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Reinforcing Mississippi State’s commitment to prepare students to become leaders in their chosen professions, five alumni are returning Friday [April 20] to share their success stories during the Department of Art’s Eric and Gina Yonge Lecture Series.

Taking place at 9:30 a.m. in the Colvard Student Union’s second-floor Bill R. Foster Ballroom, the “Creative Education to Creative Careers” panel discussion is part of the art department’s 50th anniversary celebration. The event is moderated by Starkville native and MSU alumnus Eric Yonge, president and creative director of Kennesaw, Georgia-based EYStudios, a leading e-commerce brand development firm.

With a $25,000 donation to the MSU Foundation, Yonge and his wife, Gina, established the lecture series in 2015 to engage fine arts students in thoughtful discussions on how to market themselves and their talents.

“This event is a great opportunity for students across our department, college and university to see and hear from five alumni who have translated their college education into professional careers,” said Angi Bourgeois, MSU art department professor and head.

In addition to Yonge, panelists include:

—Jerry Jackson, a 1989 MSU art/fine arts graduate who has been a photo editor for The Baltimore Sun since 1996. Prior to moving to Baltimore, he worked as a photo editor for the Houston Post and at the Union Democrat in Sonora, California. He also studied photojournalism at the University of Missouri. For more, visit .

—Kristen Ley, a 2007 MSU art/graphic design graduate who also minored in marketing. Following graduation, she and fellow MSU classmate Catherine Yerger opened Cultigraphic Creative to explore their shared passion for art and design through projects for various clients. In 2011, Ley purchased a 1925 10 x 15 Chandler and Price letterpress and opened Thimblepress gift shop in Jackson. The name is derived from a collection of thimbles she has acquired during her travels since childhood. For more, visit .

—Wesley Stuckey, a Baltimore, Maryland-based designer, printmaker and educator whose work has been featured in various publications and exhibitions across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. In addition to traditional print design and printmaking, his work focuses on branding, illustration and environmental graphics, with occasional interactive projects for the web. A 2008 MSU art/graphic design and printmaking graduate, Stuckey teaches branding, typography, hand-letter, web design and basic design at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he earned a master’s in fine art in 2011. Stuckey also teaches at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and runs his own design studio practice. He served as a juror for the art department’s recent 50th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition. For more, visit .

—Adam Trest, a watercolorist who owns Adam Trest Home retail store in Laurel. He graduated in 2009 with an MSU bachelor’s in art/painting and a minor in architectural design. He often is inspired by the native flora and fauna, as well as the historical districts around Mississippi. For more, visit .

Additional information about the Department of Art’s 50th anniversary celebration is available by contacting Bourgeois at 662-325-8926 or ABourgeois@caad.msstate.edu.

Part of the 91����, MSU’s Department of Art is home to the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program. For more, visit and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CAADatMSU.