Ole Miss Honors ‘Who’s Who’ Winner Kaylee Crafton

By Caroline Helms and Cameron Fronk

Journalism Students

The University of Mississippi has announced its 2021 “Who’s Who” Winners. These respected students are awarded this high honor for excelling in academics, leadership and involvement on campus.

Kaylee Crafton, a senior broadcast journalism student, is one of the deserving recipients.

When Crafton first came to Ole Miss, she had no idea she would leave such a large impact on her university and surrounding community.

“I didn’t expect to have leadership positions and things of that nature because, on a campus of twenty-two thousand or so students, I felt like it would be easy to get lost among that,” Crafton said. “But the cool thing about the university is that it’s a big campus, but it has that small campus feel, so it’s provided so many opportunities to get involved and to lead and it’s been really encouraging for me.” 

Crafton is involved with several organizations, such as the Honors College, where she serves on the senate and as a student director. Crafton also is a part of NewsWatch Ole Miss.

Kaylee’s post-grad plans are still in the works, as she plans to either attend grad school at Ole Miss or head to work in the public relations field.

Instructional Assistant Professor in Integrated Marketing Communications Debbie Hall has been a mentor to Kaylee throughout her time at Ole Miss, especially through her work in public relations and campaigns.

Hall describes Kaylee as an exceptionally hardworking, strongly opinionated and compassionate student.

“She is not what she first appears to be, and I say that in a complementary way. She’s a great student, she likes to learn,” Hall said. “She is not afraid to have strong opinions about life and situations and to put those things out there for people to see.”

Hall expressed that she feels strongly impacted by Crafton and is thankful their paths crossed during Crafton’s time at Ole Miss.

More “Who’s Who” Winners will be recognized in the upcoming weeks. Click here for more information on 2021 Commencement.