Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee kicked off this year’s True Blue Tour with a major announcement for Tennessee school counselors and an address centering on MTSU’s passion for making students, especially those “in our own backyard,” the school’s top priority. 

“You’re in Blue Raider territory,” McPhee said to the large crowd of prospective students and their families on Wednesday night, Sept. 13, at the Student Union Building on campus. “This is a place where we put our priority in you the students. We make sure you have the best with our faculty, programs and facilities. We compete with the very best at MTSU … (and) put a premium on caring for the students who come to our university.” 

First launched in 2012, the annual recruitment tour travels to 14 cities — throughout Tennessee and into Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia — to showcase all that MTSU has to offer to high school and community college counselors at appreciation luncheons and potential students and their families at evening receptions. 

During the day’s earlier luncheon, McPhee, who headlines every stop with a contagious energy to share what it means to be True Blue, revealed that MTSU will be giving away $2,500 scholarships to each in-state high school and community college that sends at least one representative to the tour luncheons this year. 

“When we say we care about our students, and when we say … we have a value of making sure that our university is affordable, it’s not just rhetoric,” McPhee said to the staff in attendance at the luncheon from 22 schools in Rutherford and surrounding counties. “It’s the reason why … we spend the time each fall to bring you as our special guests — to let you know what you really mean to us.”

‘He makes us feel appreciated’

Michelle Peterson, a counselor from Rockvale High School in Rockvale, Tennessee, who attended with her entire counseling department, said they keep coming back to the event because it is so nice. 

“He makes us feel appreciated,” Peterson said about McPhee, even before the announcement of the High School and Community College Counselor Scholarships program. “You can tell he loves it.”

Johanna Fergus, a counselor from Stewart’s Creek High School in Smyrna, Tennessee, said she never misses the luncheon and has attended it for over a decade. 

“They tell us stuff that we might not know about scholarships and admissions stuff for next year,” Fergus said. “We always find out useful information, get to see other counselors, get to meet people here, so it’s great.”

Fergus and her colleagues said the affordability, location and programs are the biggest draws for their students who have gone on to MTSU or are interested in applying for next fall. Cyber security, computer science, engineering and nursing were the top programs on their students’ lists to pursue at the university, and Fergus added that MTSU continues to up their game with new majors and opportunities.

“I totally expect to see a former student,” Fergus said about her annual visits to campus for the lunch. “I do almost every year when I come here.”

Families seeking high-quality education close to home

Neil Gandhi, a senior at Coffee County Central High School in Manchester, Tennessee, attended the evening reception with his parents Jay and Jigna Gandhi and said he was interested in learning more about the mechatronics engineering degree.

“I’ve heard it’s a good engineering school,” Gandhi said, referring to the program within the Department of Engineering Technology that awaits transition to under construction $74.8 million Applied Engineering Building in 2025.

Gandhi and his family were also happy that MTSU is so close to home, only 30 miles from his parents’ house. 

Lynnea Mileusnich, a junior at Central Magnet High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and her parents Lynne and David Mileusnich were also happy MTSU is local. 

“I like how I’m kind of familiar with the area already,” she said. “I have a lot of friends going here.” 

Interested in studying to become an English teacher, Mileusnich was reassured to learn that she could major in English and minor in education to earn her teaching certification.

“I have a lot of teachers who went here,” she said about the College of Education. “They teach really well.” 

Osmar Sierra Jr., a senior at LaVergne High School in LaVergne, Tennessee, was interested in MTSU’s Animation Program and the university’s in-house MT IMAGINE Animation Studio. He and his parents, Osmar Sr. and Norma Sierra, were impressed to learn the studio gives students the opportunity to create animation projects for paying clients and put that work on their resume. 

“In fact, they (even) provide those tablets to draw on,” Sierra Sr. said. 

Sierra’s mom was also happy that her son would not have to go far from home to pursue his passion for animated art. 

Brendyn White, a senior from Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, attended with her parents Francis and Jozette White and learned more about the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology program she was interested in. 

“I learned that toward the final years (of the program) you’ll be able to work with actual patients … get to test what you know and use equipment,” White said. “That was cool for me because I didn’t know you could actually go out and get paid to learn like that.”

Alumni accolades

Alumni joined McPhee on stage throughout the evening, during his address and during the scholarship drawing, and celebrated their own MTSU experiences. 

Jason Kirouac shared how he came to the university in 2011 as a nontraditional student and veteran. Kirouac said staff supported him in finding direction and successfully pursuing his degree in business. 

McPhee invited Kirouac’s daughter, Taylor Kirouac, a Rockvale High senior, up on the event stage and surprised her with a $5,000 scholarship. 

Dedra Schulz hit the stage with her son, Preston Kropczynski, a senior also from Riverdale High, when McPhee drew his name for a scholarship. 

“This place has grown phenomenally, and this college is amazing,” said Schulz, who graduated in 1989. “I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”

Kropczynski walked away with $5,500 to put toward his passion for business at MTSU next fall. 

Up next

The next True Blue Tour stop is at the Franklin Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin, Tennessee, on Sept. 25. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP for any future stop at https://www.mtsu.edu/schedule-a-visit/special-events.php, though walkups to the event are also welcome. 

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)