Mississippi Christian University

The Division of Student Experience at Mississippi College recognized more than four dozen outstanding student leaders of all classifications who have contributed to campus life at MC during its seventh annual Student Experience Awards Gala on April 27.

Mississippi College students and faculty who have distinguished themselves through excellence in scholarship, service and leadership were recognized during the 2026 Honors Convocation on April 23 in Swor Auditorium in Nelson Hall on the Clinton campus.

The Mississippi College Office of Academic Affairs releases the Dean's List after the close of fall and spring semesters each academic year. To be eligible for the Dean's List, a student must maintain a 3.5 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average.

The Mississippi College Office of Academic Affairs releases the President's List after the close of fall and spring semesters each academic year. To be eligible for the President's List, a student must maintain a 4.0 grade point average, based on a 4.0 system. The student must take a full course load of at least 12 semester hours of undergraduate credit with all academic courses impacting their grade point average.

LIVINGSTON, Ala - #10 Mississippi College experienced a tale of two games on Saturday as they split a doubleheader with West Alabama, winning the first contest 10-8 before falling short in game two 10-9. The moment of the day came in game two when McCall Lee cemented her legacy in the record books. With her second home run of the day, Lee became the all-time career record holder with 35 home runs, adding to her impressive list of accomplishments this season. Lee has now broken five records, including career home runs, hits, RBI, doubles, and total bases. In game one, MC secured a 10-8 victory. Mississippi College maintained control throughout the game, with key contributions from Kamryn Eaton and Jordan LaFosse, who both delivered crucial hits. In game two, West Alabama mounted a comeback, edging out Mississippi College with a narrow 10-9 win in extra innings. Despite a valiant effort from Mississippi College's offense, highlighted by Lee's historic home run, they were unable to secure the victory in the end. MC, despite the one run loss in game three, won the series 2-1 after securing a 4-3 victory on Friday. The Lady Choctaws overall record stands at an impressive 26-6 for the season, with a strong showing in GSC play at 12-6. Mississippi College is set to return to action on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Arkansas-Monticello at Arkansas-Monticello. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Honors College at Mississippi College may have a new leader, but members of the fifth cohort of exceptional students that comprise the elite program's Class of 2027 are prepared to be challenged by a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum dedicated to academic excellence, spiritual growth, and civic engagement. Christopher Weeks, associate professor of biology at MC, has succeeded Erin Norcross, the original director of the Honors College program proposed by MC President Blake Thompson during his inauguration in 2018. The new class is comprised of the following students:

The Senior Awards of Excellence in Leadership recognize senior students who are distinguished by visionary leadership on campus and their vision of greatness. Students receiving this award may have shown leadership in a particular organization or department, or have served in various roles across campus. The 2023 recipients are Emma Barkley, Chloe Bell, Anna Pittman, Lillian Sisson, Avery Hederman, Kenzie Ricks, Queen Washington, Connor Stewart, Noemi Perez, Timothy Martin, Gracie Phillips, Camryn Bruce, David Torrent, Dylan Robertson, Corley Sullivan, Rachel Smith, Peyton DePriest.

Emily Barnes, a Biology major and member of the class of 2023, was recently accepted into the University of Mississippi Medical Center Dental Hygiene School.

Members of the Mississippi College Physician Assistant Studies Program Class of 2025 pledged to uphold tenets of patient care during the program's 13th White Coat Ceremony Aug. 31 in Anderson Hall in the B.C. Rogers Student Center.

Budding entrepreneurs in the School of Business at Mississippi College are refining their business acumen while developing what could become the next great commercial startup idea by competing in the NextUP! Student Pitch Competition in Hattiesburg April 13.

Cortney Alford, a December 2022 graduate of Mississippi College, was recently accepted to Physical Therapy School at the University of Central Arkansas.

Kaitlyn Williamson, a marketing major and class of 2024, recently accepted a Marketing and Communications Internship with FedEx for the summer of 2023.

Shawreth Men's Club welcomed new members in the fall semester. Shawreth is a social and service organization that joined the club and tribe system at Mississippi College in 1998. The Perkin's Center serves as the club's philanthropic focus. Mississippi College's clubs and tribes system is made up of ten organizations that provide social and service opportunities to students.

