Mississippi State University - Reveille Yearbook (Starkville, MS)

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136 Graduate students work toward tlieir MBA ' s. These students meet weekly tor a finance class taught by Professor Kohers in Allen Hall. Learning Graduate Students Get More Than an Education Skinning catfish, artificially inseminating cows, and fermenting grapes may not seem like admirable or rewarding professions, but to the MSU graduate assistants, they represent a good job and preparatory experience for their occupations after college. The graduate student is open to a world of possibilities for profitable and unusual jobs, such as winemaking, and butchering cattle. Assistantships are not simply oppor- tunities for students to enjoy farm chores or to savor home-made wine. Dr. Marion Loftin, vice-president for graduate studies and research, explains that the pay-off for the student is that he ' s learning the regi- mens and the routine that a good researcher has to develop in his efforts to discover new knowledge, and to apply knowledge to the solution of problems. Therefore, when a typical assistant works diligently to process pork, it is clear to see that his benefits are not all baloney. Computer science ma|ors spend much time in the lab writing and running programs. This graduate class is taught by Dr. Williams.

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Loftin, Wise — From South Farm to the Classroom Freshmen enter college to receive a degree that will enable them to tace the brave new challenges of the hard, cruel world. But some students believe they haven ' t gotten all the education that they wanted in four years. These students enroll in the graduate stud- ies program at Mississippi State, under the direction of Dr. Marion T. Loftin, vice president. Students that wish for another degree enroll in the graduate program, Loftin said. This department clo- ses out the puzzle. According to Loftin, the department of graduate studies counsels students on job opportunities, fellow- ships, financial aid and scholarships. The graduates receive academic counseling by committees when pur- suing a master s or doctoral degree. Along with graduate studies, research goes hand in hand. The department sponsors faculty research in all the colleges. More than 230 students are involved in the teaching program while half of those are engaged in research. When you think of Mississippi State, you think of the agriculture and forestry, the two elements that caused the Llniversity to be founded in the first place, ' Dr. Louis Wise, vice president of agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, said. Dr. Wise explained that all three departments are intertwined. The veterinary medicine department keeps the animals free from dis- ease for the agriculture majors. Then the agriculture department, in turn, worries about the plants and for- ests which are the major concern of the forestry department. One of Wise ' s favorite parts of his department is the management of the Mississippi State cheese, and wine facilities. There are a wide variety of majors within Dr. Wise s departments. When students don ' t receive all the education in tour years that they wanted, they enroll in the graduate program, Dr. Loftin said. |f Dr. Wise believes that the three depart- ments he oversees, agriculture, forestry and veterinary medicine, are all intertwined, each one helping the others. Jones, Davis, Lottin, Wise 135

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hn Allen enjoys an unusual type ot |ob every other semester. ; is employed by a toy company. m Magee, of Bay St. Louis, checks gauges on hydrauhc equip- nt. She is a lab technician for Sperry Vickers. Co-op Students Combine Education With Experience Many students contract an illness upon approaching their second or third year in college. The symptoms are an apathy toward classes and a bored outlook toward the future. The sickness, known as the sophomore-junior slump, is contagious but not incur- able. MSU ' s co-operative program proves to be a good medicine to overcome the slump. A student in the co-op program will spend one year at State taking his necessary courses, then the next year will be working on a job related to his major. This practice of alternating classes with professional work continues until the student achieves his diploma. A computer science major might work for a computer corporation in Texas, while a fisheries ma)or may work at the National Space Technology Laboratory studying the migration habits of several species ot sea bass. This way, a student becomes acquamted with the business world, and he has a chance to break the monotony ot semester after semester ot courses, mak- ing college seem more challenging. Although the co- op program may not be the solution for all students, it does provide good experience tor a student, tor the sophomore-junior slump. James Kelly of Moss Point instructs other workers in using equip- ment. Kelly IS employed by a construction company every other semester.