Tyler Camp's 92-year-old grandmother might be an Ole Miss fan, but that didn't put a damper on Camp's decision to come to Mississippi State.
Transferring from Itawamba Community College and following in the footsteps of his older brother, an MSU aerospace engineering major, Camp's selection of Mississippi State as his college of choice was influenced by the three "Ps"—people, a love for politics and public relations.
"I have an interest in politics and communication, and I wanted to learn from the best," said the Mantachie native, who was fortunate to secure a student job on campus with former Mississippi Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, the university's vice president for campus services.
He said of his work with Tuck, "She is so passionate about her job, loves MSU and bleeds maroon and white. Each day, she's teaching me more and more about valuable skills such as time management, professionalism, networking and communication."
Camp spent the past summer in Washington, D.C., where he says he caught "Potomac fever" while working for Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. A former student body president at Itawamba, he currently serves the MSU Student Association as chief administrative officer. He's also a member of the MSU Montgomery Association, a non-partisan student organization, and Bully Bloc, an off-campus, non-partisan political action committee.
Moreover, the communication/public relations major said that as a transfer student he understands the mindset and needs of those who don't come to MSU as first-time freshmen. As a former president of the Student Transfer Association, he works each day to bridge the gap for transfers, helping them immerse themselves in campus life and into the Bulldog family.
"A lot of transfer students already know what they want to do in their education and where their lives are going. I'm here to do everything I can to help make their goals become reality," he explained.
Camp also has some personal dreams of his own—to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father who were in state and local politics.
"I fell in love with Washington, D.C., and I can definitely see myself on Capitol Hill. In the long term, I want to be a lobbyist," he said.