Fall Classes Begin at Mississippi College
Bass fishing is what lured Drake Denson to attend Mississippi College.
As fall classes began on the Clinton campus Wednesday, the Pisgah High graduate concedes he’s not nearly as famous as Olympic gold medalist Tori Bowie in his Rankin County hometown. But just give him time.
A transfer student from Holmes Community College in Ridgeland, Denson, 20, is among hundreds of newcomers enrolled at Mississippi College in late August.
His future as an MC Choctaw shines bright. Drake hopes to receive plenty of awards as a member of the Blue & Gold’s bass fishing team the next two years.
The Mississippian fished regularly across the nation’s lakes since he was a 14-year-old. He’s got a great mentor. His instructor and father, Shannon Denson, 44, is a top-notch professional fisherman with the Bass Masters national tour.
“Dad and I always have competition fishing,” Drake Denson says. “He usually wins.”
This weekend, the public relations major hits the road for a fishing tournament in Arkansas.
Other new faces at Mississippi College offered a variety of reasons for enrolling at the 190-year-old Christian university.
A freshman from Pontotoc, Solomon Zinn, 18, says MC got on his radar screen because his dad, Walter Zinn, Sr. attended here for one semester to run for the Choctaws track team.
One day, an email arrived for Solomon from the MC admissions office. The Pontotoc High grad did some checking, came to Clinton for a visit, and decided the 5,200-student Baptist-affiliated university was the right place. MC’s stellar business administration program attracted him, too.
Clinton High graduate Sarah Lewis, 19, didn’t travel very far from home to go to college. She especially liked MC’s Christian environment. “We’ve had professors happy to pray for us. That’s comforting.”
Others enrolled at Mississippi College to continue a family tradition.
MC sophomore Aaryn Letson, 19, of Madison is pretty familiar with the Clinton campus, from Nelson Hall to Robinson-Hale Stadium.
Her brother Jared Letson, 23, graduated from Mississippi College with a degree in Christian Studies. Her sister, Leah, is a student here as well. There were other reasons. MC’s outstanding biology/pre-med program plus the school’s Christian environment really sold her.
A freshman nursing major, April Simison, 18, of Mobile, Alabama immediately got hooked after making her initial visit to the Clinton campus. “I fell in love with MC when I came for Preview Day,” she said before grabbing lunch with friends at the campus cafeteria.
Besides buying books, picking up ID cards, putting the finishing touches on residence hall rooms and going to classes, there’s plenty for students to do during week one.
Part of the 2016 Welcome Week activities, Mississippi College students are invited to meet the city’s merchants, listen to live music, and enjoy free ice cream at Back to the Bricks festivities beginning late Thursday afternoon.
The City of Clinton, Clinton Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Clinton are partnering to host the free summer activities on August 25. It’s just a short walk from the university bookstore and Pimento’s Cafe at Mississippi College.
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