Joy Cariño is a sophomore majoring in English from Starkville.
After graduating high school, Cariño chose to stay in Starkville and attend Mississippi State University for a few reasons, one of which was the Shackouls Honors College. 
“The number one non-monetary reason would be the honors college,” Cariño said. “The faculty in the honors college are all so supportive and dedicated to the giving students a really awesome humanities education.”
Cariño is active on campus as a copy editor of The Streetcar, MSU’s student-run and student-produced creative arts journal, and is the piano accompanist for two MSU choirs, Men of State and Women of State.
Cariño also spends time throughout her week as a conversation partner volunteer for the English Language Institute where she works with international students and is able to learn about different cultures from around the world.
Cariño’s main passions include research and music. Cariño performs undergraduate research for Herd in the MSU’s Linguistics Lab studying sociophonetic variation in Mississippi speakers. To chase her passion for music, she plays as the violinist for a small band called Celery Teeth which Cariño formed with friends from high school.
Throughout her time at MSU, Cariño’s favorite thing has been her experiences with the arts. In music, theatre and English, Cariño said she has learned while also creating many new and wonderful friendships.
Currently, Cariño does not have any firm career goals, but is open to whatever the future may hold and hopes her time at MSU will continue to help her find interesting opportunities to pursue everyday.