“I’m classified as a sophomore, but this is my first year at JSU, so I feel more like a freshman. I was in the Summer Bridge Program, but most of my credits came from doing dual enrollment and AP courses in high school. So I came to JSU during the summer session with 41 credits, and by the end of the session, I had 47 credits. Next semester, I’ll be a junior. It was completely unplanned. In middle school, they always told me that I should take more challenging classes. Then once dual credit and AP courses became an option, I was like, ‘Why not?’ A lot of those credits can’t even be used for my major, which is engineering. But looking back, I probably would do the same thing again just to have the challenge.

When I graduate, I want to be a software engineer and be able to build code and programs to accomplish certain tasks. I know that the technology industry in Mississippi is small, but if I could play a part in growing that, I think that would be the ideal space to be. I don’t know what that looks like right now, but that feels like the dream. I’ve always loved Mississippi. I know there are other interesting places in the world, but I just feel grounded here. It’s my place. It’s my home. So like any normal person would want to do, I want to make sure my home is doing well. I want it to grow, and I want to make sure it’s at the highest standard and the highest quality.”

– Ethan, sophomore computer engineering major from Brandon, Miss.