Rachel Smith, 2022-23 Student Government Association president at Mississippi College, has one major goal during her tenure in office: never let a student ask what the SGA does.

Announcing Choctaw Marching Band 2022 Ensemble The Choctaw Marching Band is directed by Duncan Goff, and consists of many different sounds including the flute, clarinet, saxophone, mellophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, sousaphone, percussion, and the Color Guard. The Marching Band will be performing at various football games and other events through the fall season.

Mississippi College congratulates new Choctaws on their acceptance and enrollment in the Fall of 2022. It's a great time to be a Choctaw, The Princeton Review has tapped MC as one of the "Best Southeastern Colleges;" a newly strengthened relationship between MC and the Mississippi Band of Choctaws is flourishing, and the groundwork is being laid for an exciting development on Highway 80 that will enhance the life of MC students, faculty, staff, and the community.

Entrepreneurs are the engine that drives economic growth in the U.S. By envisioning and creating new products and services, entrepreneurs stimulate employment, which accelerates economic development. Successful entrepreneurship requires a combination of skills that have been carefully cultivated by faculty in the School of Business at Mississippi College. Many of the school's brightest students participate in an independent entrepreneurial club - called "Think Tank" - that inspires the next generation of business innovators in the state. Many of the Think Tank participants' most promising ideas will be unveiled during the seventh annual Entrepreneurship Forum April 6-7 at Vicksburg's Thad Cochran Mississippi Center for Information and Technology and the Vicksburg Convention Center. Hosted by the University of Mississippi's McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement and Innovate Mississippi, a nonprofit organization that has developed more than 1,500 new companies throughout the state, the event brings together leading entrepreneurs, economic developers, innovators, and future business owners to learn more about the entrepreneurial climate and the future of entrepreneurship in Mississippi. It is part of the Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Initiative funded by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation. The forum will include educational sessions and panels on technology and innovation, student entrepreneurship, and the state's entrepreneurial ecosystem. But the most highly anticipated event is the NextUp Business Plan Competition, an avenue for students to pitch projects with viable business plans to academic and business experts. Seven aspiring entrepreneurs at MC are scheduled to compete against students from the state's other four-year colleges and universities in a fast-paced, "Shark Tank"-style business environment. The students will deliver their pitches, display their prototypes, and attempt to convince a panel of business professionals and investors that their ideas could gain traction in the uber-competitive business market. The Mississippi Development Authority will award monetary prizes to the most promising presentations to help students develop their ideas to the creation stage. John Brandon, instructor and director of entrepreneurial development at MC, said Think Tank students have traditionally performed very well in the competition, even securing second and third prizes during the last forum. "Our students are very involved in that competition," said Brandon, who specializes in small business creation and business growth strategies. "We take students from one of our senior-level entrepreneurial courses and have them put together a new business venture idea, write a new business plan, and give a complete presentation. "As we train these students to go out and attempt to run a new business venture successfully, we help them take the concepts of the businesses they have and run it through their paces so they're comfortable talking to investors or venture capital firms. This lets our students really shine when they leave MC." One of Brandon's students that will participate in the NextUp competition and will also serve as a panelist at the forum. Everest Benson, a junior business entrepreneurship major from Ann Arbor, Michigan, will be pitching his plan for Nicotine Relief Therapy Coffee. "It is coffee that contains nicotine for the purpose of helping people quit smoking, vaping, or whatever other use of nicotine they have," said Benson, who serves as Think Tank events coordinator and incoming president. "Once the concept is finalized, it should be very simple to produce, but the trial, testing, and proof-of-concept stage is the most complicated due to laws and regulations. "The benefit would be to current nicotine users, creating a nicotine relief therapy that is simple to use and does not deviate them from their everyday lifestyles, since 93 percent of smokers also drink coffee." The concept is so promising that Benson is scheduled to present "NRT Coffee" to forum attendees as part of the official program the day after the NextUp competition. "The presentation will focus mostly on the background of current nicotine relief therapies, how NRT Coffee is different, and how it has the possibility to capture a significantly large market share," he