A jpg picture-perfect version of this picture is available here.
A jpg picture-perfect version of this
picture is available here.
Lindsay Linhares (at the extreme left) is a Distinguished Scholar double majoring in Political Science and Communication with emphasis in Journalism. As a junior at MSU, Lindsay has been involved in her university. She is the Director of International Student Affairs for the Student Association, Social Chair of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Lambda Sigma Honor Societies. She has also acquired Phase I Honors from the Shackouls Honors College. Lindsay has been involved in political organizations such as Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society, Stennis Montgomery Association and College Republicans. Lindsay has been active in the Mississippi Model Security Council since her time at Starkville High School and has continued her involvement into college. The past two summers, Lindsay has interned in Washington D.C. working for Congressman Gregg Harper, National Association of Conservation Districts and Aristotle International. After graduation, Lindsay aspires to work on Capitol Hill for a Mississippi Congressman doing Legislative and Press Secretary work.
Jamie Beene (second from the left) is a graduate of Mantachie High School and a junior Stennis Scholar. Since starting at MSU in the Fall of 2009, Jamie has been involved in various organizations on campus. She has served as Assistant Director of MSU’s student-led legislative interest group and partnered with MSU administrators and department faculty to direct the 2011 Gubernatorial Debate on campus through the Student Association Cabinet. She has also served as Assistant Philanthropy Chairman and Campus Activities Chairman of Phi Mu Sorority, 2010 Miss Itawamba County, Freshman Political Science Department Representative, and was elected Most Outstanding Leader by her peers in the Day One Leadership Program. Jamie is currently involved with Mississippi First, a non-profit organization with the goal of improving the K-12 learning environment within the state, as well as Project AIM mentoring at Henderson-Ward-Stewart Elementary in Starkville. Through Mississippi First, she has advocated and helped author various policies aimed at improving critical needs education districts in Mississippi. Upon graduation, Jamie aspires to continue her work with education by interning with the U.S. Department of Education and applying for the Teach for America and Mississippi Teacher Corps programs. Jamie hopes to pursue a career in improving the education conditions in Mississippi by becoming an administrator and continuing to advocate and author policies that ensure a positive outlook for Mississippi’s youth.
Roy Grantham "Grant" Krag (third from the left) is a sophomore John C. Stennis Scholar. A graduate of Hattiesburg High School, Grant is a member of the Student Association Senate where he serves as Chairman of the Sustainability Initiatives Committee. He has previously served as Campaign Field Director for Mississippi State Representative Toby Barker as well as the Mississippi State University Campaign Representative for Treasurer Lynn Fitch. He is a member of the Shackouls Honors College and is a double major in Political Science and Communications. In high school, Grant served as a page for Representative Barker, and achieved a leadership position at Boy's State. The winner of multiple first place Congressional debate awards as a member of the Hattiesburg Forensics Speech and Debate program, he was a National Forensic League Academic All-American. A member of student council for all of his high school years, he was elected senior class vice president. An Eagle Scout, Grant has served as assistant scoutmaster of the Aldersgate Mission Boy Scout Troop, and has been a member of the Hattiesburg High School Jazz Band and of the Thespian Society. After graduating from MSU, he plans to attend law school.
Nathan Calvert (third from the right) is a senior John C. Stennis Scholar. A graduate of East Central Community College and Neshoba Central High School, Nathan has interned for U.S. Congressman Gregg Harper, as well as paged for Governor Haley Barbour and for Mississippi Senator Giles Ward. A member of the Student Council for all of his high school years, he was named Mr. Neshoba Central High School by his peers and chosen the Outstanding Senior by his teachers. At East Central Community College, Nathan was named Most Valuable Player on the varsity tennis team, made the Dean's List, and joined the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He has made numerous mission trips around the nation, and earned many awards for his community service activities. After graduating from MSU, Nathan plans to serve as a staff member for an elected official, and to eventually become a lobbyist or consultant for higher education.
Antoinette Jenkins (second from the right) is the Bill Collins Scholar. She is a senior double majoring in political science and secondary education. She is a native from Hernando, MS, where both of her parents are educators. Antoinette is currently involved in many organizations including: I.D.E.A.L. Woman, Pre-Law Society, National Society of Collegiate Scholars,Sigma Alpha Lamda Honor Society, etc. She holds a leadership role in the Black Student Alliance as Vice President as well as the Treasurer of ActiveMinds. In addition, Antoinette works as a resident adviser in Hurst Hall and also serves as the Hall Council Liasion. She is a member of the Student Honor Code Council. She also serves as a student representative for the Political Science department. In the coming year, Antoinette hopes to intern in either Jackson or Washington, DC or study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country. Post-undergrad, Antoinette wants to pursue her masters’ graduate degree in Higher Education and later pursue law school and focus on child advocacy law.
Haley Grantham (on the extreme right) is a freshman Stennis Scholar from Florence, Mississippi. The Valedictorian of McLaurin High School, Haley was the Brigade Commander of JROTC, President of her class for four years, captain of the varsity cheerleaders, and a varsity tennis and softball player for three years. She was voted District Attorney at Girls' State, was named a Mississippi Hugh O'Brian Leadership Conference Delegate, and was chosen as one of Rankin County's Youth Leaders. At MSU Haley is a member of Freshman Forum, serves on the Student Association's History and Traditions committee, is a member of Kappa Delta sorority, as well as MSU's Mock Trial Team. After graduation, she is interested in attending law school and eventually serving as a District Attorney or pursuing other political office.
