The College of Business boasts many influential alumni whose contributions have positively impacted industries and communities across the country and abroad.
Among them stands Tony Gunn, Jr. His journey from the north side of St. Louis to becoming a young outstanding MSU alum reflects resilience, ambition and a commitment to uplift others.
The MSU years
For Gunn, selecting MSU for his higher education was a thoughtful decision based on family responsibilities. With a son and young cousins under his care, proximity to home was important.
Springfield, Missouri, provided the perfect balance — close enough to St. Louis to remain connected, yet distant enough to pursue his educational and professional goals independently.
Gunn earned three bachelor’s degrees from MSU: computer information systems in 2018, IT-infrastructure in 2019 and business analysis in 2020.
“I had a great time attending MSU. Overall, I really appreciated the quality professors MSU had to offer,” he said.
Starting a nonprofit
In 2019, Gunn had an opportunity meet President Barack Obama and his team. That meeting would later lead to Gunn undergoing a young leadership equity training through the Obama Foundation. Upon completion of the training, Gunn founded Project You Belong (PYB), a nonprofit initiative “formed to plant and cultivate the seed in the mind of boys and young men of color that they belong in every opportunity afforded to society.”
Through discussions on mental health and encouraging expression using literary engagement, the project instills confidence and resilience in its participants, while addressing pressing issues like gun safety and youth violence.
Currently, PYB has partnered with the ACTION Center/The Heart Church in Springfield to aid in gun safety and youth violence in the city.
“When I think of the work Project You Belong has done and will do, it gives me chills to be able to impact youth on such a level,” Gunn said. “PYB is more than an initiative — it’s a necessity that I will be involved in forever.”
Corporate career and entrepreneurship
Gunn has also found success in the corporate world. In his current role as a technical solution analyst at Oracle Corporation, he provides technical support to hospitals worldwide.
He also owns two businesses: Shot Call’a Games LLC and Not A Statistic Ent (NASE).
Shot Call’a Games is a start-up company that designs and distributes card games for adults. NASE is a collaboration with PYB and MNS Consulting to develop and distribute mental health awareness products for youth.
“We recently released our first product, ‘WTW: A Mental Health Awareness Deck for Youth,’ which is designed to engage and facilitate healthy conversations about mental health with youth,” Gunn said.
A deserving recipient
To recognize Gunn’s accomplishments in his personal and professional life, MSU’s Alumni Association awarded him the 2024 Bears of Distinction Outstanding Young Alumni Award.
“Being the first African American male to receive a Bears of Distinction award is surreal,” Gunn said.
“As I shared the stage with such decorated alumni, including two phenomenal African American women who also received awards, I got to learn about all the great work MSU alumni are doing around the world. To be included in that helped me realized I’m out in the community doing incredible work too.”