Summer is half gone and the Fourth of July is here! Let’s hang our flags, remember our nation’s heritage and share food with family and friends.

A collaborative effort between The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) and the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) provides significant research opportunities that benefit the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s blue economy. Student internships represent one reward from the impactful partnership.

In reference to Mississippi’s John C. Stennis Space Center, it has been said that “You cannot go to the m” without first stopping in Mississippi.” Mississippi has been “at the forefront of numerous significant achievements, paving the way for progress in various fields. Here are 12 remarkable facts about The Magnolia State that you may not be aware of:

It’s summertime in Mississippi! I absolutely adore summer and patiently await this season every year. I love getting outside, grilling, and hanging out with family and friends. When I think of an outdoor party, I always think about watermelon.

The University Television Center at Mississippi State—along with the MSU Films initiative—has brought home seven new Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences-Southeast Chapter. The units are part of MSU’s Office of Public Affairs.

In case you haven’t heard, Festival South is winding down this year. If you’re a lover of art— be it visual, literary, or performance, you’ll want to plan to attend next year. It kicked off on May 1, 2024. The final performances will be July 27. This superb, multi week  festival is the art lovers’ dream. 

This past weekend, we took one of our grandsons on a picnic and fishing adventure to Elvis Presley Lake in Tupelo. Despite the ridiculously hot temperature, it was a memory-making experience. It also brought back lots of memories from my own childhood. 

Alcorn State University is gearing up for a new STEM MBA Program, offered by the School of Business. With a focus on developing STEM skills, knowledge, and an interdisciplinary mindset, this 30-credit hour program aims to meet the growing demand for business professionals with STEM backgrounds.

Mississippi State University’s Athlete Engineering Institute is proud to partner with HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, Mississippi’s largest manufacturing employer and supplier of U.S. Navy surface combatants, to build a new wearable prototype device to aid shipbuilders in the mitigation of heat injuries. The project is funded by AccelerateMS and its MS-Ships program, which supports the state’s shipbuilding industry.

Last weekend I pondered the many uses of newspapers beyond reading them as my husband and I used a stack of old ones while washing windows at our house.

Nothing beats the bounty of fresh produce we can get in the Magnolia State, but shopping at a grocery store just isn’t the same as shaking the hand of a local farmer and hearing all about the most recent veggie haul.

The term “quantum” might crop up from time to time in any discussion about engineering. And that would be an appropriate way to describe the leap made by The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in the Best Engineering Schools – Graduate rankings released this week by U.S. News & World Report.

If you pass through my neighborhood over the weekend, you are sure to smell the smoke from someone’s backyard grill. Yup, it’s that time of the year. Sunday brunch is my favorite time to grill, invite a few friends over, pair a good bottle of wine with whatever it is you are throwing on the grill, and, just relax!

Early summer always brings the fun antics of one of my favorite kinds of insects – June Bugs – more properly known as June Beetles or May Beetles. For most of us, especially in the South, a bug is any kind of insect. For entomologists, like myself, a bug is a member of a different group entirely – but I digress. As for the pronunciation of “bug”, that is another topic altogether and as far as I am concerned, up to the speaker. Cajuns would just say betaille.

Growing up in rural Mississippi, books were always a big part of my life. In fact, my school librarian was one of my absolute favorite people in my little world. (She still is, even after five decades.) 

It’s officially summer! Although we don’t really need a calendar to let us know that summer is here, June 20 marked the summer solstice, also known as the official first day of summer.