TSU, Metro Schools Partnership Brings More Than 5,000 on Campus for Area’s Largest College Expo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) - When it comes to choosing a college, Tennessee State University was the place to be on Sept. 9.

It was the annual Metro Nashville Public Schools College and Career Expo held in the TSU Gentry Complex with over 5,000 middle and high school students and their parents and relatives in attendance.

Dr. Coreen Jackson, Dean of the TSU Honors College, talks to 12-graders Nasri Hassan, right, and Jhoanne Altidort, of McGavock High School about programs, scholarship and admission opportunities at TSU. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

Jhoanne Altidort, Mert Sekmen and Nasri Hassan, all high school graduating seniors who attended the expo, are looking for somewhere for their college careers. While they have not settled on any institution, they all see Tennessee State University as a good choice.

“TSU is definitely a good possibility,” said Sekmen, a top student at MLK High School, with a 4.6 grade point average. The Nashville native, who wants to study medicine with a possible career in medical policy, is no stranger to TSU. His father is a longtime professor and department chair.

“It’s a great school with lots of opportunities that are not available elsewhere,” said Sekmen. “I have basically walked this campus all my life and it’s always been nice.”

Altidort, a senior at McGavock High School, who is interested in nursing, agrees.

“TSU definitely is a school I am looking at,” said Altidort, a native of Haiti. “They have some good opportunities. I asked a lot of questions and they answered my questions.”

The expo is another opportunity to strengthen the partnership between TSU and MNPS. From left are: Joe Gordon, coordinator of school counseling for North MNPS; Dr. Gregory Clark, TSU’s director of High School Relations; Dr. Megan Cusson-Lark, MNPS’ executive director of school counseling; and LaSeanda Sanders, coordinator of school counseling at South MNPS. (Photo by Emmanuel Freeman, TSU Media Relations)

The expo, held at TSU for the last three years, included more than 170 colleges, universities and post-secondary institutions from across the nation, as well as the U.S. Army. It offered students the opportunity to review information on admissions, financial aid, costs, college life and programs to help them decide their choice of college or university.

Officials say the expo is another opportunity to further strengthen the partnership between TSU and MNPS. TSU is the first university or college to host the MNPS College Fair in its decades-long history. One of the largest urban school systems in the state, MNPS has about 6,000 teachers, many of them TSU graduates.

Abibi Crawford, a 10th-grader from Kipp Collegiate, whose father works at TSU and wants to get an early start on her college search, talks to a vendor at the expo. (Photo by TSU Media Relations)

Dr. Gregory Clark, TSU’s director of High School Relations, helped to coordinate the expo, along with Dr. Megan Cusson-Lark, MNPS’ executive director of school counseling.  Clark described the expo as ”one of the best on-campus recruitment activities.”

“As a result of this fair, we have seen students that we normally don’t see,” he said. “This also offers the opportunities to students and parents who have never visited our campus to be able to see the opportunities that are here.”

Like Hassan (Nasri), a senior at McGavock High School, she has heard a lot of positive things about TSU but never visited the campus until she came to the expo. She wants to study business in college.

“TSU is definitely a place I may consider for college,” Hassan said. “I inquired about the offering in business and I like what I heard.”

For more information on enrollment at TSU, go to http://www.tnstate.edu/emss/

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State UniversityFounded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a  premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 38 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees.  TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee.  With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students  with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.