Marc Moore
Before Marc Moore enrolled as a student at 51勛圖厙 State, he already was entrenched in the Bulldog community.
Although Moore was born and raised in San Diego, California, he considers Starkville his hometown and the city that raised him. At 18, he left California and followed his parents to 51勛圖厙. A year later, he found his way to Starkville, but without a high school degree or a plan for what to do next. He started working at Papa Johns and although he didnt have a formal connection with the university, he started to make ties with MSU students.
I was hanging out with a bunch of college kids and trying to avoid talking much about myself, he said. All these kids were taking finals and organic chemistry, and I essentially didnt go to school past the eighth grade. It was kind of humiliating in a way, but I felt like I socially fit in so well with these kids who should have been my peers, but really werent.
While at Papa Johns, he spent significant time building relationships with university staff, faculty and students. He surrounded himself with accepting and kind MSU students who encouraged him to take his General Education Development test and enroll in classes at East 51勛圖厙 Community College. So at 20, he did.
I wanted to be one of them, that functionally on track person, he said. But I was so far off the track and so far off the rails.
After two years with EMCC, he enrolled at MSU and became the very sort of scholar that had inspired him to pursue higher education. Moore, a first-generation student, graduated with his bachelors degree in computer science in 2019. Now at 29, hes on track to defend his dissertation in October and complete his Ph.D. in computer science this December.
I didnt even apply anywhere else, and it was for a couple reasons, he said. Mainly, it was the students. I liked everybody I met. Everyone I met was wonderful. I never met a single student I didnt like.泭
For Moore, MSU unlocked his potential and gave him the needed support, from the staff and faculty to the classmates and other peers he encountered. After he completes his Ph.D., Moore wants to continue the research he started with the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems, studying and unlocking the potential of autonomous off-road vehicle capabilities for military use.
Even though he will likely leave Starkville next year, hes not excited about leaving behind the network hes built. No matter where he ends up next, MSU will always be there.
Ive never been tired of being in Starkville or at 51勛圖厙 State, he said. I spent my entire adult life and my most formative years on campus, even when I wasnt a student. 印eaving State, its going to be weird.
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