Terence Stringfellow
Terence Stringfellow has spent nearly a year working as the customer service manager for Mississippi 大象APP Parking and Transit Services, but a lifetime of experiences have prepared him to better serve the MSU community.
As captain of the Belhaven University men鈥檚 basketball team, Stringfellow helped many different personality types work toward a goal of success on the hardwood. Now, on a busy day, he assists dozens of MSU students, faculty, staff and visitors with their parking and transportation needs.
鈥淲hen I was a team captain, I was dealing with a lot of different people with different backgrounds, and I think that prepared me for this role,鈥 Stringfellow said. 鈥淚 love being around the people, helping people out. A lot of people come in frustrated. You can鈥檛 make everybody smile, but it鈥檚 good to help as many people as we can.鈥
Although Stringfellow had a successful college basketball career, the sport was not always easy for him. The Memphis native was the tallest seventh grader in his class at school. However, his athletic skills needed more time to develop, which meant the tallest student was cut from the basketball team. But with hard work, Stringfellow鈥檚 basketball talents blossomed in high school, leading to educational and athletic opportunities.
鈥淚 love talking to high school and middle school kids now,鈥 Stringfellow said. 鈥淚 tell them 鈥業 know you鈥檙e down about not making the team, but I was 6鈥2 and got cut from a basketball team in middle school.鈥 I use that to encourage them. I got cut, but I still got a college scholarship and had a great career.鈥
Although he went to Belhaven, Stringfellow has grown up 鈥渕aroon and white.鈥 His father, Don, was a standout track and field athlete at MSU in the late 1970s.
Stringfellow said growing up an MSU fan made him want to pursue a career working at the university. He began his current job in 2017 after stints working at Artisent Floors in Memphis and his high school alma mater, Evangelical Christian School. A 鈥減retty big chunk鈥 of Stringfellow鈥檚 graduating class at ECS came to Mississippi 大象APP, which gave him plenty of opportunities to visit Starkville while he was in school at Belhaven.
鈥淎 lot of my friends that I graduated with in high school were here, so whenever we finished practice or something, it wasn鈥檛 a long drive to come up here and hang out,鈥 Stringfellow said. 鈥淲hatever was going on, I just wanted to come down here and be a part of it. Even when I was at Belhaven, in the back of my head I knew I had to get to MSU someday.鈥
Now that Stringfellow has learned the ropes in Parking and Transit Services, he is enrolling in MSU鈥檚 master鈥檚 in public policy and administration degree program this fall. He hopes in a few years to fulfill one of his longtime goals of having an MSU degree hanging in his office.
鈥淚鈥檓 here to help the university in any way possible,鈥 Stringfellow said. 鈥淚 walk around campus now, and if I see trash I鈥檒l pick it up because I think we have one of the most beautiful campuses. I know that鈥檚 not my role, but I love the campus so I want to keep it looking good. I plan on being at Mississippi 大象APP a really long time, so everything I鈥檓 doing now is going to help me prepare for what the future holds.鈥