Contact: Walt Harrington

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Mississippi State University Alumni Association convened its inaugural Young Alumni Advisory Council this month. This newly organized group of volunteer leaders, which met for the first time during the association’s annual leadership conference March 2, is dedicated to helping young MSU alumni transition into their professional lives while engaging them in lifelong relationships with fellow alumni and the land-grant institution.

Consisting of 38 MSU graduates under the age of 35, council members are ambassadors of the university in areas of the nation where high concentrations of young graduates reside. These areas include Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Houston, Texas; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; and Washington, D.C.

“The Alumni Association is excited about the addition of the Young Alumni Advisory Council,” said Jeff Davis, the association’s executive director. “The council will provide a network for young alumni and encourage younger generations to consider making MSU their institution of choice for a college education.”

The new council meets each spring and fall. Members over age 28 serve two-year terms, and younger members serve three-year terms. The council is led by chair and vice chair positions. Inaugural officers are chair Paul Minor, a 2011 geoscience graduate of Houston, Texas, and vice chair Evann Berry, a 2014 biological engineering graduate of Mount Rainier, Maryland.

“It is a tremendous honor to chair the first Young Alumni Advisory Council,” said Minor. “I am eager to serve alongside our bright and passionate council men and women, whose sole mission is to assist our recent graduates around the world with establishing a lifelong connection to their alma mater. At home or away, being a Mississippi State Bulldog is part of our identity.” 

The group also seeks to amplify involvement in volunteering and fundraising activities. Council members participate in one of four subcommittees: alumni chapters and clubs, alumni engagement and participation, marketing and communication, and student recruitment.

“This newly established advisory council builds on the association’s commitment to expand young alumni engagement,” said Berry. “I look forward to serving Mississippi State and our esteemed alumni through this group.”

Established in 1885 by the first three graduating classes of then Mississippi Agriculture and Mechanical College, the Alumni Association is dedicated to maintaining relationships with the Bulldog family. These relationships foster support for the land-grant institution and involvement in university events, programs and activities of MSU’s more than 143,000 living alumni. The MSU Alumni Association has 101 chapters and clubs worldwide. Alumni membership is complimentary for a one-year period following graduation and continues with an annual contribution through the university’s annual giving program. 

For more on the Young Alumni Advisory Council and association participation, contact Brady Sistrunk, assistant coordinator of Alumni Chapters and Young Alumni Activities, at 662-325-3349 or bsistrunk@alumni.msstate.edu.

More on the alumni association is available at alumni.msstate.edu.