Program Celebrates 10 Years of Mississippi Community Partnerships

In 2014, the institute began planning for the first summer interns as part of the Catalyzing Entrepreneurship and Economic Development initiative. The initiative is the result of a $2.4 million investment from the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation to the institute.

"This program allows our students to experience opportunities right here in Mississippi while supporting the community they get to explore," said Albert Nylander, director of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement and professor of sociology.

"I am thankful to the Hearin Foundation for providing financial support to have university students work alongside our community partners to advance community and economic development across the state."

Omobola Obasanjo, a senior from Greenwood majoring in business and finance, is among the students participating in this year's summer program. Obasanjo spent his summer interning in Tupelo with the Community Development Foundation and the CREATE Foundation under the supervision of Stewart McMillan, project manager for CREATE and Toyota WellSpring.

"The only thing I knew about Tupelo was Elvis," Obasanjo said. "Being from the Mississippi Delta and from a small town, Tupelo is a lot of the dreams people have for their town realized. I did not realize it was thriving, or that the businesses here are all working together.

"A lot of people leave Mississippi because they think they'll have better opportunities elsewhere. But having an experience like this shows me that there are people who want to contribute to the future of this state and make it better."

Among the organizations that have hosted Ole Miss students as summer interns through the Grisham-McLean Institute's initiative are:

• Catholic Charities in Vardaman
• James C. Kennedy Wellness Center in Charleston
• Offices of the mayors of Charleston, Greenville and Lexington
• New Albany Main Street Association
• Pontotoc County Chamber of Commerce
• Greenwood-Leflore-Carroll Economic Development Foundation
• Cleveland-Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce
• Mississippi Development Authority in Jackson
• CREATE Foundation
• Community Development Foundation
• Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi in Hernando
• Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce
• Refill Jackson Initiative
• Innovate Mississippi in Jackson
• Mississippi Small Business Development Centers in Oxford, Tupelo and Biloxi.

This summer, the university's Office of Economic Development partnered with the Grisham-McLean Institute to place students with new sites such as Base Camp Coding Academy in Water Valley and the Vicksburg-Warren Partnership in Vicksburg, while continuing multi-year partnerships with the Mississippi Development Authority in Jackson and other locations across the state.

Obasanjo had a full schedule for the summer, including participating in the CREATE Foundation's hiring career coaches, sitting in on meeting with the Tupelo Chamber of Commerce and interviewing members of the community for the foundation's Imagine the Possibilities Career Expo.

"Our team was blessed by Omobola's presence at our full-day interviews for our three career coaches," McMillan said. "He was an active participant from the beginning and jumped right in during the morning debrief by agreeing to be the last person to ask questions of our candidates."

After graduation, Obasanjo hopes to work in his home state as well as in Nigeria, where he has relatives.

"People may have their predisposed notions about Mississippi, but you truly don't know what Mississippi is like until you've seen all of Mississippi," he said. "It was very encouraging to see the work being done in Tupelo in my home state. It gives me hope for the future.

"When you meet people like them who want the best for Mississippi and aren't leaving, it shows me that maybe one day, we can make it what we want it to be."

For more information about the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement, contact Tracee Brooks at tkbrooks@olemiss.edu or 662-915-8832. For more information about the university's Office of Economic Development and Insight Park, contact J.R. Love at jrlove@olemiss.edu or 662-915-5083.

Top: Stewart McMillan (left), project manager for the CREATE Foundation and Toyota WellSpring; Omobola Obasanjo, a senior University of Mississippi business and finance major from Greenwood; and Albert Nylander, director of the Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement and professor of sociology, gather at the CREATE Foundation office. Obasanjo spent his summer interning at the foundation and the Community Development Foundation in Tupelo. Submitted photo