From genetics lessons to environmental education, Mississippi State researcher Lourdes Cardozo Gaibisso is working to make science more accessible for multilingual students. An assistant professor of TESOL and linguistics in MSU’s Department of English, Cardozo Gaibisso studies how multilingual students learn science and how educators can create more effective learning experiences. Through a Design-Based Research and Implementation (DBRI) approach, she develops, tests and refines instructional strategies that help connect science concepts to students’ languages, cultures and communities.

“One of my favorite memories during my time as a MSU student was the chance encounter in 1977 with Mr. Hunter Henry,” said Harvest Collier, a three-time Mississippi State graduate. Then a doctoral student finishing his degree, Collier had no idea that greeting Henry in a hallway in Hand Lab would change the trajectory of his life.

For Andrew “Andy” Impastato, Mississippi State University was a practical choice rooted in friendship, family and the opportunity to build a future close to home. He arrived in Starkville with plans to attend law school, but the foundation he developed as a philosophy major would prove valuable long after graduation.