covering the mississippi school for mathematics and...

T H E B R A I N S T O R MVOL. 1 ISSUE 4: APRIL 2014

Covering the Mississippi School for Mathematics and ScienceSCHOLARSHIP * CREATIVITY * SERVICE * COMMUNITY

THE CLASS OF 2016 HAS BEEN SELECTED

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is pleased to announce that the next generation of MSMS stu-dents has been identified.The MSMS Class of 2016 is 135 students strong and represents 45 of Mississippi’s 83 coun-ties. The average ACT score for the Class of 2016 is a 25, which is slightly above the school’s lifetime average for incoming juniors.“We are extremely pleased with and excited about this new

class,” said MSMS Director for School Advancement and Ad-missions Rick Smith. “Each one of these students has worked hard, and they have shown how that hard work can pay off.”Nearly 200 students vied for the 135 available spots at the school.Students began the process earlier this year when they sub-mitted their applications. Each student interested in MSMS was required to write two es-says, submit a résumé, submit a work sample (original science

or math project), secure four teacher recommendations, and submit ACT scores and grades.The group of students who made it past the application phase was then invited to Interview Day, during which they underwent a formal interview process.“While the application pro-cess has changed slightly over the years, Interview Day is still Interview Day,” said MSMS Admissions Counselor and MSMS graduate Wade

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Leonard. “It is quite amazing to see these young men and women go through the ex-act same process my classmates and I went though more than a decade ago.”Another tradition at MSMS that remains strong is the MSMS Acceptance Letter. Each and every student who was admitted to the school received a hard copy of their letter in the mail.“It’s funny but getting a real letter some-how made it feel really special,” said one member of the Class of 2016. “It was much better than getting an email or even a phone call.”Less than two weeks after receiving their acceptance letters, the new class returned to campus for Orientation Day. Not only was this the day that students got to pick their classes, but it was also the day they met one another as a class for the first time.“These folks don’t know it yet, and I don’t think that they’d believe me if I told them, but many of these students met the best friends they will ever have,” said Leonard.The Class of 2016 will move into the dorms during the first weekend of August 2014.

CLASS OF 2016

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New MSMS students and families leave Nissan and head to Hooper.

Mrs. Zarandona gives incoming junior Seung Lee and his family info about the MSMS mathematics program.

The students of the MSMS Class of 2016 take a walk around campus and get to know their new home.

Behind Quenton Gilmore’s soft-spoken and gentle atti-tude hides the heart of a lion. This native of Greenwood, Mississippi, has come a long way since the beginning of his junior year. When he first ar-rived at MSMS, Quenton says he was shy and kept mostly to himself. He quickly broke out of his shell, however, and now he is involved with several MSMS organizations including the MSMS Emissaries, Voices in Harmony, the MSMS Blue Knights, the Grecian Urn Soci-ety, Campus Crusades, and the Student Environmental Aware-ness League. All this belies the fact that when Quenton first came to MSMS, he was more than a little intimidated.Before coming to MSMS, Quenton attended Greenwood High School. “I wanted something more for myself. I wanted to be around other kids like me, who were interested in getting a challenging education,” said Quenton. “Don’t get me wrong. I liked my old school. I had some great teachers there. But when all students don’t have the same goal, learning can be difficult. Here, everyone has clear goals and they have the same kind of mindset. Those distractions aren’t here at MSMS.”While he has never had much

trouble with any of the classes he has taken, Quenton says the most challenging part of com-ing to MSMS was adjusting to an environment very different from the one from which he came.“I knew it would be different, and I was nervous coming in,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you, the first week or so I kept totally to myself. I wasn’t sure what to think. But soon after I began ex-pressing myself more and open-ing up more and I made some great friends. Meeting those people really helped the transi-tion. I found that here I can be myself.”Quenton knew that MSMS would offer him a world-class educa-tion, but what he did not know is that it would also offer new and rich experiences outside of the classroom.“The students here really sur-prised me,” he said. “I honestly thought it would be boring and strictly academic here, but it’s not. We have dances, we go to the movies, we go to the mall, and other stuff. How much fun I’ve had here has really been a sur-prise.”Right now, Quenton says his fa-vorite class he is taking is World Literature with Mr. Jack Carter.“My mom’s an English teacher, so that might explain why I like English so much,” he said. “Right now, we’re studying a play, ‘Six Characters in Search of an Au-

