Collaboration makes Choctaw Preview Day a success
David Wallace, manager of the Paul B. Jacob High Voltage Lab at Mississippi State University, showcases a Van de Graaff generator to high school students from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians during their visit to the university on March 27. Choctaw Preview Day was hosted by the MSU Extension Service and the MSU Office of Inclusive Excellence. PHOTO: Kevin Hudson | MSU Extension Service
Seth Lewis’ father is an electrical engineer, but seeing the capabilities of high voltage in person was no less fascinating for him than anyone else watching the demonstration.
“We saw what would happen to a person if he got too close to a 300,000-watt electrical field, and we saw a demonstration on how lightning would affect metal if it hit it,” Lewis said. “I learned a lot of cool things today, but I think the electrical engineering was my favorite thing.”
Lewis, a sophomore at Choctaw Central High School, was among more than 80 grade school students from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who visited Mississippi State University March 27. Choctaw Preview Day provides students in the tribe a chance to tour the campus and learn about the range of degree programs MSU offers.
Lewis and his high school peers visited the Paul B. Jacob High Voltage Laboratory on campus. Younger students visited with faculty in the MSU School of Human Sciences.
The event was co-hosted by the MSU Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development and the MSU Office of Inclusive Excellence.
Ra’Sheda Forbes, MSU vice president for access, opportunity and success, said the event is one of many ways the university and MSU Extension show a welcoming atmosphere to potential students.
“One of the things we want to continue to do is transform the ways in which we serve students. As a land-grant institution, we also have an obligation to serve our students to meet the needs of our students,” Forbes said. “Having the opportunity to interact with them to see what they’re looking for in terms of a degree and in terms of higher education allows us to transform our processes in a way that continues to meet the needs of a changing society.”
Mariah Morgan, associate professor for the MSU Extension Center for 4-H Youth Development, said the students completed the Build Your Future career readiness curriculum prior to Choctaw Preview Day. Part of a partnership between MBCI and MSU, the event was funded by a New Beginning for Tribal Students grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a match by MSU and MSU Extension Service.
“Choctaw Preview Day is a great example of several departments on campus working together to serve future students,” Morgan said. “The New Beginning grant has provided opportunities for partnership and growth. Through the work of Dr. Forbes, as well as other grant team members, MSU has made significant strides to institutionalize the work of the grant within the broader university system.”
On the grant, MSU Extension partners with the MBCI Youth Opportunity Program, MBCI, MSU Division of Access, Opportunity and Success, Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, Indigenous Students and Allies Association, and the MSU departments of anthropology, sociology, and agricultural economics.
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Nathan Gregory | MSU Extension Service
