The Transfer Student Association Cabinet within the Student Association will host a transfer student involvement fair today at 5 p.m. in the Foster Ballroom of the Colvard Student Union.
Taylor King, co-director of Transfer Student Affairs, said representatives from nearly 30 organizations across campus will be available at the fair to answer questions and increase interest of involvement. King also said some organizations will take applications to accept new members.
“We have about 30 organizations signed up right now. We have alumni delegates, who are actually taking applications right now and orientation leaders,” King said. “(There will be) other organizations like Fashion Board, Show Choir and Blitz! Show Choir – leadership positions to fun little clubs, to places to live, things to eat – all that kind of stuff is going to be in there.”
She also said MSU Dining Services and local apartment complex booths will be set up to help students transition and offer a better student experience on and off campus. Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin is among MSU leaders who will speak at the event, and King said Stricklin will highlight his experiences with getting involved.
“He was a student here as well,” King said. “He just kind of put his foot in the door, met some people, shook some hands and got involved. Because he put himself out there, that’s how he got where he is today.”
She also said SA President-elect Michael Hogan will speak to students about SA changes, and residence hall director Jake Hartfield will discuss his transfer experience and how it impacted his involvement at MSU.
King said tonight’s event will not only be limited to MSU, but students across the state have been invited to attend.
“We also invited transfer students from all across the state. Anyone who wants to come to Mississippi State next year who is in a community college, we have invited them,” she said. “Just because it’s nearing the end of the semester and about to start a new year soon, we thought ‘why don’t they go ahead and get their foot in the door and see what’s out there before they get to Mississippi State?'”
Over 150 transfer students attended TSA’s welcome meeting last month, and King said the large crowd allowed the committee to expand its activities and will host more events in the near future.
“We got awesome feedback from transfer students,” King said. “It was awesome to be able to put that on and see in the faces the changes that we’re already making just from this first thing, and to know that with the first 150, how much is it going to grow in the next few years?”