Mississippi State University’s Department of English recently welcomed high school students from across the state to campus for the inaugural “English Expo: Mississippi in the World,” an interactive event celebrating Mississippi’s literary heritage and showcasing the versatility of English studies.

“I realized there are so many types of writing—you can write for a magazine, for essays, for news stories,” said Portia Agyapong, reflecting on her internship in Mississippi State’s College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office last summer. “Even though I initially struggled because I was stuck with an academic writing mindset, it was an amazing experience to learn different ways of writing during my internship. I really learned a lot from it.”

Mississippi State faculty member Joseph Thompson continues to earn widespread recognition for his groundbreaking work on the intersection of music and military history, earning an international award for his acclaimed book “Cold War Country: How Nashville’s Music Row and the Pentagon Created the Sound of American Patriotism.”