“I’m not nervous,” explained Evan McClelland. “I like speaking in front of people, and showing my own style and personality to a big crowd. The bigger the crowd is, the better.”
McClelland, 11, is a fifth-grader at Starkville Academy. Already a seasoned speaker and a veteran of spelling bees, he is getting ready to face his biggest crowd yet: the International Fiesta at Mississippi State University, where he will serve as a master of ceremonies for the day’s performances.
The Fiesta, scheduled for April 1, is a day of cultural exchange and entertainment. Student organizations, departments and other groups on campus and in Starkville will have booths to showcase their cultures through displays and homemade dishes. There will also be performances, including music, singing and dance.
McClelland’s mom, Nadia McClelland, told The Dispatch that Evan came to the attention of one of the Fiesta’s organizers after speaking at a community Thanksgiving event.
“After seeing him there, they approached me,” Nadia McClelland said.
Evan said he’s looking forward to it, and he sees the event as a positive one.
“I want people to know that they may be from different races or cultures but everybody coming together can make a humongous change,” Evan said.
Nadia McClelland said Evan has always been drawn to words and language, and through that to speaking in public.
“He was born early,” she said. “One of his strengths when he was itty bitty is he was able to read very early in his life. By the time he was four he had read a thousand books. They were age appropriate books, but for him that was a whole book he was reading.”
Tearing through books meant Evan was a regular at the local library, Nadia McClelland said. He became such a regular presence that it led to one of his first public gigs.
“The librarian was very impressed by him,” she said. “From age 3 until he was six-and-a-half he had a little reading program. He would go sit in a lady’s lap and read a book (aloud) every week. He did it every Wednesday, and it inspired a lot of children his age to start reading.”
Evan also took his show on the road, reading to animals at the local shelter and to residents at a local nursing home.
“I wanted to make a change in my community,” Evan said. “I felt like … just by reading to them a simple kid like me made a huge difference and then they wouldn’t feel so lonely anymore.”
When Evan hit the fourth grade, he began to participate in spelling bees.
“I like getting out there and trying my best,” he said. “It’s fun. I get to see and meet other people from different schools. It’s fun to get to know them.”
After each match, he takes the microphone and praises his fellow contestants.
“He would tell his peers about how they were all winners for making it (to each round) and that just by trying they are already succeeding,” Nadia McClelland said. “… He said children would come to him later and tell him that it made them feel better. It made him feel like he was doing something good.”
Evan said it was important to him that the other kids knew they had nothing to be ashamed of.
“I want to be the one to let them know that no matter how many times they may fail, one way or another they’ll succeed,” he said. “You succeed by trying again and never giving up because you believe you can do it.”
How to go
■ WHAT: MSU International Fiesta
■ WHEN: April 1, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
■ WHERE: Drill Field on the MSU campus
■ NOTES: Entry and entertainment is free; food dishes available for sale from various vendors
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
