Mortar Board Chapters Gather For Mississippi College Conference

Casey Stevens of Clinton, president of Mississippi College’s Mortar Board chapter

Mortar Board’s student leaders from campuses around the Magnolia State and Louisiana will gather at Mississippi College for a regional conference February 18-19.

Mortar Board is America’s premier national honor society that spotlights college seniors for their achievement in scholarship, leadership and service projects. Nearly 250,000 members have been initiated at 200 college chapters nationwide since the organization was founded in 1918.

Casey Stevens of Clinton, president of Mississippi College’s Mortar Board chapter, says he anticipates five to ten students from every school in the region will share ideas, work on a service project, gather for dinner, do some networking and tackle other business.

“It’s a way for us to promote Mortar Board,” said Stevens, a kinesiology major who also serves as Mr. MC this year. Mortar Board members “definitely are leaders,” he said. ”It will be fun to meet people from across the region.”

Students booked for the conference on the Clinton campus include representatives from Mississippi College, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Louisiana State University, Mississippi University for Women, Tulane University, and the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

The student leaders won’t just be stuck in meetings for two days. They are also coming to Central Mississippi to participate in a school supplies drive to benefit Poindexter Elementary School in Jackson on Saturday Feb. 19.

Over the years, notable Mortar Board members initiated at campus chapters include former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and New Orleans Saints star quarterback Drew Brees. Former President Jimmy Carter and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani are among the honorary members of the organization. The University of Idaho and California University at Channel Islands are among some of the group’s newly-forming chapters.

Mississippi College began its Mortar Board chapter in 1978. Joseph Odenwald, MC’s coordinator of student development, serves as the Christian university’s chapter advisor.

Mortar Board’s national office is based in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, go to mortarboard@mortarboard.org or call 800.989.6266. Odenwald can be reached at 601.925.3248 or Odenwald@mc.edu.