At the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, students do not just have a rigorous course load during the school year, they also have summers packed with research, conferences and camps. Four students from the MSMS Class of 2016 have done just that.

Tiana Spivey attended the Mississippi Outstanding Scholastic Talent Conference (MOST) held at the University of Mississippi during July 26-28. She learned the essentials of networking, elevator speeches and the college admissions process while at Ole Miss. “I loved attending the MOST conference. It was an experience I’ll never forget,” she said.

Joy Cariño attended Summer Scholars at Mississippi State University. She participated in a 3-week long theater camp where campers wrote and produced their own play about a library where book characters came to life. “ I grew as an artist and increased my friendship circle,” said Joy.

Carly Sneed researched the nervous system development in fruit flies under Dr. Bradley Jones at Ole Miss. Carly humorously commented, “The part no one talks about is getting dead flies in their hair and clothes.” This is Carly’s first time doing research and she hopes to become a molecular biologist in the near future.  

Ayana Love also conducted research at Ole Miss. She studied polymers and organic reactions that relate to the assembly of Janus Dendrimers. “ I studied vesicles that can be used for the ocular delivery of drugs,” explained Ayana. The program lasted from May 28 – June 24. Ayana was so impressed by the program and her advisor Dr. Davita Watkins, that she plans to apply to Ole Miss.