The Alumni Delegates of Mississippi State University are a group of individuals who work together to preserve the past and pave the way for future Bulldogs.
Andrew Martin, senior communication major and president of Alumni Delegates, said Alumni Delegates is a unique organization, because it combines a group of about 40 students who are different.
“We come from all walks of life, but we are united in our passion for maroon and white,” Martin said.
This passion allows them to come together to form a collective leadership team through service, as they work towards a common goal: to volunteer time and effort for the Alumni of MSU.
Libba Andrews, the associate director for the Alumni Association, said Alumni Delegates is atypical in terms of other university organizations.
“It’s truly something that I have yet to see mimicked anywhere else on campus,” Andrews said. “It’s hard to truly and accurately describe the bond of those of us in this organization, other than to say that it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
The Alumni Delegates serve at multiple events throughout the year for the Alumni Association, shedding light on all the great aspects of MSU.
These people are sacrificing their time in order to “serve as a link between students and alumni,” which is what the organization strives to do, said Andrews.
They achieve this through many ways, like working the free hospitality tent for the Alumni Association or by passing out basketball posters at games.
Rather than simply being the connection between current students of MSU and Alumni, this organization also interacts with future students through an annual scholarship.
“We have also started our own tradition with our semesterly tuition drawing, which has already provided $30,000 in free tuition over the last 8 semesters,” Martin said.
The organization is run by students, and it teaches them about interacting with many different people, as this is the main part of their jobs said Alumni Delegate Quinlan X. Gray is a junior music education major.
“Delegates has taught me that as a human, we should have compassionate, loving and serving hearts,” Gray said. “We should love to help those around us and make ourselves expendable to their needs.”
Delegate William Johnson, a senior industrial engineering major, said because the organization is so keen on serving others and putting smiles on different people’s faces, they are truly one of a kind.
“I get to be the smiling face that greets alumni when they come to visit,” Johnson said.
While the delegates do many great things, something specifically noteworthy is the amount of effort they put into keeping many various MSU traditions alive.
The importance of traditions plays a key role in this organization because traditions connect Bulldogs through generations, giving people something to remember and something that will always be there.
“We promote the purchase of the alumni ring and helped create the Bulldog Bucket List which is a list of 78 (university was founded in 1878) things that a student should do before graduating,” Johnson said.
While tradition is a significant aspect of this, most importantly is being people-centric said Delegate Melanie Brumfield.
“It is an organization centered around people. Family is definitely a word that comes to mind,” Brumfield said.
Because of this organization, past MSU students are welcomed back with open arms and new ones are encouraged to come.
“I believe what Delegates do, how they act and the way they make students, alumni and friends of the University feel has a lasting and rippling effect on the future success of Mississippi State,” Andrews said.