SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee gave out a record number of scholarships for incoming freshmen and transfer students — 28 total — at the 2025 True Blue Tour kickoff held in Shelbyville, Tenn., on Tuesday, Sept. 16.

“This is a first,” McPhee told the 22 students who stepped up to each receive $250 book stipends following his giveaway of six scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 for a total of $12,000. “The most important thing is for you to get a degree. And MTSU is here to make sure you’re successful.”

Students and parents gathered at the Blue Ribbon Circle Club at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration grounds in Shelbyville that evening, just two days before True Blue Tour made its second stop for a first-time visit to Cookeville, Tenn.

Both groups met with top administrators and staff as part of the annual 15-city True Blue Tour showcasing all MTSU has to offer — over 300 undergraduate and graduate degree majors and concentrations, nationally ranked student programming and over $2 billion invested in academic facilities over the last 20 years on a 550-acre campus located in the heart of Middle Tennessee.

Trin Fleet, a senior at Forrest School in Chapel Hill, Tenn., is eager to attend MTSU after attending multiple True Blue Tour stops over the past two years — including the one held in Shelbyville.

“My plan at MTSU is to major in theatre and minor in secondary education so I can be a theatre teacher,” said the 17-year-old, who was sold on MTSU after attending a play and getting a backstage tour of Tucker Theatre on campus last year. “I found out MTSU has a high roll-out rate of students who are going into their degree field within a year of graduating. So I’ll have a good chance of getting a job.”

Steve Fleet teared up talking about how proud he and wife Patty Fleet are of their daughter. “She’s come such a long way,” he said. And they’re excited she’s eager to attend a campus just 45 minutes away from home.

Marriana Hendon of Tullahoma, Tenn., attended the tour kickoff and is currently enrolled at Motlow State Community College, where her mother, Amanda Starks, works. Hendon plans to transfer to MTSU — a destination on her mind since middle school.

“I walked around campus and said, ‘I want to be here.’ There are a lot of activities,” said Hendon, who visited campus with her eighth-grade class and will study social work so she can help people.

Fellow Motlow student Erica Downer of McMinnville, Tenn., is already prepping for MTSU’s Japanese program by studying the language on her own. “It’s one of the best programs in the state,” Downer said, “and the campus is so nice and huge.”

Earlier in the day, McPhee spoke to over a dozen high school administrators and counselors at a luncheon and gave $30,000 to 10 school counselors so they can disperse funds to deserving students. Nine schools were each awarded $2,500 scholarships, with $7,500 going to Shelbyville Central High School, which sent 35 students to MTSU last year.

Celina Mears, assistant principal at Moore County High School in Lynchburg, Tenn., attended the kickoff luncheon with school counselor Amy Kimbrough. The school incorporates grades 7-12 with a student body that hovers around 400 in any given year.

“We’re such a small school and our students are always successful because they know they have community support behind them,” Mears said, “and that’s similar to the way it is at MTSU, where I know our students will get a great education. MTSU backs what they say.”

Shelbyville Mayor Randy Carroll, a staunch supporter of MTSU, also attended. He’s been instrumental in the city’s partnership with the MTSU Aerospace Department’s aviation campus opening at the Shelbyville Municipal Airport.

“I can’t wait until 2027 when the aerospace campus will be finished,” Carroll said.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)