FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2007
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124

Wicker’s chief of staff to speak at MUW Mag Chain Ceremony
  
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Michelle Barlow, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, a Republican serving his seventh term representing Mississippi's First Congressional District, will be the guest speaker for Mississippi University for Women’s Magnolia Chain Ceremony scheduled for Saturday, May 5 at 8 a.m.
   
A native of Clinton, Barlow was a John C. Stennis Scholar and received her bachelor of arts in political science from Mississippi State University in 1997.
   
She began her Capitol Hill career with Wicker immediately following graduation from MSU. After two years, Barlow returned to Mississippi as director of special projects at the Mississippi State University Foundation. She created a premier scholarship program, raised funds to endow the scholarships and coordinated donor recognition. She also raised annual funds for unrestricted use by the university's president. During this time, she was selected for a Rotary International Group Study Exchange and spent four weeks in the People's Republic of China.
   
In April of 2001, Barlow returned to Washington to serve on Wicker's staff and was promoted to deputy chief of staff in 2004 and chief of staff in February of 2006.   Her responsibilities include managing his Washington and Mississippi staff, activities, and offices; overseeing correspondence and policy initiatives; and organizing constituent service events throughout the First District. 
   
Barlow is an active member of the Mississippi Society of Washington, D.C., and the Washington, D.C., chapters of Mississippi State University Alumni Association and Bulldog Club. She is involved in Capitol Hill Baptist Church where she teaches children programs.

The Magnolia Chain, one of MUW’s most treasured traditions, has taken place in some form since 1890. During this event, the magnolia chain is carried by seniors singing the “Magnolia Chain Song” from in front of Columbus Hall to Shattuck Lawn where the ceremony is held.

The procession is led by the senior class president who carries a bouquet of daisies in honor of the graduates who began the ceremony years ago. Daisies are carried because the magnolia chain was originally made of daisies and other flowers.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the seniors form a circle around the magnolia chain, lock arms and sing the “Friendship Circle” song. After the song is completed, the seniors make a mad dash for a magnolia blossom.

Tradition holds that graduates who are able to walk away with a magnolia blossom will find good fortune and romance.