Alexander Habighorst (in the left picture above) is a senior Stennis Scholar. A graduate of Pearl River Central High School in Carriere, Alex was elected representative in student government all four years, and served as the website and technology adviser. Active in his school's Navy Junior ROTC program, Alex inspired the program to achieve national academic honors and regional physical fitness and drill honors. As secretary and treasurer of Teenage Republicans of Picayune, he campaigned for GOP candidates for numerous offices and attended the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. Alex has also served on his school's journalism staff and helped needy people by participating in many community service projects. After MSU, he plans to enter law school and specialize in constitutional law.
Taylor Luczak (in the right picture above) grew up in Glens Falls, N.Y. He is a Political Science and Asian Studies major here at MSU. He's been a member of the MSU Varsity Basketball Team since 2008, and was a member of the MSU Varsity Track & Field Team his freshman year. Taylor runs the MSU Pre-Law Society with Faculty Advisor Whit Waide and is the student liaison for the society with a large number of alumni who work in law. Mr. Luczak has studied abroad in Taiwan, been a student host to well-known guest speakers including James Carville, Mary Matalin, General Colin Powell, and Mike Huckabee as well as many foreign ambassadors and diplomats through the MSU Mississippi Model Security Council. Taylor represented MSU and the United States as an American Delegate at the Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) in the summer of 2010 where he engaged in political and social debates. The following summer of 2011, he helped run JASC as an Executive Committee member in Japan. As a third generation MSU bulldog, Taylor is honored to be a part of Mississippi State's tradition of excellence, and we are proud of his many accomplishments thus far. He is a senior Haley Barbour Scholar.
Matthew Wilson West (in the picture above) is a graduate of Starkville High School and is a junior Stennis Scholar. Wilson is involved in his third year on the Mississippi Model Security Council at MSU, having served as a Vice President and President of delegations. He is also very involved in Reformed University Fellowship, a campus ministry, where he serves in coordinating and leading music, amongst other things. He is focused on international relations, and plans on pursuing a graduate degree in the future.
Stennis Scholar alumni Whitney Holliday and Shelley New enjoyed a view of Washington, D.C., while attending the inauguration of President Obama as students as part of the Stennis-Montgomery Association's annual D.C. trip. They are shown in the photo above.
Students in our department have the opportunity to meet prominent public officials, such as the governor and lieutenant governor. In the photo above, Stennis Scholar (now alumnus) and SA Vice President Lee Weiskopf met with 2-term Lieutenant Governor Amy Tuck, a graduate of our department.
In the picture above, Barbour Scholars (now alumni) Jane Anna Harris and Tonya Thorton-Neaves pose with 2-term Governor Haley Barbour after a breakfast with him and the MSU President. Barbour offered the students invaluable advice about networking and job hunting in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Jane Anna served as the Staff Director for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Tonya is a Research Fellow and Project Coordinator at the Social Science Research Center at MSU.
One annual conference that some of our students attend is the Southern Women in Public Service program sponsored by the Stennis Center. In the photo above, Stennis Scholar (now alumnus) Tamikia Carr met with then-Vice President Al Gore's wife, Tipper.
Our students also meet with numerous other public figures who visit our department. In the above photo, political science students (now alumni) Nikita Gandy, Ben Needham, and Ta'Shia Shannon (a Collins Scholar alumnus) are to the left of former Congressman Mike Espy. Espy was the first African-American from a rural district elected to Congress. Students Yashica Tate and Terrance James are to the right of Espy.
Our department's John C. Stennis Scholars are named in memory of MSU alumnus John C. Stennis, who served in the United States Senate from 1947 to 1988, rising to the powerful position of President Pro Tempore of the senate and fourth in line for the presidency. Senator Stennis also served as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee and previously as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. He was so respected in the senate that Congress named a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier after him, which was commissioned into service before the carrier honoring former president Harry Truman. Because John Stennis inspired Mississippians to be active in public affairs, we include our department's Bill Collins (the founding director of the Stennis Institute of Government) and Haley Barbour (our two-term governor and a formidable Stennis challenger in 1982) scholars on this webpage.
To learn more about Senator John Stennis, click here.
The Haley Barbour Scholars are named after a distinguished public servant and native of Yazoo City who rose to the position of Chair of the Republican National Committee. As RNC Chairman, Haley Barbour inaugurated an aggressive fundraising, public relations, and candidate assistance program that led the GOP in 1994 to majority control of both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. Barbour was elected Governor in the 2003 state elections, when for the first time Republicans won half of Mississippi's statewide executive offices as well as historically high percentages of state house and state senate seats. When Barbour was re-elected governor four years later, he swept his party to control of every statewide elected office with one exception.
The Bill Collins Scholar is named after a distinguished educational leader, who was the first Director of the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. A Bill Collins Speakership series was established in his honor in the MSU Library.
For a copy of the Stennis Application Form, click here.