NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro is setting the stage for a bright future for 17-year-old James Lawson High School senior Amiya Harris, who already has her toes in the film and television industry.

“I want to do something on camera, behind the camera, all of it,” said the Nashville teen, one of a dozen students who won scholarships totaling $29,000 at an evening student recruitment reception on the annual True Blue Tour held Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Gaylord Springs Golf Links club.

Harris — who already has appeared on screen and wrote a short film at age 10 — is certain MTSU’s renowned College of Media and Entertainment is just the place to give her the foundation she needs to become a film producer and director.

“MTSU has the program she needs and the equipment they have is cutting edge,” said Amiya’s “momager” Keisha Harris. “It’s good to see that MTSU has more opportunities and advantages for what she wants to do.”

University President Sidney A. McPhee, top administrators and staff met with dozens of Nashville-area prospective Blue Raiders as part of the annual three-state, 13-city True Blue Tour showcasing all MTSU has to offer — over 300 undergraduate and graduate degree majors and concentrations, nationally ranked student programming and $300 million in current construction to the 550-acre campus located in the heart of Middle Tennessee.

Earlier in the day, MTSU welcomed nearly three dozen high school counselors and community college advisors for a luncheon, where McPhee gave out $90,000 for them to disperse to their students who plan to attend the university.

Tony Strode, undergraduate recruitment director, shared details about the admission process.

“One awesome thing is we have guaranteed admissions,” said Strode, who talked about the basic admission requirements and emphasized the Dec. 1 deadline to apply in order to obtain guaranteed scholarships for qualifying students.

For instance, students with at least 3.5 GPAs who earn a 22 to 24 on the ACT are guaranteed a $3,500 scholarship, while those who score a 25 to 29 can earn $4,500 toward tuition. The scholarship opportunities increase with higher scores and some students will be able to attend MTSU tuition free if they meet the requirements outlined on the MTSU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships website.

“Those scholarships are a big help,” said Nicole Schierling, director of college counseling at Donelson Christian Academy in Nashville. “When MTSU added that level at the 25 ACT mark, that is a great range where kids usually fall to get guaranteed money.”

Schierling also praised the inviting atmosphere at MTSU. 

“I love the people. I love the president. I love his passion. I love hearing him speak and I want all my students to meet him because he loves them and he shows that passion for his students. That [JH1] means a lot to me, coming from our small environment because we love our students and we pour into them and I think this is a place that pours into their students, especially for a big university,” Schierling said.

McPhee affirmed Schierling’s sentiment.

“Even though we have 20,000 students, it’s a very family-oriented campus,” McPhee said. “We have faculty and staff who really care for the students.”

The campus community has been a huge part in the lives of alumni Marcus and Brandi (Matthews) Osborne of Hendersonville, Tennessee, whose daughter plans to attend MTSU in fall 2026.

“Baby Raider” Mariah Osborne, a 16-year-old junior at Beech High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, still has a year to go before heading to MTSU. But she’s already set her sights on a career in academia through MTSU’s top-rated College of Education.

“It’s wonderful to know she will continue the legacy at MTSU, which has brought her father and I far in our careers,” said Brandi Osborne, who met husband Marcus at MTSU before they graduated in 2003. “We still go back for homecoming each year and we love being a part of the community we built at MTSU. We love being Blue Raiders.”

The last two True Blue Tour stops will be in Tennessee at the Blue Ribbon Circle in Shelbyville on Monday, Nov. 18, and on Thursday, Nov. 21, the team heads to Farm Bureau Exposition Center in Lebanon.

Both events, which are free, feature 6 p.m. student receptions and 12:30 p.m. luncheons to thank counselors and community college staff for their support.

Visit https://mtsu.edu/rsvp for information on all the remaining stops of the tour. For questions about admissions, financial aid and more, call 615-898-2111, email or visit the MTSU One Stop.

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