Student Association president finds her place at MSU

For Meridian native Mayah Emerson, choosing Mississippi State wasn’t a hard decision. In fact, she’ll tell anyone who will listen that it was her only choice.

“Mississippi State was the only place that I actually finished my application,” Emerson said, smiling. “I knew I wanted to go to college here, and I’ve enjoyed every minute since.”

Looking back on her application process, she admits that applying to only one school wasn’t the best idea, but even if she was to do it all over again she’d still choose Mississippi State. 

“I’ll be the first in my family to graduate with a four-year degree. It wasn’t just my decision, but a family decision. My entire family was comfortable with MSU, so the transition easier,” said the senior educational psychology major.

One event that aided her in her transition to MSU was the 2015 College Ready program that gives incoming freshmen a head start. A living and learning community, it’s designed to give first-year students a boost as they begin college courses, adjust to living in residence halls, and become familiar                   with campus.

During the spring semester of her junior year, Emerson was elected MSU Student Association president for the 2018-2019 academic year, and this was something she never thought she’d end up achieving. As a first-year student in 2015, her goals were straightforward. She came to the university wanting to have a good college experience, one that centered on obtaining a degree and doing what she needed to be successful. She knew she would simply be happy surrounded by the friends and memories she would make.

“If you had told me that I would run for SA president when I was a freshman, I would have thought you were insane. I didn’t really have those aspirations when I first got here,” Emerson added.

After running for Senate during her freshman year and in her words “losing horribly,” she was offered a vacant seat on the SA Senate by then-vice president Roxie Raven.

Deciding to run for president three years later was a hard one for Emerson. She explained that she knew deep down she wanted to run, but was terrified she might lose and was unsure if she would do a good job. After putting much thought into running, she knew she would love being SA president and that serving the student body was really where her heart was.

“Finally, I decided to just go for it. It’s really crazy looking back, but I’m really glad I did,” she said.

She explained that the experience taught her so much and has prepared her for life after graduation from Mississippi State, adding that involvement with the Student Assocation puts students into spaces with people they might not usually encounter day-to-day while in college. Personally, she’s noticed that she’s learned to respect people’s differences and to be more of a listener than a talker.

“Mississippi State has taught me in the classroom, and running for president has taught me not to underestimate myself,” said Emerson. “Mississippi is always the underdog, and I think I came here not knowing the things I was capable of. It takes hard work, but I’ve really learned not to underestimate what I can do.”

She continued, “I played teacher when I was little. I decorated my classroom. I took worksheets home from elementary school. I’ve always sort of known that education was my field, but I’ve also always known that the classroom wasn’t necessarily where I wanted to be. With educational psychology, I read the description and thought ‘this is perfect.’”

After graduating this spring, Emerson wants to pursue a graduate degree in education policy. She believes it’s important to understand how the public education system and all other systems of government work together. With two degrees, she hopes she will be able to influence policy, bring positive change to Mississippi’s classrooms, and help teachers lead the way for the next generation of Bulldogs—maybe even the next SA president.

“I would just like to say thank you to the College of Education and Mississippi State for allowing students from all over to benefit from the opportunities that we have here,” she said. I think that no matter what you look like and no matter where you come from, if you are willing to work hard and be open-minded your opportunities are endless at Mississippi State. I’m extremely appreciative of that.”