Dear fellow Rebels,
On behalf of the Associated Student Body and the University of Mississippi, it is a great honor to welcome you back to the special place we are fortunate to call home. Welcome to your family, a community that is made of up of students, faculty and staff that are all here to aid you in your successes, failures, and to contribute to your own intellectual adventure.
Coming into this academic year, we have an incredible energy brought to us by the various backgrounds of students who carry with them a wide array of different experiences, the noteworthy efforts from past leaders in progressing our campus, and the dreams of the students yet to come.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Associated Student Body, our mission is to serve selflessly and to represent justly the student body, in accordance with the University of Mississippi’s Creed, by prioritizing students’ interests and needs above personal ambition and prejudice. What does our mission statement mean for you? ASB is a student organization committed to our role of supporting each and every single student to be prepared for the next season of life by engaging student opinion about the nature of our university and campus and elevating the student voice to campus leadership.
Like Uncle Ben says in Spider-Man, “with (this) great power comes great responsibility.” Although it may not be apparent to the broader campus community, our responsibility of effectively representing students does not end after the senate meetings stop or after the student activities fee has been dispersed. ASB consists of students from different student organizations, educational backgrounds, interests, and cultures. Whether you are a student in need of receiving academic support, student involvement guidance, or a student with some ideas on how our leadership can better represent different student populations, our minds and ears are open to you.
This year, the Associated Student Body and my administration are committed to selflessly serving the entire student body with One Ole Miss in mind, which some students may recognize as the theme of my campaign platform. We believe that by focusing on the three themes – Opportunity, Networking and Evaluation – we will make notable strides as an organization to provide more opportunities for student growth, intellectual inquiry and networking, as well as to create a more inclusive campus culture.
As I reflect on my last three years at Ole Miss, recent events within our nation and this past summer, I am reminded of a simple phrase that encourages me through some of the hardships – “choose joy.” Over the past eight weeks, I’ve been working with the McLean Institute of Public Service facilitating a class on entrepreneurial and leadership development at Marshall County Correctional facility. During a discussion, one of the students said, “I live in a place where there are literally doors shut all around me. If I’ve learned one thing from this class it’s that I can choose joy and move forward.” This piece of my summer reminds me that in the midst of confusion, pain and disappointment, we can look at problems as opportunities and take advantage of what we’ve been given. It’s not always easy, but I believe that’s the mindset that makes the University of Mississippi a respected and loved institution. It is because students, like yourself, choose joy in the face of adversity and find respect in one another’s differences. The Associated Student Body strives to challenge itself and other organizations to live the Creed, to choose joy and to support each other as One Ole Miss.
Hotty Toddy! .
