The keynote lecture for Mississippi State University’s Maroon Edition will feature “Three Cups of Tea” author Greg Mortenson Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
It is sponsored by the Maroon Edition, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Shackouls Honors College said Linda Morse, a professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology and the chair of the Maroon Edition Planning Committee.
“Mortenson is a fabulous speaker,” she said.
Both the University of Delaware and North Carolina State University turned people away because of the lack of available seating, Morse said. There will be 3,500 seats available in the Humphrey Coliseum for free, but tickets will be required, as high attendance is anticipated.
The book tells about Mortenson’s failed attempt to scale K2 in the Pakistani Himalayas and his efforts to build a school for a local village that helped him to recover.
“A guy screws up but turns his failure into something changing hundreds of lives,” Morse said.
Military officers from Camp Shelby will attend the event.
“People really feel like he knows the culture,” Morse said.
Ellen Davis, freshman political science major, said she admires what Mortenson has done for the local village.
“Mortenson went there and ended up doing something totally different than what he intended to do, but what he gained from building the schools is much more than he ever could have gained from climbing K2,” she said.
Students can get involved in many ways, one of which is through an online program called imMerSUs at immersus.msstate.edu, Morse said. By answering questions and participating in virtual tours of K2 and one of Mortenson’s schools, students will be eligible to win free t-shirts, Barnes & Noble gift cards or even a small scholarship.
She said two lucky students will get to attend a dinner for Mortenson with the MSU President Dr. Mark Keenum and Provost Dr. Jerry Gilbert.
“This year, we are seeing a lot of involvement on campus to support the Maroon Edition program,” Morse said.
The Colleges of Education, Arts & Sciences, Agriculture, Business and Engineering are participating in this year’s Maroon Edition activities.
There are a variety of projects going on throughout the semester both on and off campus according to Dr. April Heiselt, Department of Counseling and Education Psychology assistant professor, and co-chair of the Maroon Edition Community Service Committee.
One program is a school supply campaign being led by Gen. John Bradley through the Lamia Afghan Foundation, a non-profit organization he founded.
“The children there have nothing, and I mean nothing,” Heiselt said.
Bradley spoke to second graders at Sudduth Elementary School, who will be doing a pencil drive for his campaign, Heiselt said.
The second graders were excited to hear about General Bradley’s program as they sat in absolute silence, Heiselt said.
“You could hear a pen drop in a room of 300 7-year-olds,” she said.
The students then burst into cheers as Bully walked out and passed out books to every second grade teacher and bookmarks to each student.
“This will be one of my best memories at Mississippi State,” Heiselt said. “This really is a campus-wide community effort.”
There will be a supply collection at Game Day, and everyone is invited to bring supplies. Each group on campus is encouraged to host their own drives, she said.