by Nancy DeGennaro

Middle Tennessee State University recently made two more well-attended stops in Franklin and Clarksville on the 13-city True Blue Tour, with a total of $125,000 in scholarships given out to school counselors, community college advisors and students along with information about academic programs.

“The best path to prosperity is a college education,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee told the crowd of students and their families at the evening reception held Sept. 23 at the Wilma Rudolph Event Center in Clarksville.

The three-month recruitment tour includes university administrators, advisors and staff who travel to locations in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

Most of the tour stops offer daytime luncheons that cater to school counselors and community college advisors, while evening receptions provide interactions and information for students and their families.

MTSU is a family tradition for university alumna Heather Eskridge, a school counselor from Summit High School in Spring Hill, Tennessee, who attended the True Blue Tour luncheon for high school counselors and community college advisors at the Marriott Hotel in Franklin on Sept. 25.

Eskridge’s great-grandmother attended MTSU when it was the Middle Tennessee Normal School for teachers and received a lifetime teaching certificate.

“My grandmother went after I was born and became a high school special education teacher and attended at the same time as my mother, who became a school psychologist. Obviously the strong education program drew in the women of my family,” said Eskridge, whose son graduated in December 2023 from MTSU’s renowned audio production program.

“The high school counselors are definitely thrilled today to learn even more about my alma mater as MTSU grows and expands its programs.”

Orianne Easley attended the Franklin evening reception with her son, Tristan Easley, a senior at Summit High School in Spring Hill, Tennessee. The teenager is eager to get started in the Department of Aerospace’s ever-expanding Professional Pilot Program, with its 50-plane fleet and future presence at the Shelbyville Airport.

“My husband and I wish we’d had the opportunity to go to college and we weren’t able to. But we’ve tried to tell our kids early on to go to college,” Easley said. “We want them to be able to succeed, and we hope for scholarships.”

Tristan Easley was one of eight students to receive scholarships given out by McPhee that night totaling $13,000.

There were nine students to receive a total of $9,500 in scholarships at the Clarksville event, and West Creek High School senior Mattea Brown was one of them. The Clarksville student knows exactly the academic path she wants to take—and it starts at MTSU.

“I’m interested in environmental epigenetics, and then I want to go to law school and do medical malpractice. But I want to get my business degree first,” Brown said.

Students weren’t the only ones walking away with money. There were 21 counselors and advisors in Clarksville who received a total of $40,000 in scholarships to give to their students and 45 Franklin-area educators received $62,500.

While academics are important, McPhee shared with parents that an MTSU education will give their students so much more at a very affordable rate.

“I like to tell parents that you don’t have to sell the farm to send your son or daughter to an institution that has an incredible reputation,” McPhee told the crowd. “In addition to our student activities, we have over 300 student organizations for students to get involved with.”

McPhee talked to both educators and families at both tour stops about the renowned offerings at MTSU: the one-of-a-kind College of Media and Entertainment that houses the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, Department of Recording Industry and Department of Media Arts; the School of Concrete and Construction Management with a new $40.1 million facility; and Engineering Technology with a $74.8 million Applied Engineering Building currently under construction.

Kristen Janson, associate director of freshman recruitment, shared information with folks in Franklin about guaranteed scholarships MTSU offers if students apply by Dec. 1. Tony Strode, director of Undergraduate Admissions, shared that information in Clarksville.

Strode also shared information about MTSU’s True Blue Preview campus visit day on Saturday, Nov. 2. Spring 2025 True Blue Preview visit days will be Feb. 8 and March 22. On Feb. 22, MTSU will host a new Admitted Student Day, which gives future Blue Raiders a time to meet with advisors and faculty to get a head start on orientation to learn about academic programs.

To register, go to <www.mtsu.edu/rsvp>.