With student orientation just four weeks away at Mississippi State University, about 60 alumni chapters and clubs are set to host send-off parties for new freshmen and transfer students joining the Bulldog nation. Incoming students and their parents are invited to the nearest party, where alumni and friends will welcome them to the maroon and white family. New students attending will receive an official send-off T-shirt.
In the Golden Triangle, Oktibbeha County and Clay County have events planned.
The Clay County alumni chapter send-off party will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 24 at Anthony’s Good Food Market at 116 W. Main St. in West Point. Incoming freshmen and transfer students and their parents may attend free. All other alumni and friends are asked to pay $10. RSVP to Gene Murray at [email protected], or 662-295-5757. Include a T-shirt size for new students before Monday.
Oktibbeha County’s chapter will host a free event from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9 at the MAFES Conference Center (The Bull Barn), off Highway 182 at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive East. RSVP to Matt Matthews at [email protected] or 662-312-0301. Include a T-shirt size for the new student.
At present, there is no event scheduled in Lowndes County.
The parties are a valued way to grow the university community, said Janet Downey, MSU Alumni Association coordinator of chapter and volunteer programs.
“This is a way for new students to meet each other before they come to MSU,” she said of the celebrations. “They’re especially helpful for out-of-state students. And it’s a way for parents to become part of the Bulldog family and create that network.”
Send-off events, now in their 13th year, are scheduled through Aug. 12 not only in the southeast but also in states including Kansas, Missouri, North and South Carolina, Illinois and Washington, D.C. For a complete listing, visit alumni.msstate.edu/sendoff.
New freshman and transfer student orientation at MSU is Aug. 17. Move-in day is Aug. 18. Fall semester classes begin Aug. 22.
For more information, contact Downey at [email protected] or 662-325-8515.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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