SaNajah Blackman
English 1102
Dr.Weaver
Major Project 3: SAR
Middle Georgia State University
Summary:
Middle Georgia State University (MGA) is a public, nonprofit university located in Macon, Georgia. From what is shown on their website, MGA is a university that cares about the well-being and needs of their students. They are portrayed as a friendly, nondiscriminatory university that wants students that are community-driven, have leadership skills, and are very responsible. They also want students that align with their four core values: stewardship, engagement, adaptability, and learning. The analytical and rhetorical strategies, tone and imagining ideal readers can be used to further explain the ideal student that MGA wants.
Analysis:
The tone of MGA’s website is optimistic and encouraging. And their use of uplifting words and phrases gives the reader a sense of hope, inspiration, and safety. This is one of the many reasons why students are drawn to MGA. Many times, on their website they have shown that their faculty and staff are there to help students succeed, not only during their time at MGA, but also after they have graduated. Quoted from their Academic page, it states, “At Middle Georgia State University we’re committed to providing educational opportunities to fuel your dreams” (MGA, Academics). This is one of many quotes that have an optimistic and encouraging tone. This quote shows readers that MGA is right for them because they will provide their students with all opportunities needed to succeed. The optimistic tone gives students hope and a reason to believe that their success will be guaranteed if they choose MGA. And the encouraging tone gives students a feel of inspiration and safety because they are inspired to go to MGA to succeed and feel safe knowing that this university will do anything to help them reach success.
From their Academics page, it states, “United, we push the boundaries of possibility” (MGA, Academics). The tone of this quote is extremely optimistic and encouraging. It is optimistic because it tells students that at MGA anything is possible. They want their students to know that with help from them and their community they will be able to achieve their goals. And this quote is encouraging because it encourages students to break past the wall of possibility and conquer things that are deemed impossible. MGA wants their students to be able to explore the world of impossibility and make it possible.
The large rhetorical strategy that can be used to describe MGA’s ideal student is imagining ideal readers. Middle Georgia State University wants students that are community-driven, are leaders, are responsible, align with their 4 core values, are positive, and are goal oriented. This means that their ideal reader is someone who has these characteristics. To be community-driven at MGA means to help “enhance the region through professional leadership, innovative partnership and community engagement” (MGA, About MGA). What this means is they want people whose goal is not only to go to their school to further their education, but people who are willing to help engage in their community and make it better. Therefore, they also want people that are leaders, responsible, goal oriented, and positive. They want leaders because they want people that are not afraid to step up and take action, whether that is at school, in their community, or anywhere. Being responsible ties with being a leader. MGA wants their leaders to know when to be responsible for something or when to interfere and help out. This also means the leader needs to be goal oriented and positive. The leader needs to know what goals to accomplish first before trying to accomplish all goals, and they need to have a positive attitude towards others and their community.
The last characteristic of MGA’s ideal student is someone that aligns with their four core values: stewardship, engagement, adaptability, and learning. To MGA stewardship means “Reminding us of our moral and public commitment to the people we serve on and off campus” (MGA, About MGA). To MGA this means always remembering the reasons why they help their communities and use their power and resources to make them better. They want students to always engage in the communities around them and help lead them to greatness. Next is engagement, MGA’s definition of engagement is “Recognizing that learning is a social activity and that we cannot fulfill our mission of public higher education without collaborating with those on our campuses and outside our doors in our communities” (MGA, About MGA). Engagement to MGA means not only working and learning indoors but participating in community activities. Engaging in their communities can teach students valuable lessons, like leadership and teamwork and help students build lasting relationships with others in their communities. The third value of MGA’s four core values is adaptability. At MGA, adaptability means, “a necessary hallmark of progress and success, requiring us to lead and manage- not be simply affected by it” (MGA, About MGA). What this means is being prepared to handle situations that affect your life negatively or positively and growing and learning from them. The last core value is learning. Learning to them is “expanding and changing fields of knowledge and grow professionally” (MGA, About MGA). This relates to MGA’s ideal reader because they want students that are willing to extend their knowledge and use it to develop their mindset and help them proceed forward. They want their students to be able to use their knowledge to assist their communities, help others, and succeed.
Overall, MGA wants students that have the same mentality as they do. They want students to know how to take opportunities given to them and make it greater. They also want students that trust that MGA will help them grow into the best versions of themselves. Lastly, MGA wants students that will help build better communities and break out of the box of possibilities to find a world of impossibilities that can be conquered.
Response:
When I first took a glimpse at MGA’s website, I believed that I wasn’t a good fit for their school, but after researching them I believe that I might consider going there. It has most things that I am looking for in a university: it is an in-state college, the student population is in a good range for me, their tuition and fees are not too hefty, and the school overall seems welcoming. Since MGA’s focus is aviation, I didn’t see myself going to their school but as I looked over their website, I found that they have many courses and academic programs that are unrelated to aviation. Aviation is a good career to go into, but I don’t think it’s for me. Overall, Middle Georgia State University is a good school, they are friendly, support their students, are very welcoming, and have many qualities I want in a college. They’re definitely a college that I am willing to apply for.
Work Cited:
Middle Georgia State University, Middle Georgia State University, 2022, Accessed March 2022, https://www.mga.edu/.