COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Cookeville High School senior Simone Savage plans to major in psychology in college, and Middle Tennessee State University was among several schools she was considering to continue her academic career.

After visiting MTSU’s recent True Blue Tour student recruitment stop at the Leslie Town Centre — the institution’s first trip to the Putnam County city — Savage and her mother, Kelly Savage, came away not only quite impressed, but with a $1,000 scholarship Simone picked up when her name was drawn earlier in the evening at the student reception.

The Savages were already somewhat familiar with MTSU due to Simone’s cousin, Adaeze Nwogbo, of Smyrna, a freshman infielder on the Blue Raider softball team. They plan to do a campus tour in early October to get an up-close look at the Murfreesboro campus.

“I really like this school. It provides great opportunities and offers,” said Simone with a broad smile, holding her ceremonial scholarship check. “Like this scholarship, I picked up out of nowhere for just coming here. And so it’s definitely up higher on my list.”

The Sept. 18 event in Cookeville was the second stop of the university’s 14-city tour this year as top administrators and staff hit the road by bus and car to showcase 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.

Following a Sept. 23 stop in Lebanon, the next True Blue Tour stop will be Thursday, Sept. 25, in Chattanooga, followed by a Sept. 29 stop in Nashville that will be an evening reception only. All events are free and walkups are welcome, though admissions staff encourage people to RSVP in advance at https://mtsu.edu/rsvp.

‘Not a single corner cut’

Led by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU will host 15 events this year (two separate stops in Nashville) throughout Tennessee, as well as a stop in Huntsville, Alabama, in late October, in an effort to attract prospective incoming first-year students and transfer students to join the Blue Raider family.

While all stops include a 6 p.m. student reception, most also include an earlier luncheon with area high school and college counselors during which McPhee and admissions staff share details about MTSU’s programs, admissions process, financial aid and more — as well as present scholarships to the counselors to disperse among their students — $50,000 distributed to counselors in Cookeville alone.

Noting that he was once a high school guidance counselor himself in his younger years, as was his father, McPhee told a group of about 20 counselors gathered in Cookeville about MTSU’s positive enrollment trends, with fall enrollment up 2.2% from the previous year, as many higher education institutions face declines.

“We bucked the trend that a lot of institutions are struggling with, but we’re in that position because we take the time and the resources to let folks know how appreciative we are,” McPhee said. 

“We do these counselor receptions and appreciation luncheons to say thank you to our high school counselors and educators, our community college partners. And then we want to make sure that we keep you updated and informed about all the exciting things that are happening at this great university.”

Jeff Upshaw, an admissions advisor and recruiter for Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, said his first visit to a True Blue Tour stop was well worth it because “there was not a single corner cut. Every single booth set up had an immense amount of information to share.”

In addition to a $2,500 scholarship given to all schools with counselors in attendance, Upshaw said having MTSU staff and administrators on hand to share directly about the programs and services will help him do his job more effectively. MTSU is the state’s top transfer institution destination.

“We have an immense number of students who leave us and are looking to transfer out to other universities, and I appreciate having the opportunity to spread the word about you guys through e-mail about this great experience,” Upshaw said. “It’s just a popular university and students want to come there left and right, so we definitely wanted to get in and grab some more knowledge so we can assist them.”

Jackson County High School counselor Keshia Donovan is in her first year at the school of about 400 students. A fellow counselor sent her the registration link for the luncheon, which she found helpful and informative.

“I signed up because I just need to learn … this information,” said Donovan, smiling broadly when told there’d be a financial perk from her attendance. “Everybody’s very nice, very welcoming. I mean, you have a little bit of everything in the booths here. I love it.”

White County and Stone Memorial high schools each were presented with $5,000 in scholarships for being tied for sending the most students from their schools to MTSU last year.

‘I want you to become one of them’

After Kristen Janson, associate director for Undergraduate Recruitment, shared about MTSU’s admissions process, Laurie Witherow, vice provost for Enrollment Management, kicked off the evening reception with an overview of MTSU’s guaranteed admissions criteria before distributing $4,000 in scholarships and asking the winners to share a bit about themselves and what they planned to study if becoming a Blue Raider.

Noting that her daughter was an MTSU graduate, Witherow told the audience that she’s had various jobs on campus during her tenure, from housing to admissions, always recognizing that for the families sending their children to the Murfreesboro campus, it was critical that MTSU provided them a home away from home. 

“But no matter what job I’ve had at MTSU, I have only had one role my entire career. And that role, I decided, was aunt,” Witherow said. “I see myself as an aunt to all the students. They are my nieces, my nephews. I want to see them do well. I am excited about their achievements, and I want you to become one of them.”

Cookeville High School graduate and scholarship winner Travis Wiggins is already a Blue Raider, starting his studies in exercise science in the spring. Though already admitted, Wiggins said his mom informed him of the True Blue Tour event, and though she was unable to attend with him due to illness, he was glad he turned out and walked away with the “added bonus” of the scholarship to his upcoming MTSU career.

“I’m really excited to be in a new environment. I’ve been to campus several times, and I have a lot of friends who are already there,” said Wiggins, adding that he’s been working to “build up my money.” 

“And then of course the Exercise Science program looks fantastic. I’m really excited to get into that,” he added.

‘I was honored to get this’

Like Savage, high school senior Jessica Gentry, of Livingston, was a grateful $1,000 scholarship winner, adding that she was not only drawn to MTSU’s quality programs, but also its affordability compared to nearby institutions — as well as the flexibility of not necessarily knowing what you want to major in but having access to advisors to assist with such an important decision. 

“Obviously, I was honored to get this, so it will definitely be beneficial as well,” she said of the scholarship. “I just really think they’re working with you in every kind of way possible, and that’s what I really just love about it.”

Now attending VITAL School, the online school in Putnam County, Gentry said she’s had “multiple generations” of family members who are MTSU alumni. She is strongly considering following in their footsteps to pursue her interest in forensic psychology.

A Girls State attendee, Simone Savage has a 4.2 GPA with plans to retake the ACT to increase her score. She’s active at her high school, serving as the vice president of programs for the Family Career and Community Leaders of America and the business manager for the school newspaper, The Charger.

Her mother, Kelly, a Fisk graduate, said her mom was a first-generation college student, and the family has since always stressed the importance of higher education to the younger generations. So attending MTSU’s True Blue Tour stop in Cookeville was non-negotiable — and enlightening.

“We will be applying to MTSU before the end of the evening,” she said.

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)