Student named Outstanding Undergraduate Woman

April 4, 2012

Palara C. Grant has been selected as the Mississippi State University 2012 Outstanding Undergraduate Woman. She was honored at a reception on Tuesday, April 3, at the Memorial Hall’s Coskrey Auditorium.

Palara C. Grant is a senior Mechanical Engineering major from Clinton, MS.  During her time at MSU, she has been active in such organizations as IMAGE, NSBE, SHPE, SWE, MSU Roadrunners, and MSU Honor Council.  Palara is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and serves on the NPHC Executive Board as the Activities Chair.  She was most recently selected to serve as a 2012 Gamma Chi.  She is employed by Dr. Tonya Stone and is currently compiling research materials for the dislocation of atoms.  She also works with Dr. Stone at the Boys and Girls Club of Starkville where they work with eleven 6th-9th grade students who participate in the NanoClub.  Palara is expected to graduate in December of 2012 after which she will matriculate into a graduate school.

The Outstanding Woman Awards is an annual recognition program of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) at Mississippi State to honor women who have made significant contributions to the university as well as to the local communities. According to a MSU release, the PCSW was established in the late 1970s by MSU President James D. McComas and advises the institution’s chief executive on issues affecting the status and role of campus women.

For more on the PCSW, visit www.committees.msstate.edu/pcsw/.