thor,’ by Luigi Pirandello. It’s my favor-ite thing we’ve studied so far.”Even though he has a passion for litera-ture, Quenton has his mind focused on the sciences, specifically biology, which he plans to major in at the University of Southern Mississippi. He says his pas-sion for science was awoken during the research he conducted during his time at MSMS. “I worked with Dr. Erdogan Memilli [at Mississippi State University]; he was a great mentor,” said Quenton. “He taught me a lot about genetics, but more than that he taught me what it meant to go through the process of research. He really taught me why research is impor-tant and that it can be amazing, fun, and very rewarding.”Quenton has earned enough scholarship dollars to cover the cost of his college tuition. For that, he says, he is grate-ful to the experiences and education he received from MSMS. He plans to continue through school un-til he receives his medical degree, after which he wants to return to his native Greenwood to practice. “I want to do all I can there,” he said. “I want to give back to my community and my school.”

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: QUENTON GILMORE

3www.themsms.orgQuenton Gilmore performing at the Eighth of May Celebration.

After spending the past decade earning several degrees, starting a fam-ily, and working at a private law firm, MSMS alumna Karen Clay (or Karen Smith as she was known in high school) has come back home. Karen, a Columbus, Miss., native and member of the 1998 MSMS graduating class, was recently hired to serve as the in-house counsel for the Mississippi University for Women – which is the home of MSMS.Karen is also a proud alumna of MUW, where she earned a degree in Psy-chology. She later earned a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administra-tion from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and finished her academic career at Mississippi Col-lege where she achieved her Juris Doctorate. Dur-ing the six years following her graduation from law school Karen worked for a number of private practice firms in the Jackson, Miss., area, including Watkins, Ludlam, Winter & Sten-nis; Jones Walker; and The Kullman Firm.In March of this year she was tapped to replace long-time MUW attorney,

Perry Sansing, as University Counsel.Karen says she has a hard time coming up with one favorite time or activity dur-ing her MSMS years, but she says she truly loved her inter-actions with the late faculty member Ms. Judy Morris.“Ms. Morris was part of the original MSMS faculty and had great pride in being a part of the school, which was evi-dent in all of her interactions with students,” said Clay. “She was creative, demand-ing, and fun – a perfect com-bination for a teacher.”Clay says her favorite class at MSMS was Mrs. Richardson’s Creative Writing.“She taught me how to ‘show and not tell’ in my writing – a difficult skill that has been useful in my profession, and

one that I’m still trying to master.”Karen attributes her time at MSMS for giving her the courage to try new things and be unafraid of failure. “While there, I was exposed to new possibilities that I did not even know existed,” she said. “When you are 17 or 18 years old you think you have the world fig-ured out, but you don’t. You think there is a clear career path that will take you where you think you want to go and that you have to follow it. You don’t. It was ten plus years af-ter high school that I finally figured out what I wanted to do. Or at least I think I have!”Karen lives in Columbus with her husband, Jeremy, and their three daughters.

Karen Clay: MSMS Alumna of the Month

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Karen Clay’s 1998 MSMS graduation picture.

T h e C l a s s o f 2 0 1 6I N T R O D U C I N G

Mr. Deldrick AdamsByhalia, MS

Byhalia High School

Ms. Shelbi AllenOcean Springs, MS

Ocean Springs High School

Mr. Justin AppersonBiloxi, MS

St. Martin High School

Mr. Dauttatreyo Bandyopadhyay Starkville, MS

Starkville High School

Mr. Nathan BarlowStarkville, MS


Mr. Richard BlackburnRolling Fork, MS

South Delta High School

Mr. Connor BluntsonRidgeland, MS

Ridgeland High School

Ms. Jenny BoboOkolona, MS

Tupelo High School

Ms. Rachel BoboOkolona, MS

Tupelo High School

Mr. Cole BorekSenatobia, MS

Magnolia Heights

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Mr. Jacob BozleeLong Beach, MS

