Mississippi State Alumnus: Fall 1998

Since 1979, Stepping Stones has been an Orientation newsletter used by Director of Enrollment Services Jimmy Abraham to help students planning to enroll at Mississippi State. It, along with the Orientation programs held in June, are meant to provide guidance, or stepping stones, for students as they enter college.

After directing the Orientation program for 20 years and assisting more than 79,000 students and their parents, Abraham has stepped into a new role. Although he continues to supervise the program, a new coordinator has been hired to direct the Orientation program, guided by the stepping stones he has set down.

Abraham, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees from MSU and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Mississippi, took over the program in 1978. He immediately began reorganizing the Orientation sessions, spending much time training the student staff and working with faculty, staff, and administrators to change the program, eventually making it one of the best in the nation. In 1994, he received the first-ever Outstanding Orientation Professional Award from the National Orientation Director's Association for his accomplishments.

"This program has grown tremendously over the last 20 years because of the efforts of so many people," Abraham said. "In 1979, more than 2,800 students and parents attended our sessions. This year, more than 5,000 attended. Not many institutions across the country have experienced an increase like this in their orientation programs."

These one- and two-day programs give prospective students and their parents their first really good look at the university. Because these first impressions go a long way toward determining whether a student returns for classes in the fall, Abraham has worked hard to make the program first- class.

"This program is about helping students and their parents make their adjustment to this great university as smooth as possible. Everyone associated with Orientation has helped take care of the little things. When we do the little things right-mainly showing them we care and that we want them to be successful-then the big things take care of themselves."

Part of doing those little things right comes from the 18 currently enrolled students who served as Orientation Leaders under Abraham's direction.

"Without question, the key to a successful Orientation program is the student staff," Abraham said. "That is why we spend so much time training them and building them into a true team. For them, Orientation is much more than five sessions in June. It is an experience that will stay with them forever."

Former Orientation Leaders, who gathered on campus in October for a 20-year reunion, agree that the program will continue to be one of the best around because Abraham has laid a strong foundation and because he will be able to lead and mentor the new director.

"One test of leadership is when you determine how well you have been able to teach and lead those who will follow eventually," said Mark Garriga, 1979 and 1980 Orientation Leader and chief of staff, Office of the Mississippi Governor. "I think we will find that his influence will carry on long after his tenure. His leadership style and his presence are things that always will remain with the Orientation program at MSU."

Nineteen eighty-four Orientation Leader Kristie Byrne Chandler took what she learned from Abraham and oversaw orientation programs at both Texas Christian and Samford University.

"I learned to really instill in my student leaders that they are part of something at the institution that is bigger than just themselves," Chandler said. "It's been 15 years and I still remember the lessons Jimmy taught me. I have tried to convey those lessons to my students."

Nineteen eighty-nine Orientation Leader Kelvin Covington, now a district manager with Conoco in Highland Ranch, Colo., said his experiences with Abraham were life-changing.

"Jimmy always told us before any session, 'Always remember there ain't nothing we can't handle.' I have used this philosophy, especially in my career, to help me take a step back and look at a problem. I found out I could always find a solution.

"Anyone Jimmy hires will be a special person like he is and will do a wonderful job by learning from the standards he has put in place. He has probably been the most instrumental person in increasing enrollment at Mississippi State because the experience students get at Orientation helps them decide to attend in the fall."

The program has been so successful that other institutions have used Abraham's building blocks to improve their programs.

Jeanine Ward-Roof, director of Orientation Leadership and Disability Services at Clemson University and president of NODA, said Abraham was the "orientation guru when I started at Clemson nine years ago. He has made a name for himself and his programs across the region. At other universities, the weekend programs he does are unheard of. But he gets such cooperation and support from the university and community that he can do this. His consistency, his know-how, and his willingness to work hard has really helped MSU get to where it is with the program today."

As Abraham begins the process of handing the reins of Orientation over to new assistant director Kristi V. Brown, he will focus on implementing the university's recruiting and orientation goals and establishing long-range plans for Enrollment Services.

"I want to make the transition as smooth as possible for Kristi. She was a Roadrunner in 1989 and a student in my class. I know how much this university means to her. She will do an outstanding job in this position."

As Brown steps into her new position, she will have a big responsibility. But she will have Abraham and the stepping stones he has laid to guide her as she helps take Orientation into the 21st century.

Former tourism executive
joins MSU recruiting team

Kristi V. Brown is the new assistant director of enrollment services at Mississippi State University.

A 1992 MSU communication/public relations graduate, Brown primarily will direct new student and parent orientation programs coordinated through the Office of Enrollment Services. She also will assist in coordinating other major on-campus recruiting events.

"I see this as an opportunity for me to grow professionally and to add to the recruitment effort that already is going on at the university," Brown said. "It especially makes me proud to know that when someone makes a decision to come to Mississippi State, it impacts their life forever. Being a positive influence on that process is very important."

Brown most recently was a Starkville public relations consultant and previously was executive director of the Ridgeland Tourism Commission. Prior to that, she served as director of the Starkville Visitors and Convention Bureau.