Dear Fellow Alumni:

Fans of The Simpsons may have noticed some familiar clothing on Lisa during the episode that aired on Nov. 11, 2012.

In that episode, Bart Simpson’s more intellectual younger sister wore a “University of Missouri at Rolla” shirt while playing online poker with the college savings her dad, Homer, had socked away. It made us wonder what kind of a student Lisa would be if she attended Missouri S&T.

Wikipedia describes the middle Simpson child as “highly intelligent” (with an IQ of 159), spiritual, idealistic and “notably more concerned with world affairs than her life in Springfield,” her mythical hometown. Armed with that information, our admissions staff, many of whom are fans of the show, predicted Lisa’s career as a Miner.

• Major: environmental engineering and psychology
• Activities: jazz band, theater, research, film series, athletics
• Student organizations:  Women in Engineering, French Club, Engineers Without Borders

Of course, Lisa Simpson is just a fictional character, but Missouri S&T has thousands of other real-life students with fascinating real-life stories. Each one is different. While all of them strive to uphold the Miner tradition of excellence, and many exceed that high standard, there is no such thing as a stereotypical S&T student.

Miners excel in a broad spectrum of activities and interests. Some are athletes. Others are members of student design teams. Some are involved in research that can change the lives of people around the world. Others focus on serving their local communities. Many combine these activities and more.

In this issue, we’ll introduce you to a few of today’s real-life students. Keep an eye on them. They, like so many of their fellow Miners, are going places.