A Joplin native who was perhaps the youngest Missouri Southern State University student in the school’s history is returning to the Four-State Area on the other side of the educational equation — as a university instructor. Scott Thuong, who will graduate today from the University of Oklahoma with a doctorate in mathematics, plans to begin as an assistant professor in August at Pittsburg (Kansas) State University. It’s a move he looks forward to for the opportunity to share his passion for math.