Hancock High School

Mr. Jacob BreauxQuitman, MS

Quitman High School

Ms. Abigail Brezeale Brandon, MS

McLaurin High School

Mr. Andrew Brown Oxford, MS

Oxford High School

Ms. Shelby Browning Greenwood, MSPillow Academy

Ms. Ariana Butler Beulah, MS

West Bolivar High School

Mr. Jason ByrdHattiesburg, MS

Forrest County AHS

Mr. Justin CalhounRuleville, MS

East Side High School

Ms. Joy CarinoStarkville, MS


Ms. Penelope CarreonRaymond, MS

Terry High School

Ms. Dajah CarterJackson, MS

Clinton High School

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Ms. Raksha ChatakondiGreenville, MS

Washington School

Mr. Kameron ChowCleveland, MS

Cleveland High School

Ms. Tehya CollierHorn Lake, MS

Horn Lake High School

Ms. Sara ConwellMerigold, MS


Ms. Anna CreelPelahatchie, MS

Pelahatchie High School

Ms. Ashley DobbinsGreenville, MS

Washington School

Mr. Jonathan DonohoColumbus, MS

New Hope High School

Mr. Shamarcus DotyLexington, MS

J.J. McClain High School

Ms. Sasha EdwardsSenatobia, MS

Senatobia High School

Ms. Erin EllisNesbit, MS

Lewisburg High School

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Ms. Rosalind EllisCrawford, MS

West Lowndes High SchoolMs. Christina EppsPort Gibson, MS

Port Gibson High School

Mr. Tyler Etheridge Caledonia, MS

Caledonia High School

Mr. Bram Finkle Saltillo, MS

Guntown High School

Ms. Chantorri Gallion Greenwood, MS

Amanda Elzy High SchoolMr. West Givens Senatobia, MS

Senatobia High School

Ms. Haley GrantClinton, MS

Clinton High School

Mr. Rhet HaileyMeridian, MSHome Schooled

Ms. Kristian HallAberdeen, MS

Amory High School

Ms. Hannah HardwickBurnsville, MS

Alcorn Central High School

Ms. Hannah HarriStarkville, MS


8www.themsms.org


Ms. Nikita HarrisItta Bena, MS

Leflore County High School

Mr. Tanzim HassanStarkville, MS


Ms. Diamond HawkinsRuleville, MS

Ruleville Central High School

Mr. Grant HendersonLeaksville, MS

Greene County High School

Ms. Lauren HillTupelo, MS

Tupelo Christian Prepretory

Mr. Franklin Hollis, IVVardaman, MS

Vardaman High School

Mr. Joe HoustonOlive Branch, MS

Olive Branch High School

Ms. Zoe HuPascagoula, MS

Pascagoula High School

Ms. Jenny HuangStarkville, MS


Ms. Arielle HudsonDundee, MS

Rosa Fort High School

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Ms. Katelyn JacksonStarkville, MS


Mr. Alexander JamesNesbit, MS

Lewisburg High School

Ms. Arishanda JeffersonPhiladelphia, MS

ChoctawCentral High School

Mr. Benjamin JonesTupelo, MS

Tupelo Christian Preparatory

Ms. Bri JonesSteens, MS


Ms. Rashana JonesLouin, MS

Bay Springs High School

Ms. Jasmine KingVicksburg, MS

Warren Central High School

Ms. Gretta KosheninaWater Valley, MS

Water Valley High School

Mr. Jordan KranzHattiesburg, MS

North Forrest High School

Mr. Michael KyzarRuth, MS

Parkline Academy

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Ms. Mary Madeline La MastusCleveland, MS


Ms. Laurel LancasterSouthaven, MS

Desoto Central High School

Ms. Elizabeth LanfordRidgeland, MS


Mr. Seung LeeStarkville, MS


Mr. Boone LeetranMontecello, MS

Lawrence County High School

Ms. Kennedy LewisGreenwood, MS

Amanda Elzy High School

Ms. Michelle LiStarkville, MS


Mr. Wilson LianoStarkville, MS


Mr. Allen LinLong Beach, MS

St. Stanislaus High School

Ms. Ayana LoveTchula, MS

Germantown High School

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Mr. Caleb MarshallHollandale, MS

