[363] Nashville middle schoolers get taste of college during MTSU visit

MURFREESBORO — Sixty students from Oliver Middle School toured the MTSU campus on Tuesday, March 19, learning about the expectations, challenges and rewards involved in getting a college education.

The five-hour tour included sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, some who have never been on a college campus. OMS faculty members Adam Wicker and Darcia Deloach have worked with MTSU officials to arrange the trip.

“This will be an awesome experience for our students,” Deloach said prior to the trip. “They are very excited and we are very appreciative of MTSU working with us.”

While at MTSU, students were given a short tour of campus, and heard two MTSU undergraduate students talk about how to prepare for college, majors available to college students, challenges college students face, and fun things to do on campus. The young students also saw a presentation in the 360 Aerospace lab, visited with Honors College faculty, ate lunch on campus, and visited the game room in the new Student Union.

“MTSU is devoted to student success, and that includes young students just beginning to think about college,” said Andrew Oppmann, associate vice president of Marketing and Communications at MTSU. “We are happy to do this for Oliver Middle School, and any other school that wants to give their students a taste of the college experience.”

MTSU has developed a partnership with Oliver Middle during the last year to assist the school in enhancing the educational experience of their students. This partnership project is an outgrowth from a larger, strategic partnership between MTSU and The Tennessean. Later this month, students from Oliver Middle will be touring the Tennessean facility, meeting reporters and learning about the newspaper business.

Oliver Middle School is a fifth-eighth grade Metro Nashville Public School in southeast Nashville. Jenna Collins is principal.