Juniors and seniors at West Lauderdale High School welcomed a special guest Friday as Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum visited the campus to talk to students about the opportunities available to them after graduation.
Keenum talked about the multitude of traditional and non-traditional degree paths offered at MSU and offered encouragement to the students as they work to determine the next stage of their lives.
“This is an important time in your life,” he said.
The West Lauderdale students, Keenum said, will enter a field of study or career path that is wildly different than what was available just a few decades ago. Of the jobs available today, he said, 60% did not exist when he graduated from high school 44 years ago. Technology has changed, and continues to change fields ranging from data management to artificial intelligence to healthcare, he said.
While the world has changed dramatically since he graduated from high school, Keenum told the juniors and seniors it is changing even faster for them. Fifty percent of the jobs that will be available in 10 years do not yet exist, he said.
“Your world is changing a lot faster than my world,” he said. “My world has changed a lot. Your world is going to change even more and even faster. Your only way to be successful, to have a life, to have a great life, is to gain knowledge.”
Knowledge, Keenum said, is the key to success. Classes at West Lauderdale give students the knowledge they need to be successful in college. College courses provide even more knowledge to be successful in a career.
There are those, too, who choose not to go to college and instead enroll in a technical school or trade, Keenum said, and workers with those qualifications are in high demand throughout the state. Whether it’s at a four-year university, a community college or through a technical program, knowledge is what will open the doors to opportunity, he said.
“Knowledge has value. Knowledge will open doors. Knowledge will give you a pathway for a wonderful, great life,” he said.
Keenum invited all West Lauderdale students to come tour MSU’s campus in Starkville and learn more about the different programs and degrees it offers. For those already interested in applying, he said try to have applications in by Dec. 1, as that is the priority deadline for scholarships.
With four children of his own currently attending MSU, he said he, as a parent, is acutely aware of the importance of scholarships.
Whether Mississippi State is on their list or not, Keenum encouraged students to adopt the university’s values of honesty, integrity, having a strong work ethic and being kind and respectful to others. In addition to those values, he said, students will also need courage to face the challenges life will throw their way.
“And where does courage come from,” he said. “It comes from when you start to believe in yourself and have confidence in who you are.”