said. "I want the audience to understand that there is not always one right way to do something. The largest 'stop smoking' advocates in society push for the 'cold turkey' approach to nicotine, even though relief therapies are proven to work significantly better. "I want everyone to understand that using what people are already familiar with is a more effective approach than using a foreign object." Carter Zatechka, a senior business administration major and entrepreneurship minor from Memphis, is a first-time participant in the NextUp competition, but his business proposal also has promise. Zatechka, Think Tank's director of marketing, will be pitching a mobile app called "Summit" that would help attendees of professional conferences and seminars capture the vast array of information presented to them. "When people attend these meetings, they are usually given a pamphlet or piece of paper that doesn't have a whole lot of information, and they're not able to retain everything that was said at the conference," Zatechka said. "With this app, the conference presenter can distribute information to attendees automatically, which can be stored efficiently on their phones or tablets. "It takes away the need to keep up with any kind of physical piece of paper or pamphlet, and it becomes easier to access information from the conference." Other MC Business students scheduled to participate in the NextUp competition include Hannah Grace Plunkett, Kimberly Hardy, Schuyler Hickman, Thomas Wilson, and Alondra Reyes. Zatechka said the forum provides a valuable opportunity for these students to interact with their colleagues from other universities and discover potential business trends for the future. "It will be interesting to see what is out there, to see what people are thinking and creating with their business ventures," Zatechka said. "Taking an idea applicable to what we do in class and making it a successful venture takes a lot of hard work. The students who participate have a lot to offer in today's entrepreneurial world." Brandon said MC Business harnesses that talent and expands students' business acumen while sharpening their entrepreneurial skills. "The Entrepreneurship Program in the School of Business offers a major in entrepreneurship, a minor in entrepreneurship for business majors, and a minor in entrepreneurship for non-business majors," said Brandon, who teaches Introduction to Entrepreneurship, New Venture Creation, and Business Skills for Life. "But it's not just for students in the business school - it's for students who are interested in almost any career. "If you're studying electrical engineering and thinking of opening a business one day, you would be welcome in the program. If you're a musician who might be interested in starting a business, you're welcome here. If you're in some other career, but think you could benefit from a side business, you're welcome. "Whether you're interested in technology or in some of the more common things people buy and use every day, you're welcome." Think Tank, governed and run exclusively by students, has a similar aim. "The whole purpose of the club is to expand across the business school, but also to focus on attracting people who have an entrepreneurial mindset," Zatechka said. "We'd like for them to participate in club activities and get exposed to business people in their field." Along with its participation in the Entrepreneurship Forum, Think Tank offers a variety of opportunities for members to develop their entrepreneurial chops. Think Tank leaders are planning their own entrepreneurial event this spring. Members of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Clinton, and local residents will visit MC to offer their advice to students interested in learning more about the local business climate. They will focus on the close ties the Christian University has to the town of Clinton. Think Tank members are also heavily involved in social clubs and tribes, MC board events, Scouts, the Yearbook Committee, and Residence Life. "Members of Think Tank are much more likely to do activities that build their competitiveness in the economy," Benson said. "That comes in all forms, whether in jobs, internships, or service commitments to the community. "I believe everyone can benefit from Think Tank. People not in the School of Business might get their first experience with the idea of turning their skill, hobby, or major into a profitable enterprise. We in the club cannot think of a single major at Mississippi College - or universities in general - that would not benefit from learning about starting or operating a business. Anyone who wants to be involved is invited and encouraged."

Mississippi College honored the graduates of both summer and fall semesters in three campus ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 17. Dr. Blake Thompson, MC president, welcomed the graduates and gave opening remarks, while Dr. Tommy Leavelle, retired professor in the Department of Mathematics at MC and the 2020-21 Distinguished Professor of the Year, gave the Commencement Address. Thompson reiterated MC's theme, "Rise Up," for the 2021-22 Academic Year, inviting the MC Family to make this a year built on the "good work" God calls us all to do. The encouragement taken from Nehemiah 2:18 illustrates that, although situations can change at a moment's notice, God will strengthen our hands.