Riverside High School

Ms. Bianca MartinezItta Bena, MS


Ms. Michelle McCullumClarksdale, MS

Clarksdale High School

Ms. T’Nesha McDanielPort Gibson, MS

Port Gibson High School

Ms. Giulia McDonaldPerkinston, MS

Stone High School

Mr. Jacob McDonaldPontotoc, MS

North Pontotoc High School

Ms. Summer McGeeEdwards, MS

Raymond High School

Ms. Elle McKenzieHernando, MS

Hernando High School

Ms. Shawna McKissackSouthaven, MSHome Schooled

Mr. Connor McNameeFlorence, MS

Hillcrest Christian School

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Ms. Sydney MeltonMeridian, MS

Meridian High School

Mr. Nathan MethvinStarkville, MS


Mr. Hakeem MikleGulfport, MS

Harrison Central High School

Mr. Kennith MitchellGreenville, MS


Ms. Madeline MixonEupora, MS

Eupora High School

Ms. Danielle MooreLumberton, MS

Lumberton High School

Mr. Jason NecaiseRidgeland, MS


Mr. Jared OakesColumbus, MS

Columbus High School

Ms. Jo OrrickBelden, MS

Tupelo High School

Ms. Abigayle OsburnWest Point, MS

Hebron Christian School

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Ms. Alessandra OtondoStarkville, MS


Ms. Kendall PalmerGulfport, MS

Harrison Central High School

Ms. Brenna PaolaOvett, MS

Northeast Jones High School

Mr. Gregory ParkerLucedale, MS

George County High School

Ms. LaTonia ParkerColumbus, MS


Mr. Kishan PatelMagee, MS

Magee High School

Mr. Om PatelRidgeland, MS


Ms. Abby PerryPurvis, MS

Purvis High School

Mr. Akos PolgarHattiesburg, MS

Presbyterian Christian High School

Mr. Jesse PugsleyCaledonia, MS

Caledonia High School14www.themsms.org


Ms. Makayla RabyEcru, MS


Mr. Boris RagulaBiloxi, MS

Gulfport High School

Ms. Brittany RussellPhiladelphia, MS

Neshoba Central High School

Ms. Priya SaniparaVicksburg, MS

Warren Central High School

Ms. Gillian SayreHattiesburg, MS

Hattiesburg High School

Ms. Lauren ScottRaleigh, MS

Raleigh High School

Ms. Kameron ShookProvince, MS


Mr. Dilraj SidhuHazlehurst, MS

Copiah Academy

Mr. Robert SimmonsRidgeland, MS


Mr. Hayden SmithBailey, MS

West Lauderdale High School

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Ms. Khadiya SmithGreenwood, MS

Greenwood High School

Ms. Carly Sneed Pontotoc, MS


Navin SolomonStarkville, MS


Mr. Gunner SpahnSenatobia, MS

Senatobia High SchoolMs. Tiana Spivey Itta Bena, MS

Leflore County High SchoolMr. Timothy Spivey Itta Bena, MS


Ms. Vasu SrevatsanHattiesburg, MS

Oak Grove High School

Ms. Roshanna StallingsColumbus, MS

Columbus High School

Mr. Gianni StennisColumbus, MS


Mr. Adam StewartBrookhaven, MS

Brookhaven High School

Ms. Ella StoneTupelo, MS

Home Schooled

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Mr. Gregory ThompsonLamar, MS

Byhalia High School

Ms. Lauren TiceAvon, MS


Ms. Shelby TiffanyCaledonia, MS


Mr. Kenneth Tresch, Jr.Carriere, MS

Pearl River Central High School

Mr. Kobe Van SomerenCaledonia, MS


Mr. Frank VassarBiloxi, MS

St. Patrick Catholic High School

Ms. Madison Wardlaw Lake Cormorant, MS

Lake Cormorant High School

Ms. Maliah WilkinsonHolly Springs, MS

Gateway Christian School

Mr. Isaiah Williams Ridgeland, MS


Ms. Emily WilliamsonPurvis, MS

Lamar Christian School

Mr. Melilun ZhouHattiesburg, MS

Oak Grove High School17www.themsms.org

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