Thursday, October 01, 2015

[130] Chattanooga products promote positive MTSU experience at True Blue Tour event in hometown Sept. 29

MURFREESBORO — Maddy Horton and Agnes Porter want high school students from their hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the surrounding area to find their way in college where they did — at Middle Tennessee State University.

Horton and Porter, both 20, will join MTSU administrators and academic staff in Chattanooga Tuesday, Sept. 29, on the first leg of the expanded True Blue Tour to recruit prospective students.

The Chattanooga event will be held at the Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St. The student and family reception begins at 6 p.m. EDT. A luncheon for area high school counselors and community college staff begins at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

At 10:30 a.m., officials from MTSU and Cleveland State Community will gather for a special announcement.

To register for any MTSU Admissions events, go to www.mtsu.edu/rsvp. Walkups are welcome.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and other administrators will join deans from the university’s eight academic colleges, the library services dean and counselors from the financial aid and admissions offices. They will be on hand to answer questions from prospective students, transfer students and their parents at the events.


Horton, a junior mathematics major, secondary education minor and 2014 graduate of Grace Baptist Academy, “hopes to be a voice from the (Chattanooga) area and show what MTSU is about from a student perspective.”

“It’s a great community. Everyone has a place at MTSU,” added Horton, whose ultimate goal after graduating in 2017 is to teach high school students and coach softball. “Life at MTSU has been everything I hoped for and more. Community is a big deal here. The student-teacher ratio is like 20 to 1. MTSU has lived up to my expectations.

“All my professors know me by my first name even from my first semester, so I feel a part of the community rather than being just another number.”

Porter, a 2013 East Hamilton High School graduate after attending the Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts from grades six through 11, said she will share “how hands-on the university is.”

“This past year has shown me all the different opportunities the university offers to students not only with facilities and equipment, but how they don’t just teach it by the book,” added Porter, a political science and College of Media and Entertainment major planning to attend law school at the University of California-Berkeley or Georgetown University.

Both students are admissions Blue Elite members helping provide campus tours.

Porter participates in The Scholars Academy, she recently joined the National Association of Black Journalists MTSU chapter and served internships in the spring at the state Capitol in Rep. Bob Ramsey’s office and summer in Washington, D.C., in the Department of General Services communications and government affairs office. 

Horton is a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda, a national honors leadership society. She is involved in The Point, a News Vision Baptist Church college ministry and Campus Outreach, an on-campus ministry. She was a Hope Lottery Scholarship recipient.

Nashville native and MTSU alumnus Joe Legge, WDEF-TV “News 12 This Morning” anchor, will provide a welcome during the student reception. Legge has earned several awards for his work, both in the field and on the set, and viewers see his frugal side with his “Joe Frugal” blog on Facebook and on www.WDEF.com.

About the MTSU True Blue Tour

Who: Middle Tennessee State University administrators and academic personnel

What: True Blue Tour visits Chattanooga

When: Tuesday, Sept. 29
• 10:30 a.m. EDT — Special announcement regarding MTSU and Cleveland State Community College.
• 11:30 a.m. EDT — High school counselors’ and community college staff luncheon.
• 6 p.m. EDT — Reception for high school students and families

Where: Chattanooga Convention Center, 1150 Carter St., Chattanooga

Why: University President Sidney A. McPhee, college deans, academic advisers and staff from virtually all MTSU departments take MTSU on the road to recruit prospective students. Chattanooga is the first stop on the nine-city tour. Admissions representatives invite counselors from area high schools and staff from area community colleges for lunch as a thank-you for recommending and sending students to MTSU. The student reception allows area high school and community college students and their parents to “meet MTSU” and learn about its more than 150 offerings including signature programs recording industry, aerospace, business and Concrete Industry Management. Guaranteed scholarships for freshmen who meet ACT and GPA requirements and apply by Dec. 1 will be a major topic discussed during the event.


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