MEMPHIS, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Michael Payne says he’s heard “great things” about Tennessee State University, and the Memphis high school senior believes they were confirmed at a recruitment reception he attended Wednesday night.

“I know freshmen that are there, and they say the environment is really nice,” said Payne of TSU. “It’s a great all-around school.”

The prospective mechanical engineer said he understands why the freshmen attending Tennessee State feel the way they do after hearing TSU admissions officials talk passionately about what the university has to offer and how to enroll.

The program was the annual TSU Memphis Recruitment Reception at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown Hotel for graduating high school seniors and their parents and family members.

TSU’s Office of Admissions holds the reception each year as part of activities leading up to the Southern Heritage Classic between TSU and Jackson State University at the Liberty Bowl.

Admissions officials say the goal of the reception is to seek out the best students, nurture them, and graduate them prepared for the global market.

“We like to position them this time of the year so that they will be prepared for admissions, and more importantly, be prepared and positioned and lined up for scholarship opportunities,” said Dr. Gregory Clark, TSU’s director of high school relations and NCAA certification.

TSU alum April Terrell helped coordinate the recruitment reception. She said she wanted to convey to the high school students the special experience they will have if they choose to attend a historically black institution, particularly Tennessee State.

“They can receive a quality education from a HBCU, one that is affordable in the state of Tennessee, and is going to have them ready for the workforce,” said Terrell.

Kabrea Bell would like to attend a HBCU and major in criminal justice. She attended the reception to hopefully get information that will help her make a decision on where to go.

“I’m hoping to get a lot out of this,” said Bell before the event. “I want to one day be a lawyer.”

Bell’s mother, Tiffany Stevenson, commended TSU for having the reception, which she said is an important way to inform high schoolers about the admission process, and college life in general.

“They learn what’s needed to attend a college, but they also get an idea of what’s to come, what to expect in college,” said Stevenson.

In 2016, TSU raised admission standards to attract the best and brightest students. For more information on TSU’s admission requirement, go to http://www.tnstate.edu/admissions/.

Department of Media Relations

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About Tennessee State University

Founded 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.