Alumnus Magazine | Summer 2020

Gray
Nattrass
Washington, D.C., to advocate for agricultural
research funding on Capitol Hill, as well as
travel to professional conferences. In
2018, he was the Grand Champion
of the MSU 3-Minute Thesis
Competition. He was the 2020
recipient of the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences’ Graduate Student
Research Award. He said he enjoyed
working with fellow graduate students
on their research projects and they
reciprocated by helping with his.
Nattrass participated in
commencement ceremonies when he
received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
When the time for this spring’s ceremony
came around, he watched the virtual event
while working, a different experience than
battling the traffic and crowds at previous
graduations. But he said getting the degree
is still just as meaningful.
“I really wanted my family to see me
walk at graduation,” Nattrass said. “It would
have been nice to have that experience,
but I’m very grateful for the degree and the
opportunity to pay it forward.”
Quinlan Gray
De Kalb, Texas
Bachelor of Music Education
Quinlan Gray originally toured Mississippi
State because it earned him an excused day off
from his Texas high school during the spring
semester of his senior year. Four years later, he
is back in Texas with a college degree in hand,
ready to begin his career as a music educator.
As Gray prepares to make an impact on
young people, he said MSU’s professors, and
especially the directors of the Famous Maroon
Band, have had a significant impact on him.
“The three directors all became mentors
to me,” Gray said of Elva Kaye Lance, Craig
Aarhus and Cliff Taylor. “They were a big
part of what I’ve learned as an educator.
They teach you so much more than music.
The band teaches you how to work with
other people, where to find your place.
I really don’t think I would be nearly as
prepared to be an educator if I wasn’t in
the band.”
During his time at MSU, Gray
has served as an Alumni Delegate and
College of Education Ambassador,
as well as chief justice in the Student
Association. He also spent two years
working part time with Starkville
Academy’s band. A personal highlight for
Gray was traveling with the MSU women’s
basketball pep band to Dallas, Texas, for the
Final Four in 2017. With the game happening
near his hometown, he was able to experience
MSU’s historic victory over the University of
Connecticut with family members and the band.
Gray was in the middle of a student-teaching
internship with the Tupelo Public School
District when classes were moved online. With
less time on campus because of his internship
in Tupelo, Gray made an effort early in the
semester to bring his friends together every
Friday for a big meal. In addition to graduation,
they were looking forward to having a big gettogether
at the end of the semester. Instead, they
were all home after spring break.
At home, Gray watched the virtual
graduation ceremony with his family by his side.
He told his family members that missing out
on this in-person graduation gives him a good
reason to get a master’s degree.
In the fall, Gray will begin working as an
assistant band director at Longview High School
in Longview, Texas.
“Mississippi State taught me how to be a
better person, not just a better teacher or a better
musician,” Gray said. “Not all colleges can say
that they teach you that. I took a leap of faith
coming here when I didn’t really know anybody
at all, and it was the best decision I ever made.”
A lifetime of memories,
with more to come
All of this spring’s graduates have been
invited to participate in the university’s fall
commencement ceremonies in December.
Other recognition and celebration opportunities
are also being planned.
Davis stresses that being a Bulldog does
not end once the degree is conferred, and
neither does the building of Maroon and White
memories. Whether it’s coming back to watch a
favorite MSU sport, bringing children to see the
historic campus, catching up with a professor
who made an impact, or connecting with one of
the 104 MSU Alumni Association chapters and
clubs around the nation, there are plenty of ways
to celebrate being a Mississippi State graduate
and be an active member of the Bulldog family.
“There are a lot of opportunities for
Mississippi State to be a part of your life,
regardless of where you live,” Davis said. “This
year’s graduates are going to be the mentors and
examples for the next generation of students
with what they do in their careers and their
lives. We want to share in their successes with
them. The alumni network is part of the value
of an MSU degree, and we’re fortunate to
have a very strong one. The class of 2020, and
everything they have overcome to get here, will
make it even stronger.” •
28 SUMMER 2020
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