Virtual Mississippi College Alumni Update Attracts Grads from Three States

Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and executive director of alumni affairs, will join President Blake Thompson to update MC activities.

A virtual session with Mississippi College alumni targeting the Hattiesburg area is expanding to include MC grads in three states.

What started out as an online meeting on December 1 to primarily update alumni in the Pine Belt area will now welcome alumni participation in Alabama, Texas, and Central Mississippi.

Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and executive director of alumni affairs, will join President Blake Thompson to update MC activities. The event happens days after MC concludes the semester prior to the Thanksgiving holidays.

Dr. Turcotte invited graduates from Birmingham, Alabama, the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as metro Jackson to observe and develop ideas for future alumni meetings in their regions.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual meetings rather than in-person sessions are the best and safest avenue for colleges, businesses, and many other organizations around the globe.

“Until we can travel and have in-person meetings, we believe our alumni will enjoy receiving these updates,” Turcotte said. “We believe there will be a demand for virtual meetings after the pandemic.”

This way, Mississippi College’s alumni team in Clinton and regional associate Lisa Williams working out of Alabama can cover more territory, he said. “It is not possible to drive and fly all over every year. So this may become a good alternative until we can schedule to travel.”

The online gathering with graduates in the Hattiesburg area will help MC alums in Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama gather ideas to utilize as they host events in 2021.

Turcotte says he hopes alumni in states around the nation and in other countries will hear about the meetings and request similar events in their regions.

MC graduates Kaitlin McCarty Turcotte and Charles Vianey, both of Birmingham, will attend the December 1 session. Kaitlin oversees the university’s admissions activities in the Birmingham and Atlanta areas. Also observing will be MC grads Hannah Kanengiser, Randall Wayne Crenshaw, and Arleigh Seymour, all of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Metro Jackson MC graduates signed up include “Clinton Courier” editor Clay Mansell along with Clinton residents David and Brenda Holloway. Madison County alumni attending will include Scott and Jana Parrish along with Melanie Hodge. Alumni from Rankin County taking part are Rebecca Sara-Nell McCarty and Laura Pickard Johns.

President Thompson will deliver the MC update to alumni and field questions at the Zoom meeting.  The virtual program begins at noon that Tuesday. Participants are encouraged to pack a lunch and join the conversations. Mississippi College students will begin classes on January 19 for the spring 2021 semester.

To sign up for the December 1 program, link to go.mc.edu/register/hattiesburgupdate or contact Jim Turcotte at turcotte@mc.edu or phone 601-925-3315. Regional alumni associate Lisa Williams can be reached at 205-332-4100.