Alumni Happenings

Welcome back to Mississippi State University! We would be glad to hear from you by phone, email, or in person.

Meet some of our recent alumni

Emily Biagini

Emily Biagini

Emily Biagini is a medical student at Tulane School of Medicine. A native of Seminary, Mississippi, Emily made her decision to attend MSU after visiting a friend in Starkville and stepping foot on campus for the very first time.

“I was blown away by the beautiful campus, friendly faculty, and multitude of paths Mississippi State offered for aspiring pre-medical students,” Emily said.

“After only a few hours on campus, I already felt like I belonged there.”

Biagini chose to pursue biomedical engineering because of the outstanding reputation that precedes MSU’s engineering departments. “Biomedical engineering offered a unique challenge that traditional pre-med majors did not,” Biagini said. “I also have a love for mathematics and engineering was a venue for me to pursue an interest of mine outside of the traditional pre-med classes.”


Dru Carey

Dru Carey, a native of Olive Branch, MS, is a Graduate Research Assistant at Mississippi State University. A graduate of the Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business B.S. program, Dru continued his education at MSU after making close connections in the department during his undergraduate research experience with Dr. Paz for four semesters in addition to contributing to other projects with Dr. Lowe and Dr. Chesser.

In high school, Dru wasn’t sure where he wanted to go to college, but he knew that he had always loved the atmosphere of the MSU campus when he came to visit his sisters who were students at MSU. Dru set up a meeting with Dr. Paz to learn more about a degree in Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business (AETB) and what opportunities were available to those with a degree in Ag Engineering. At this meeting, Dru met Dr. Lowe and Dr. Chesser. Dru reminiscences, “I talked with the two of them for a long time about the program and opportunities as well as what my interests and hobbies."

"This personal connection did not happen at other colleges I visited so I knew that AETB was the place for me.”

Everyone he met with was knowledgeable and willing to help Dru in any way they could. He never had an unanswered question and always received prompt responses with an answer or solution to his problem.

Dru Carey

Gwendolyn Davis

Gwendolyn Davis

Gwendolyn Davis of Jackson, MS, is a 2014 graduate of MSU’s biomedical engineering program. She was originally drawn to MSU because her father is an MSU graduate, but her interest grew when she attended the Bagley College of Engineering/IMAGE Summer Bridge Program, which serves to help first-year minority students adjust to university life. This program allowed her to meet other future engineers who became her lifelong friends. Gwendolyn always had interest in a career in the sciences or medicine, but she was unsure exactly what she wanted to do. Biomedical engineering (BME) provided her an avenue to keep her options open, serving as an introduction to many fields and enabling her to contribute to medical advances through scientific discovery and technology development. Speaking of her time at MSU, Gwendolyn notes,

“I most enjoyed the MSU football and basketball games, the close-knit community developed within the NSBE and IMAGE programs, and the beautiful MSU campus!”


Luke Dunaway

Luke Dunaway is a current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Originally from Ocean Springs, MS, Luke came to Mississippi State to pursue biomedical engineering because of his love of physics and biology. “There were not many other affordable universities that had this major,” he says of his decision.

“However, the beautiful campus and student body culture made choosing MSU an easy decision.”

Most of Luke’s favorite memories have centered around game day or going out to the Noxubee Refuge with his friends.

Luke Dunaway

Blade Hodges

Blade Hodges

Blade Hodges, originally from Greenville, MS, knew he wanted to pursue a career in agriculture while he was still in high school. After working at the Delta Research and Extension Center as a high school student, Blade fell in love with agriculture and knew that MSU was the premiere choice for pursuing his passion. He then decided to pursue a degree in Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business (AETB).

“I chose a degree in AETB because it is a broader and well-rounded degree that allowed me to learn about agriculture from all angles.”

The option to become involved in Precision Agriculture, Management, and other specific concentrations gives the option to pursue a number of specific career paths for AETB students.


Shaquia Idlett

Shaquia Idlett of Newport News, Virginia, is a first year medical student at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Shaquia came to MSU in 2010 as an undergraduate student when she and her family fell in love with the campus on their first tour. She notes, “I think attending a university where I could receive a quality education but also experience a college town with the excitement of SEC sports really sold me.” Shaquia’s favorite memories are of the time spent making friends and attending football games.

