By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
Alabama State University will soon be on the road as the Hornet Nation's Buzz Tour travels on a multi-state tour from February 24 - February 28 to take "ASU to the community that it serves," said event organizer, Dr. Freddie Williams, Jr.
"The Buzz Tour will have ASU leaders, students, faculty, staff and even ‘Stinger’ himself (the school's mascot) traversing the highways to specific high schools to showcase the essence of what the University has to offer to thousands of perspective soon-to-be college students," said Williams, ASU’s assistant vice president of Student Affairs/Enrollment Management/Admissions and Recruitment. "We will be rolling out early each morning as the sun rises from the Dunn-Oliver Acadome, and we will travel throughout the states of Alabama and Georgia to specific high schools in our specially outfitted bus."
Williams shared that the mainstay of the ASU Buzz Tour will be both sharing and explaining the many academic majors, programs and activities that are available to ASU students.
Some of the tour stops will include the poignant and heart-warming presentations of Alabama State University scholarships to high school seniors, with some of them being awarded on-the-spot in a surprise format to the young recipients.
THE BUZZ TOUR
The Buzz Tour's agenda, destinations and locations include:
- February 24 from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., Mobile's Murphy High School, located at 100 S. Carlen Street;
- February 24 from 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m., Monroeville's Monroe County High School, located at 212 Tiger Drive;
- February 25 from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., Bessemer's High School, located at 4950 Premiere Parkway;
- February 25 from 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m., Birmingham's Carver High School, located at 3900 24th St. North;
- February 26 from 9 a.m. - 10:15 a.m., Eutaw's Greene County High School, located at 14221 US-11 South;
- February 26 from 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m., Marion's Francis Marion High School, located at 101 Hubbard Drive;
- February 27 from 9:15 a.m. (EST) - 10:15 a.m., Ellenwood, Ga.’s Morrow High, located at 4930 Steele Rd;
- February 27 from 12:30 p.m. (EST) - 2 p.m., Columbus, Ga.'s Shaw High, located at 7579 Raider Way;
- February 28 from 9 a.m. - 10:45 a.m., Montgomery's JAG High School, located at 3420 Carter Hill Road;
- February 28 from 12-Noon - 1:45 p.m., Montgomery's Carver High, located at 2001 W. Fairview Ave.
Dr. Williams explained that the tour is a crucial initiative for the University.
"Our ASU Buzz Tour is great for both the University and for the high school students who will attend our programs because it offers these prospective students a unique chance to explore new horizons, which will broaden their educational experiences," Dr. Williams stated. "Exposing these high school students, in both Alabama and Georgia, to the global perspective that Alabama State University offers them will allow us to showcase to them the University's divergent academic environment and foster within them a sense of community and collaboration between our institutions, which hopefully will convince them to attend O' Mother Dear.”