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The dietetics and nutrition major from Wiggins joined the inaugural cohort of Mississippi ExCEEDS participants because she wants to continue feeding her desire for service, she said.

"Service is like a muscle that needs to be worked," said McKay, who briefly majored in public policy leadership and nursing. "This opportunity with ExCEEDS serves as a reminder that service is good and that it actually has a tangible impact."

The Grisham-McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement launched the Expanding and Cultivating Educational Excellence through Direct Service initiative last fall. Funded by a $163,000 grant from , ExCEEDS can train 20 mentors and place them in middle and high schools and nonprofit partner sites across the state.

It is the only AmeriCorps Mississippi-funded program serving that age group, said Jacee Palmer, the institute's project coordinator.

Eight minimum-time AmeriCorps members, most of them Ole Miss students, are working in the Oxford and Lafayette County school districts. Four half-time members serve with two partner organizations, including the , in Sunflower County, and in Tupelo.

This summer, the program is looking to expand to Panola and Bolivar counties.

Palmer, who helped build ExCEEDS since last June, said the program is designed to complement the institute's existing North Mississippi VISTA Project. That program focuses on indirect service such as writing grants, getting supplies and other organizational capacity building for nonprofits and school districts.

"ExCEEDS is the complement to that," Palmer said. "It's the boots on the ground. Our students and mentors are going in and actively doing face-to-face work."

That work varies by site. It may include helping students whose native language is not English complete homework, navigate college applications or think critically about career paths.

In Tupelo, two ExCEEDS mentors are both established in their careers in public education, Palmer said. With decades of knowledge about local school systems, they offer students long-view perspective that supplements resources found in their classrooms.

"They're able to provide that life guidance and reflection, and they're still very active in the school district, so they know all kind for next steps," she said.

"They can emphasize lessons, like, 'This is your career' or 'This is your college plan.' So, it's been great that they are doing such extensive mentorship."

For McKay, who works with English language learners at Oxford High School every Wednesday, the experience has provided mutual learning, she said.

"Having that vision of mutual growth has been so beneficial, personally and within the community," she said.

The Grisham-McLean Institute connects the university's academic community with public service opportunities throughout the state. ExCEEDS is open to Ole Miss students as well as community members ages 18 and up, at any stage of life or career.

Some of the program's most committed members are adults re-entering the workforce or community members who simply want to give their time to students who remind them of themselves, Palmer said.

The program is recruiting mentors for the North Panola School District and welcomes inquiries from organizations interested in hosting ExCEEDS members. Long-term goals include expanding the model across Mississippi, potentially in partnership with other universities.

Even with expansion, the program is focused on offering meaningful mentorship to young students at what institute director Albert Nylander called a "critical" moment in their lives.

"Through this program, our students are also learning how meaningful community engagement begins with building relationships and working alongside local school district leaders to improve the quality of education for K-12 students," said Nylander, who is also a professor of sociology.

"We are grateful for the AmeriCorps state and national grant support of the Grisham-McLean Institute, and for our partnerships with local school districts."

This material is based on work supported by the AmeriCorps Mississippi grant no.10002755.

Top: Tonya Little (left), a Mississippi ExCEEDS member serving 900 hours with Wear It Well in Tupelo, assists students with a breast cancer awareness art project at the Tupelo Police Athletic League. The activity is part of Wear It Well's annual Pretty in Pink programming, which raises funds for the organization's extreme makeover initiative for cancer patients. Submitted photo