“There is nothing quite like a football stadium full of cowbells.”

Shaquia always had an affinity for math and science, and while in high school she was thinking of pursuing a degree in biology with a pre-med focus. However, she had a job at NASA during that time and was encouraged by her supervisor to consider biomedical engineering (BME). After researching the major, she became hooked and came to MSU with an academic scholarship.

Shaquia Idlett

Molly Leasure and Annie Brinda

Molly Leasure and Annie Brinda

Molly Leasure of Franklin, TN and Annie Brinda of Madison, AL are both 2017 graduates of the ABE program. Annie came to MSU because there were no schools in Alabama that offered the biomedical engineering major. Molly came to MSU for the scholarships and MSU’s reputation as a phenomenal engineering school.

“I chose biomedical engineering because my high school in Madison, AL has a biomedical sciences program where I discovered the world of neural prosthetics which blew my mind as a high school student,” Annie says.

When asked about her choice, Molly notes, “I first majored in biomedical engineering wanting to go to med school, but after taking some CAD classes in high school, I found the engineering aspect intriguing. I am lucky I chose a major with so many options because after an internship with an ophthalmologist, I realized med school was not for me!”


Marina McGruder

Marina McGruder of Madison, Alabama, came to MSU after a very positive visit to campus with her cousin.  “The whole freshman-senior year experience was my favorite part of MSU,” along with “the overall SEC College experience from social events and football games to really sitting down and getting serious about your major and graduating.” Originally in a different field of study, Marina began to consider other majors and took the Myers-Briggs test to see what career fields suited her personality. After pondering her results, she did a lot of soul searching and reflection on her natural skills and ways to apply them to a career. This process led her to Biomedical Engineering.

During her time in the BME program, Marina’s greatest struggle was making it through all the math required and wondering whether she could actually finish this major.

“My biggest success was not giving up and walking across the graduation stage,” not to mention “the relationships I developed with Administration and Engineering Outreach that are still continuing today.”

Marina McGruder

Nathan Rhodes

Nathan Rhodes

A 2018 graduate from Mississippi State’s biomedical engineering program, Nathan Rhodes is now pursuing his passion to become a doctor as a third-year medical student at UMMC School of Medicine. When not working on his medical degree, Nathan also serves as a 2LT in the Army National Guard. A lifelong Mississippi resident, Nathan was raised with a cowbell in his hand and attending Mississippi State was the natural choice.

When asked about his decision to major in biomedical engineering, Nathan said, “I knew going into college that I wanted to have a career in medicine."

"While making the decision as to what degree I would choose to direct me toward my goal of medical school, biomedical engineering stood out as what I felt would benefit me most.”

In retrospect, Nathan believes that this was absolutely the correct decision and his undergraduate degree has served him well in medical school.


Matt Rowland

Matt Rowland, a native of Corinth in northeast Mississippi, grew up attending Kossuth High School. In high school, Matt found his interest in agriculture, specifically animal agriculture. Mississippi State was always on his radar for higher education as his uncle graduated from MSU with a degree in mechanical engineering. His success in STEM related courses in high school lead him to look at engineering as a career as well. However, he wanted to also pursue a career with a connection to agriculture. During his search of majors at MSU, he found the Agricultural Engineering Technology and Business (AETB) program and decided that the curriculum was exactly what he was looking for to develop his skills to manage animal agricultural operations, specifically in poultry.

Even in high school, Matt knew that he wanted to pursue a master’s degree before he finished his higher education career. After completing his bachelor’s degree in AETB, Matt began his pursuit of his master’s degree at MSU.

“Through the Agricultural & Biological Engineering department, I was able to learn a wide array of skills, from row crop production to managing agricultural operations, as well as assisting the professors in research topics, which further pushed me to pursue my masters."

Matt Rowland

Mary Frances Segars

Mary Frances Segars

Mary Frances Segars is a graduate student at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC pursuing her master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Originally from Birmingham, AL, Mary Frances began her collegiate journey at Mississippi State as a biomedical engineering undergraduate student.

“I decided to come to Mississippi State because when I visited campus, every person went out of their way to be kind to me,” she recently said.

“The biomedical engineering program was one of the many reasons MSU stood out from other universities and made it the perfect fit for me.”