On the Mississippi State University campus, students are the community, which is why MSU provides services to accommodate each one.
Montgomery Hall is located beside the Perry Cafeteria. On the ground floor, Student Support Services exists to assist any student in need of help.
Micah White, associate director of Student Support Services, said his passion for his job started with his father’s passion for it before him.
“My father started working for Student Support Services here at MSU in the 70s. I can remember being five years old and being around people with disabilities,” White said.
White, who ventured off briefly before being reunited with MSU, said he loves the nature of his job.
“I wanted to be back here at State, so I interviewed back in 2008, and I got the job,” White said.
MSU’s Student Support Services provides essential help to students who deal with disabilities. The program helps an array of disabilities from mobility issues to chronic headaches.
If a student was interested in accessing the services provided by Student Support Services, he or she would need proper documentation from a physician as a first step.
“A student must have documented disability from a doctor or a psychologist. They must then bring it in and register with our program,” White said.
Student Support Services enables students who need additional help taking tests the opportunity to stay one step ahead. The program provides accommodations in the form of extra time on tests.
“Testing is our busiest area of help we provide. The students can even come in to the center to take the test instead of taking the test in class,” White said.
Once students have been accommodated in taking the test, the proctor hand delivers the test back to the student’s professor. Test-taking is just a checkpoint in this race, however, as the center provides much more help to the students. 
 
“We like to have a good relationship with the housing department here on campus so that we can request special housing for the students in need,” White said.
Some students require bathrooms and special navigation, and the Student Support Services center serves as an advocacy for students. The center also provides help for students who are first generation or from low-income families.
Jermaine Jackson, Student Support Services coordinator, said the center accepts 160 students through a loan called TRIO. The loan provides first generation and low-income students with the resources they need to get off on the right foot.
“We accept first generation students or students from low-income families. We also accept students whose parents may have earned an associate’s degree,” Jackson said. 
Jackson said the graduation rate for the TRIO program was 64 percent last year, and 92 percent of the students involved in the program maintain a GPA higher than a 2.0. 
 “We offer the Jumpstart program to the freshman class and Finish Line to our seniors. These programs provide the students the help they need with time management skills and organization,” Jackson said.
Zach Woolley, a 23-year-old student from Birmingham, Ala., said he benefits greatly from the services provided to him here at MSU.
“I have cerebral palsy, which is brain damage at birth,” Woolley said.
Woolley, a political science and philosophy double major, said MSU afforded him an opportunity that other schools would not.
“These guys are awesome. If you have a disability, sometimes you encounter a roadblock here or there. Student Support Services here at MSU makes it an even playing field,” Woolley said.