Senior Adesola Oje just got her first cowbell. She took it to the first home football game this year and rang her heart out.
"My arm was so sore afterward and I got a blister on my hand!" she said with a laugh.
The biological engineering major considers these to be small sacrifices to make for the school she loves.
A native of Abuja, Nigeria, Oje came to the United States 2010, just days before she began classes as a freshman.
"I graduated from high school at 16 and then took a year off to work on my standardized tests and look into schools in America," she said. "I finally decided on Mississippi State, and I love it so much."
Oje describes her time on campus as an adventure, from living as a freshman in Hull Hall to serving as the Student Association's co-director of diversity to traveling to engineering conferences all over the country.
During the past summer, she also interned with Genentech, a biotechnology company in San Francisco, Calif.
"I get to share my views on life with people from all over, and it's so fun," she said. "I've gotten to do so much; I don't think I would have been afforded as many opportunities anywhere else."
Oje is a member of campus chapters of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, National Society for Black Engineers and Society for Women Engineers.
Despite a busy schedule, she makes time to spend with the many MSU friends she's made and to visit with family members in other parts of the country. She also works as a campus promoter for Microsoft.
"For anybody coming from a different place, the biggest thing you need to do is fall in love with Starkville," Oje said. "I'm from a bigger city in Nigeria, so it took a while to adjust to a smaller place, but it's so peaceful, and it's somewhere you just feel at home and welcome."
Having traveled throughout America during her time here, she speaks with authority when declaring that, to her, nowhere compares to the Starkville and MSU communities. "I've had cool experiences in other parts of America, but I always miss Starkville and want to come back. The people here are so warm, and it's not like that everywhere."
Oje is making big plans for the coming years: graduate school, a career in engineering, maybe even medical school. She credits the campus and local communities for helping prepare her for the next steps.
"Starkville has shown me the potential for goodness in people, and MSU has taught me how to fight for things I want and to put my passion into everything I do," Oje said.
"Through my experiences and interactions with people here, I've developed an 'Adesola, you can do this!' attitude. If you set your mind to something, you can do it, and I think that's something I've really grasped here at MSU."
Wherever the future takes her, Oje said, "Being at MSU and living in Starkville have prepared me to move on to new places, but I will always represent the Bulldogs!"