A jpg picture-perfect version of this picture is available here.
A jpg picture-perfect version of this
picture is available here.
Zachary Woolley (at left in the above picture) is a senior Tip Allen Scholar from Birmingham, Alabama. Last summer he interned with the U.S. Department of Educatiion's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation. The internship was sponsored by the American Association of People with Disabilities. While in Washington, Zach met with U.S. Senator Thad Cochran while lobbying for the Convention of Rights of People with Disabilities. After graduation, he plans to attend law school.
Kaitlyn Byrne (second from the left) is a senior Haley Barbour Scholar majoring in political science and communication with a double concentration in journalism and broadcasting. Kaitlyn is involved in various organizations on campus. She has worked as a news writer, copy editor, news editor, managing editor and currently works as editor-in-chief at The Reflector. She represents the Political Science department on the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Student Advisory Council. Kaitlyn serves as a Communication Ambassador for the Department of Communication, and she is also the treasurer and secretary of Foundation Ambassador for the MSU Foundation. She is involved with the Baptist Student Union on campus and has served as a family group leader. She is president of Lambda Pi Eta and a member of Gamma Beta Phi. Kaitlyn has achieved Phase I honors from Shackouls Honors College. She is also a student writer and student worker for MSU Office of Agricultural Communications. After graduation, Kaitlyn plans to attend law school.
Holly Travis is a freshman John C. Stennis Scholar from Starkville High School. While in high school, Holly was elected Student Body President in her senior year, and served as Class President in the three previous years. She has served as a mentor/tutor for the Brickfire Project, as an assistant in a special education class, and has done mission work in Peru and Puerto Rico. Holly is Starkville's Distinguished Young Woman for 2013, was a top ten finalist in the state program, and is a dancer. At MSU, Holly is also a Presidential Scholar (formerly known as Distinguished Scholar), a member of the Mississippi State Pom Squad, Chi Omega, Freshman Forum, and International Justice Mission (IJM). She worked as an intern last summer in the Circuit Clerk's office in Starkville. A Spanish double major, she plans to attend law school and to work for a non-governmental organization.
Anthony Laudadio is a Freshman Stennis Scholar from Walnut, Mississippi. He was a leader in the 4-H Program in high school, twice serving as the Alcorn County 4-H Council President, and has been a member of the State 4-H Leadership Team. He has been a delegate to both the National 4-H Congress and the National 4-H Conference. Anthony has served as a Junior Legislative Page to then Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant and has attended both teen leadership camps and a mock legislature camp. He has earned the Congressional Award Bronze Medal and has actively served his community through the Congressional Awards program. Anthony is currently a member of the Shackouls Honors College and is actively involved on campus, being a member of the Baptist Student Union, Collegiate 4-H, the Elections Committee on the Student Association, and the MSU Philharmonia. He is also engaged with the Stennis Montgomery Association and is the current secretary of MSU College Republicans. After graduation, Anthony plans to pursue a Master's degree in public policy or history and to work in a governmental or educational institution.
Caroline Collins is a sophomore Stennis Scholar from Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. While in high school, Caroline was a member of Student Council each year and served as Student Body President as a senior. Caroline started her school’s recycling program, served as Varsity Tennis Captain and Varsity Cheerleading Captain, was a member of two state championship volleyball teams, and a delegate to the Mississippi Youth Legislature Conference as both a Senator and a Lobbyist. In her church community, Caroline served on the Diocese of Biloxi SEARCH retreat team, the KAIROS retreat team, and her school’s Campus Ministry. She is a four-time delegate to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. During the summer of her senior year, Caroline spent time in Washington D.C. serving Senator Thad Cochran as a United States Senate Page. This summer, Caroline was a district intern for United States Congressman Steven Palazzo. At Mississippi State, Caroline is the Chairman of MSU College Republicans, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Lambda Sigma Honor Society, the Stennis-Montgomery Association, and Kappa Delta Sorority. During the 2012-2013 school year, Caroline served as President of the MSU Freshman Class. This year, she was elected to serve as Senator of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Samuel "Cole" Wood (on the right) is a freshman John C. Stennis Scholar from Starkville Academy. Cole currently serves as Pledge Class Vice President for his Sigma Chi pledge class, and is also a member of the Governmental Affairs committee on the Student Association. In high school and junior high, Cole served in student government each year, as a student council representative three times, as Student Council Vice President and then President, and as Class President on four occasions. The Vice Mayor of the Starkville Mayor's Youth Council for two years, Cole has also been a member of the Oktibbeha County Republican Party and has paged for the Mississippi House of Representatives. An Eagle Scout, he has been a mentor for many younger scouts. Cole plans to attend law school and aspires to one day run for Congress.
Matthew Campbell (not pictured), the son of Lorna Reynolds and Dwayne Campbell, is a senior, majoring in political science. He is our Bill Collins Scholar. Matthew is a native of Jackson, MS, where he is a 2010 graduate of William B. Murrah High School. He is extremely active on MSU's campus. He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Pi Sigma Alpha the National Political Science Honor Society. Currently, he serves as the president of the Mississippi State College Democrats and also as the 1st District Delegate for the Young Democrats of Mississippi Executive Committee. Matthew is a Resident Adviser in Oak Hall where he is the RHA liaison for his residence hall. He has interned for Representative Bennie G. Thompson, in Washington D.C., and assisted staffers on the House Committee on Homeland Security with a variety of legislative and media tasks. Matthew conducted legislative research, assisted staff in the Committee hearing room, and assisted with the production of press releases. He also shadowed Congressman Thompson during press conferences and congressional meetings. Matthew also interned for the Council for Opportunity in Education, in Washington D.C., where he worked with the Government Relations department and was engaged in a wide variety of projects that ranged from advocacy efforts, event coordination to fundraising. Regularly, he represented COE on Capitol Hill and assisted in mobilizing the grass roots community by lobbying Members of Congress about issues of concern. Matthew played an integral role in the success of the organization’s annual National Student Leadership Congress, serving as a panelist, debate facilitator, and event coordinator. In his free time, Matthew enjoys fishing and flag football; he loves the outdoors. After graduating from Mississippi State he plans to attend law school.
Haley Grantham (not pictured) is a junior 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. At MSU, Haley is a Roadrunner for the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, serves on the Mississippi State Student Association Executive Council as the Executive Assistant, and is a member of the Stennis Montgomery Association. She is also a member of Kappa Delta sorority and the Pre-Law Society. After graduation, Haley plans to attend law school and pursue a career in public service.
Roy Grantham "Grant" Krag (not pictured) is a senior 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.
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.