David “Reeves” Manley grew up 8,000 miles from Starkville, but when the call came that he had earned one of Mississippi State’s most prestigious scholarships, the celebration rang from the other side of the world with a distinct MSU sound.

“My whole family got their cowbells and Mississippi State hats and cheered for me,” said Manley, remembering the 2025 celebration in his home in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. “I still vividly remember sitting in my room with my parents when I received the call from Dr. Tommy Anderson that I had been awarded the MSU Presidential Endowed Scholarship.”

Though he had to cross an ocean to get here, Manley followed in his mother’s footsteps. She was an MSU Schillig scholar—today’s equivalent of presidential scholars—in the late 1990s before her career took her to Washington, D.C., and eventually the Middle East to run a non-profit and help her husband plant a church. For Manley, receiving the same scholarship was both humbling and inspiring.

“Becoming a presidential scholar was exciting because I thought about the places that scholarship launched my mom after her time at MSU,” he said.

Manley spent 14 years in the UAE, attending an international school where classmates represented more than 40 countries. While many people picture Dubai’s soaring skyscrapers and luxury cars, Manley said his childhood was shaped just as much by quieter moments.

“I grew up outside the city in a more rural area where there were mountains, beaches and deserts,” he said. “We would take a boat into the Strait of Hormuz and swim with the dolphins. I also vividly remember going out to the desert at night with friends and building a fire. I always loved cooking food over the fire and looking at the stars. They were so bright and clear.”

Now a sophomore double-majoring in physics and mathematics, Manley discovered his academic calling during an AP Physics class in high school. After calculating exactly where a marble would land after rolling off a table—and watching the experiment confirm his prediction—he was hooked. “I fell in love with physics and knew I wanted to study it,” he said. Today, he enjoys the way physics and mathematics challenge him to think critically and solve complex problems.

Living in one of the world’s most multicultural countries also shaped the way he sees people. With more than 200 nationalities represented in the UAE, Manley grew up surrounded by different languages, cultures and traditions.

“I am probably still not aware of all the ways I have been influenced by my multicultural upbringing, but I know I appreciate differences in cultures more than I might otherwise. I think the world is more interesting because we come from different places and have different cultural priorities. I watch the international students who move to MSU. I’m sympathetic to how hard it can be to be away from people you love and things that are familiar. I still feel at times like I’m learning new things about the culture here.”

Although moving from the UAE to Starkville was a significant transition, Manley found more similarities than differences.

“People are people, no matter whether they live in the UAE or Mississippi,” he said.

He also discovered that Southern hospitality reminded him of home. Just as neighbors in Mississippi welcome newcomers with food and conversation, families in the UAE invite neighbors for coffee or gather around a fire in the desert—what Manley jokingly called “their version of a tailgate.”