Often times it is easy to dismiss what goes on here at Missouri Southern.

A small school in southwest Missouri in a town where a lot of the citizens roll their eyes when they say they live there.

MSSU is frequently given a bad rap in the media and the majority of high school students around the area refer to it as a back-up plan. But after almost three years here,  I can honestly say with a straight face that I love this school.

My freshman year in a discussion board post I wrote, “I hope that I grow to like this school.”

Sure this school has its flaws, but so does every other school in the country. My friends at Mizzou complain just as much about school issues as I do.  The only difference is that we get to see more of the inner workings than they do.

Since the 2010-2011 school year is winding down I want to share my vision for this school for next fall.

What if people got excited about this university?

Now I’m not talking about a never-ending pep rally, but what if when students came to class there was a little more hop to their step. There are millions of people across the country, and billions of people across the world, that don’t get the opportunity that we get every single day.  We sit in classes next to the future leaders and entrepreneurs of America, listen to professors who have spent and are spending countless hours learning about topics, and yet all we can think about is how quickly we want to get out.

I’m just as guilty as the next student, but I’m doing my best to change that thinking. What if everyone did?

Think of the learning environment that would create. Classrooms would become more discussion based and less powerpoint needy. Sporting events would be that celebration at the end of the week where people could go and be proud their fellow classmates.

Campus activities would be a mixture of all the students instead of select groups here and there.

Isn’t that what we all want?

This happens when students decide to be happy that they get a college education at a great rate. Also that the diploma they get at the end may not have a school that is on ESPN each week, but an Economics class at MSSU is the same as an Economics class at Oklahoma.

Southern all I ask is for a little more school spirit. Be proud of what you are doing because this school is just as good as any other. In some ways it’s better and in some ways it’s worse, but there are some great things that are happening in classrooms across this campus.

I just hope that the students can see it.