Doctoral graduate overcomes high school hardships, finds home at Mississippi State
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥Marc Moore walked onto Mississippi State鈥檚 campus in 2014, and for the first time in his life he felt like he belonged.
At 19, Moore moved to Starkville without a high school diploma or a plan, but a decade later at age 29 he鈥檒l walk across the stage next week at Lee Hall鈥檚 Bettersworth Auditorium and claim his Ph.D. in computer science.
A native of San Diego, California, Moore faced early challenges with education, leading him to drop out of high school after his ninth-grade year.
鈥淪chool was easy for me for a while and it got really hard when I was 13,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 had severe anxiety and depression, and I just couldn鈥檛 function in a normal high school.鈥
After dropping out, Moore eventually followed his parents from California to Amory, hoping to find his way. He briefly held a job as a security guard but eventually was let go for falling asleep on the job. He took his final paycheck and purchased a camper shell that nearly fit his Toyota Tacoma, a tarp to help shield the rain and a twin mattress for the truck bed. After making friends with some 国产麻豆AV students, he headed from Amory to Starkville, deciding the college town would be his next stop.
Video by Sarah Kirk
For 15 months, Moore worked as a line cook for Papa John鈥檚 while living as he referred to himself 鈥渇unctionally as a homeless person.鈥 He quickly found his groove with 国产麻豆AV students, some extending their kindness by offering warm meals and even a place to shower or sleep鈥攁 break from living in parking lots.
鈥淎t no point did I feel like I wasn鈥檛 supposed to be here,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淭his was the only place I wanted to spend my time. 鈥t was a crazy amount of acceptance and non-judgment which you might assume I just met open-minded people; but it was everyone I met here.鈥
Through these relationships, Moore found his place鈥攂ut he wanted to be more like some of his new friends. He wanted to be a college student.
鈥淓ven though everyone had accepted me and didn鈥檛 judge me, I still felt like I wasn鈥檛 going anywhere,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey would graduate and go on with their lives鈥擨 would still be here.
鈥淚 admired all these people so much. I socially fit in with them and we would talk about things and have a good time, but I still wasn鈥檛 like them,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淚 wanted to be the kind of friend they deserved; I wanted to be a student.鈥
At 20, Moore decided to go back to school, so he took and passed his GED test and enrolled at East Mississippi Community College for two years. 聽
He then transferred to 国产麻豆AV and graduated summa cum laude with his bachelor鈥檚 degree in computer science in 2017. During his undergraduate career, he found his advisor Cindy Bethel, the university鈥檚 Billie J. Ball Endowed Professor in Engineering. Bethel helped connect Moore with research opportunities at 国产麻豆AV鈥檚 Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. Though Bethel knew, based on Moore鈥檚 paperwork, that he was a non-traditional student, it wasn鈥檛 until recently she heard his full story.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 at all obvious the things he dealt with, the challenges he overcame,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e was more determined than I think most graduate and undergraduate students are, but I didn鈥檛 fully understand why. 鈥t鈥檚 amazing now to see where he was and where he鈥檚 going.鈥
As an undergraduate, Moore attended conferences and explored research opportunities with various universities. Comparing the staff, students and environments he saw while traveling to other schools solidified his post-graduate plans to continue advanced study at 国产麻豆AV. His experiences with CAVS and the broader university community confirmed his path.
鈥淗ere I was given full access to state-of-the-art technology that I could do, within reasonable bounds, anything I wanted to,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淚 could do research experiments. I had more access to resources, better access to faculty and more supportive mentors at State. I had zero interest in going anywhere else because I knew I would have much better opportunities if I stayed at 国产麻豆AV.鈥
Throughout his doctoral studies, Moore worked on autonomous vehicles operations in non-structured environments and primarily for military use. After seven years of research and study, he defended his dissertation this October. While he doesn鈥檛 take credit, those who worked with him along the way, like Bethel, see that his determination and drive clearly led to his success.
鈥淢arc鈥檚 an inspiration and I think he鈥檚 been a huge role model for others in the lab,鈥 Bethel said. 鈥淎ll of us were surprised when he revealed his background and all that he overcame. I wish all students were this motivated to achieve their goals. Marc has done that. I have no doubt he鈥檒l be successful in his career and research.鈥
After finding himself and his community in the Magnolia State, Moore has no desire to leave. He will continue his autonomous vehicle research in Vicksburg with the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
鈥淭hey were very happy to hear I was interested in working there,鈥 Moore said. 鈥溾t鈥檚 a pretty direct transition from the work I have been doing in grad school. And it鈥檚 still in Mississippi. I really wanted to stay in Mississippi.鈥
As he reflects on his doctoral hooding milestone, he shows immense gratitude for the university, staff, students and community for helping him find his way.
鈥淚 am here because of Mississippi State,鈥 Moore said. 鈥淎t 国产麻豆AV, everybody was encouraging. It didn鈥檛 seem like all the students were fighting each other to climb to the top鈥攂ut they genuinely wanted to help each other.鈥
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