Two Mississippi State doctoral students were recently honored with diversity awards at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast on campus. Terrance West of Meridian and Lokesh Shivakumaraiah of Bangalore, India, were selected for the awards due to their efforts in undergraduate, graduate and extracurricular activities and leadership roles.
“It’s an award that means a lot,” West said. “It’s important for me to give back to the engineering program and to the minorities at Mississippi State.”
West, a computer engineering major who completed both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at MSU, was honored for his efforts in mentoring undergraduate minority students in the areas of mathematics and science. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, where he holds the academic excellence chair for the MSU chapter. West has also excelled in his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, where he headed up several community and student service projects.
“Hopefully my efforts will attract more minorities to the fields of math and science,” West said.
Shivakumaraiah, an electrical engineering major who also holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU, was recognized for his work in promoting the exchange of communication between international students and the overall campus.
“This award highlights MSU’s dedication for promoting diversity and campus internationalization. It motivates me to continue to work diligently in chasing my dream of leading a higher education institution,” Shivakumaraiah said.
He also holds leadership roles in the MSU Student Association as the director of international affairs, former president of the MSU India Student Association, and president and founder of the MSU Cricket Club.
Both students were nominated by a faculty member, attained three written recommendation letters from faculty and were selected by MSU President Robert “Doc” Foglesong under his commission on the status of minorities.
The award winners have high hopes for their futures after MSU.
“I want to use both my technical and student affairs skills to train future students as global citizens,” Shivakumaraiah said. “My career goal is to lead a higher education institution.”
West said he hopes to hold a teaching position in the electrical engineering field.