Brandy Akers has always been a Bulldog. But it took a chance meeting on an intramural team at the University of Georgia to spark the journey that turned her into the True Maroon kind.
The Conyers, Ga., native and UGA alum met her future husband when the two were students in Athens and ended up playing on the same softball team. A native of Starkville, Ryan Akers came back home for a job at Mississippi State in 2006, and the couple have been active members of the campus and local community ever since.
Brandy started working for the Controller's Office in September 2006, and last fall became senior accountant for the High Performance Computing Collaboratory. She started the new position days after serving as race director for the "United is the MSU Way" 5K race, a fundraiser for the university's United Way campaign.
"I've had a passion for Mississippi State since I first stepped on campus," she says. "We're here seven days a week Äî for work, eating lunch in the cafeteria after church, or catching a football or basketball game."
And being here with her family and a part of the larger Mississippi State family is a natural fit for her, she adds.
"It starts here in the office, reaches to connections I've made around campus and into the community with church and my tennis team, and our neighborhood," she says. "And now, our two-year-old, Will, is part of it. Mississippi State is an important part of our lives, whether we're working or playing."