Contact: Carl Smith

STARKVILLE, Miss.—After being honored as a finalist for the 2021 Tennessee Community College Student of the Year, Mitchell Grimm is crediting Mississippi State online programs for helping him continue his education while working a full-time job.

Holding a 4.0 grade point average as a paralegal studies graduate of Southwest Tennessee Community College, Grimm now is an MSU Online Bachelor of Applied Science degree student and a senior legal associate for a Southaven-based Google operations center.

“There were several things that came together to get me here, and the MSU Online BAS program made the decision an easy one for me. First, it’s designed to accept all the credits from an associate degree, so I didn’t lose any credits or any time,” he said.

“Second, the program offers a criminal justice concentration. In my job, I deal with police departments around the world who seek assistance with criminal investigations,” Grimm added, “and my coursework at State is absolutely applicable to the work that I do.

Grimm also married into a big MSU family.

“Although my wife did not go to State, her sister, most of her cousins and our daughter did, so there is a sentimental connection as well,” he said.

Grimm is one of approximately 3,600 MSU Online students enrolled this semester. More than 150 distance students are expected to earn their undergraduate degree in May, with more than 230 receiving a graduate.

For more information about MSU Online, visit www.online.msstate.edu.

Visit www.online.msstate.edu/bas for additional information about the BAS program.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.