Students and Parents Applaud MC Freshmen Orientation

MC freshman Emma Haynes, 21, of Decatur, Alabama is flanked by her parents, Larry & Diane Haynes, as MC's Freshman Orientation comes to a close on June 3. The family is pictured outside Provine Chapel moments before beginning the 5-hour return trip home. Emma's brother, Daniel, 21, will be an MC senior when fall classes begin in late August.

Traveling five hours from their home in Decatur, Alabama to the Clinton campus remains a family tradition for Emma Haynes and her parents.

An incoming 18-year-old freshman, Emma began the 325-mile return trip to north Alabama soon after Mississippi College’s orientation ended June 3.

“The worship this morning was a cool experience,” Emma said as her parents, Larry and Diane Haynes, joined her Friday outside Provine Chapel. “This is a place I want to grow in Christ.”

Earlier this year, Emma Haynes strongly considered going to school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. But America’s second oldest Baptist college won out. In addition to building her faith, Emma wants to study biology, do research in the cadaver labs and be prepared for medical school.

Discovering new friends is something that Mississippi College’s freshmen orientation always makes a priority. Activities are also designed to get students registered for fall classes, meet professors and key staffers, enjoy meals at the cafeteria and have fun along the way. The Christian university is where Emma’s brother, Daniel Haynes, 21, will be a senior business major this fall.

Expect Emma’s parents, Larry and Diane Haynes, to travel from their home near Huntsville to the Clinton campus as regular tailgaters during the Choctaws 2016 football season. MC opens the season with the Point Skyhawks at Robinson-Hale Stadium on September 3.

Finding out more about what it’s like to be an MC Choctaw didn’t just impress the 210 incoming freshmen here June 2-3. Parents were pleased with the quality of life on the Clinton campus. “It’s the family-type atmosphere,” Larry Haynes said. “MC wants you here.”

A music education major, Sarah Hyde, of Birmingham, Alabama agrees. “I love the Christian environment. Everyone is so nice,” says the 18-year-old freshman. Sarah quickly found new friends at orientation sessions. When classes begin in late August, she should also receive a warm welcome from her sister, Gabrielle, an MC junior.

After making the 2 and ½-hour drive from his hometown, Northport, Alabama, MC freshman Reed Perkins, 18, says he likes the kinesiology program, the opportunity to play on the Choctaws football team, and the small classes. “It’s a good fit for me. Everybody treats you like family.”

Staffers in the Office of Student Life, the Admissions Office, current students and scores of others worked hard to make orientation a success. Visitors came here from nine states, stretching from Florida to Texas, and as far away as Colorado, said Jonathan Ambrose, associate dean of students.

Mississippi College’s next freshmen orientation will be July 7-8. “Orientation is the turning point event in an incoming student’s college experience,” says assistant admissions director Michael Wright. “This is the moment when a prospective student signs up for real college classes and becomes a real college student. At the same time, they meet the friends they will have for the rest of their lives.”