
Mary Bennamon
Mary Bennamon feels as if she was drawn to working with young people at a very young age. Through her career at Mississippi State University, she continues to develop this long-standing passion.
Mary teaches nearly 40 nutrition and health promotion classes to children monthly. She travels to East Kemper Elementary School and West Kemper Elementary School, following a curriculum that teaches children how to eat according to current nutritional guidelines, practice food safety and learn hand washing skills.
“We just break it down. Then we have a snack of vegetables or fruit. I might bring apples or oranges, or something they haven’t tasted, like plums,” Mary said. “Something they haven’t tasted and don’t get every day at home.”
She is devoted to improving their present and future walks of life -- to keeping children healthy by creating long-term habits for their benefit. Her dedication has resulted in admiration from her students.
“In my first year with MSU in the nutrition program, I thought I was a movie star or something, because I was at the game and children were saying, ‘Hey, Mrs. Bennamon’ and ‘Mama, Mama. This is the nutrition lady,’” Bennamon said.
She applied for her current position in the interest of her own children after working and living in a city away from them.
“I was working at America Reads at MSU, but I wanted to be even closer to my girls,” said Bennamon. “And now I’ve been here for 13 and a half years. They gave me a chance to work here 13 and a half years, and I plan on working 13 and a half more.”
She likes to spend time with her 4-year-old granddaughters, Nevaeh and Nylah, and her daughters Shaniqua, 26, and Brittany, 23. She has been married to Edward Bennamon for 28 years.
Editor's note: The Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Spotlight Employee profiles are provided by the Office of Agricultural Communications at Mississippi State. For more information, please click here.
