MSU-Meridian Division of Education names Fall 2018 outstanding students

A nurse for 10 years, Emily Smith decided to change career paths and in December 2018 was recognized at Mississippi State University-Meridian’s fall commencement program as the Division of Education’s Outstanding Undergraduate student.

Smith had only considered the nursing field when she earned her nursing degree from Jones College, then Jones County Junior College. Her career plan began to shift in 2013, however, when her one-year-old son Dawson was diagnosed with Adenosine Deaminase Deficiency, an inherited disorder that damages the immune system.

Undergoing two bone marrow transplants and chemotherapy, Dawson’s immune system was declared ‘clear,’ but Smith and her husband, Mike began noticing he was experiencing some developmental delays. He later was determined to be on the autism spectrum.

Trying without much success to work with her son at home, Smith began taking special education classes at MSU-Meridian to learn new techniques and strategies to teach him. This was the catalyst in her decision to pursue a degree in special education.

“I really enjoyed attending MSU-Meridian,” Smith said. “I liked the atmosphere and small class size and the convenience, which enabled me to go to school, continue to work, and still have time to take care of my family. My instructors were also top-notch, and I felt well-prepared for my student internship this past semester in the Enterprise School District.”

Smith also credits her husband for encouraging her when she began her pursuit of a new profession.

“I had a great nursing career, and I still like it, but I feel that special education is my passion,” she said. “I would never have been able to start or finish this journey without my husband’s support. He, along with the help of both of our families, made it possible for me to achieve what I felt God was calling me to do.”

Smith said when she looks at her son, now 6-years-old, doing well and making strides every day, she does not see a child with a disability.

“He really is just like any other child—only he communicates and experiences his surroundings in a different way than you or me,” she said.  “I believe all children, whether they have a disability or not, want the same thing we all do; and that’s to be loved and accepted just the way they are.”

Division of Education graduate student realizes her dream of becoming a teacher

This fall’s Outstanding Graduate Student in Mississippi State University-Meridian’s Division of Education said her third-grade teacher changed her life, and she strives to “pay it forward” with the patience and encouragement she wants her students to embrace.

Yasmin Ali of Meridian, who was recognized for the award during MSU-Meridian’s fall commencement in December 2018, will receive a master’s degree in elementary education. 

Attaining her long-term educational goal makes the 24-year-old reminisce about her desire to become an educator. She traces her path back to her experiences in Mrs. LaPlaca’s classroom in Brooksville, Florida.

Born in New York, Ali moved at 3-years-old with her family from Staten Island to her father’s native country of Palestine, where they lived for six years until moving back to the United States.

Ali was fluent in Arabic but knew limited English until a caring teacher helped her learn.

“Mrs. LaPlaca took me, a shy, self-conscious little girl who was an English Language Learner, and by the end of my third-grade year, I had placed out of the program,” said Ali.  “I credit her not only with that success but for the honor of being selected Outstanding Graduate student as well.”

Ali’s family stayed in Florida a few years before moving to Dayton, Ohio where she attended a private middle and high school that allowed her to reconnect with the Arabic language in addition to her English studies.

“Once I became fluent in English, I realized I was having a hard time remembering my family’s native tongue,” she said. “I was thrilled that my school in Ohio allowed me to study both.”

After high school graduation, she and her extended family moved to Southaven, where she promptly enrolled in elementary education at the University of Mississippi’s local campus. Before earning her undergraduate degree, Ali looked up and called her former teacher at Florida’s Moton Elementary, Ali’s elementary school where LaPlaca still teaches.

“I was so happy she remembered me and that I was able to share with her that I was about to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in elementary education—and it was all because of her,” Ali said. “She is the reason I became a teacher, and I wanted her to know the impact she made and is still making on my life.” The two continue to keep in touch through email.

Ali and her husband, AB Asmar, married in the fall of 2016 and settled in Meridian, where her husband owns a local business. After spending a few months to settle in her new home and explore the area, Ali discovered she could continue her studies at MSU-Meridian.

“On a campus of this size, I felt that I could connect better with not only my classmates but my professors who I could go talk with whenever I needed to,” she said.

In her classroom at Poplar Springs Elementary School in the Meridian Public School District, Ali has spent her first semester as a fourth-grade math and science teacher trying to emulate her third-grade mentor.

“Mrs. LaPlaca was always very sweet and patient with me and would always ask about my day.  She would encourage me, as I learned English, to not focus on my struggles or what I couldn’t do, but look at my successes and the strides I’d made,” Ali said. “She literally changed my life. When I think about the way she made me feel, I want to do that for my students. I want them to know and see on my face how excited I am to see them every day. They deserve that.”