Mississippi State University’s Department of Communication student-produced newscast, Take 30 News, earned top honors this spring at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 Mark of Excellence Awards, winning Best All-Around Television Newscast—one of the contest’s most prestigious categories.

For Mississippi State University graduate Alijah Jones, the road to a Fulbright Scholarship began in the stillness of the pandemic. Feeling a lack of connection, Jones said he “indulged” in internet browsing, happening upon a YouTube video––“Dinner with my Italian Host Family.” Stepping outside the loneliness of isolation, he found not just a glimpse into another culture, but a spark that would one day take him across the world.

Mississippi State University chemistry Ph.D. student Chibuike Onyeogulu recently represented MSU on the international stage as one of only 60 students selected from a global pool to attend the American Chemical Society’s Green and Sustainable Chemistry Summer School—a competitive and fully funded program held July 27–August 1 at the University of Vermont in Burlington.