Doctoral graduate overcomes high school hardships, finds home at Mississippi State

Contact: Mary Pollitz

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Marc Moore walked onto Mississippi State’s 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’ll walk across the stage next week at Lee Hall’s 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.

“School was easy for me for a while and it got really hard when I was 13,” he said. “I had severe anxiety and depression, and I just couldn’t function in a normal high school.”

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 MSU students, he headed from Amory to Starkville, deciding the college town would be his next stop.

For 15 months, Moore worked as a line cook for Papa John’s while living as he referred to himself “functionally as a homeless person.” He quickly found his groove with MSU students, some extending their kindness by offering warm meals and even a place to shower or sleep—a break from living in parking lots.

“At no point did I feel like I wasn’t supposed to be here,” Moore said. “This was the only place I wanted to spend my time. …It 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.”

Through these relationships, Moore found his place—but he wanted to be more like some of his new friends. He wanted to be a college student.

“Even though everyone had accepted me and didn’t judge me, I still felt like I wasn’t going anywhere,” he said. “They would graduate and go on with their lives—I would still be here.

“I 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’t like them,” Moore said. “I wanted to be the kind of friend they deserved; I wanted to be a student.”

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.  

He then transferred to MSU and graduated summa cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2017. During his undergraduate career, he found his advisor Cindy Bethel, the university’s Billie J. Ball Endowed Professor in Engineering. Bethel helped connect Moore with research opportunities at MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. Though Bethel knew, based on Moore’s paperwork, that he was a non-traditional student, it wasn’t until recently she heard his full story.

“It wasn’t at all obvious the things he dealt with, the challenges he overcame,” she said. “He was more determined than I think most graduate and undergraduate students are, but I didn’t fully understand why. …It’s amazing now to see where he was and where he’s going.”

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 MSU. His experiences with CAVS and the broader university community confirmed his path.

“Here I was given full access to state-of-the-art technology that I could do, within reasonable bounds, anything I wanted to,” Moore said. “I 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 MSU.”

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’t take credit, those who worked with him along the way, like Bethel, see that his determination and drive clearly led to his success.

“Marc’s an inspiration and I think he’s been a huge role model for others in the lab,” Bethel said. “All 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’ll be successful in his career and research.”

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.

“They were very happy to hear I was interested in working there,” Moore said. “…It’s a pretty direct transition from the work I have been doing in grad school. And it’s still in Mississippi. I really wanted to stay in Mississippi.”

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.

“I am here because of Mississippi State,” Moore said. “At MSU, everybody was encouraging. It didn’t seem like all the students were fighting each other to climb to the top—but they genuinely wanted to help each other.”

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.