The students visit with Moultrie as often as Moultrie comes to their school, which is at least once or twice per month.

They ask him tons of questions — How do I get on the football team? What’s the food like? What about financial aid? What kind of paperwork do I need to fill out?

Mankato’s and MSU’s diversity also comes up. Moultrie says he tries to be honest.

“I tell them MSU is not a place that will always reject them, and it’s not a place that will always accept them,” he said.

Moultrie says that what really impressed Roosevelt was something called the College Access Program. CAP is one of the innovative ways MSU is reaching out to students of color and first-generation students.

They come to campus and spend four weeks of the summer there living in the residence halls, taking classes and living much as college students live.

Doing this gives them a chance to experience it firsthand. When the real thing commences, the shock of so many new things is blunted, leaving them freer to concentrate on academic success.