32. Meet the Ole Miss Homecoming Candidates

HottyToddy.com staff reporters Molly Brosier and Rachel Gholson interviewed the candidates for Ole Miss’ homecoming court in advance of their elections today.
After all the madness of the Rebels’ victorious win against Alabama is starting to slow down, Ole Miss students are preparing for another exciting event: election day.
Today, all members of the Ole Miss student body will be rushing to their computers to vote for Mr. and Miss Ole Miss, Homecoming Queen, and class favorites.

We first met Ryan Henry who is running for Miss Ole Miss.
She is a senior from Hattiesburg, who is majoring in public policy with a minor in journalism. She has served on ASB Senate, served as Big Event team leader and was involved with More Than a Meal.
“I run a very different campaign than the other two have, I run on a service platform because my involvement is all community service based,” Henry said. “The university has given me so many opportunities and Miss Ole Miss would be my way to give back to the university through serving the students.”

Next we spoke with Kacie Cross, who is running for Homecoming Queen.
Cross is from Yakima, Washington, majoring in psychology with a minor in parks and recreation management and theater. She works in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning as a peer tutor/mentor.
“When I came to Ole Miss my freshman year I struggled in being comfortable with who I was and I think I’m not the only one who feels that way,” Cross said. “I wanted to show people that you don’t have to be anyone special or anyone in particular to run, if you want something go after it. Be who you are and try for the things that scare you, things that other people don’t think you are good enough for; go for it.”

We also spoke with Murray Miller, a Jackson native, who is also running for Homecoming Queen (and was crowned at the Tennessee game Oct. 18).
Murray is a double major in International Studies and Spanish, with a minor in Portuguese. She is the president of Chi Omega Sorority, a member of Columns Society, a member of Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, and is involved with RebelTHON.
“I think Ole Miss is the greatest place on earth and to represent this school as Homecoming Queen would be the most incredible honor, but at the same time, if I wake up the next day and I’m not Homecoming Queen, I will still love Ole Miss just as much as I did last week, last year, and when I was 7,” Miller said.

We paused to speak with candidates for Homecoming Queen but resumed to meet Emily Wikle.
Emily, who is running for Miss Ole Miss, is a native of Fishers, Indiana. She was an Orientation Leader, an Ambassador, and a leader of the Ole Miss Running Club.
“My mom is a preschool teacher who had student named Luke diagnosed with leukemia. I started going to chemotherapy with him, and he always wore a life is good shirt every time he went to chemo,” Wikle said. “It was very inspiring, and that has become my favorite motto. I wake up every morning and if I’m kind of having a bad day, I think, ‘You know, someone out there is having a worse day than me,’ so that’s become my motto and it’s the story behind my campaign [slogan].”

After talking to Wikle, we sat down with Miss Ole Miss candidate Allie Winters.
Winters is majoring in Business Management with a minor in manufacturing engineering. She is from Corinth. She is a member of Order of Omega, was ASB secretary and an Ole Miss Ambassador.
“My campus involvement began freshman year, I was in the Chancellor’s Leadership class and it gave me an outlet of showing me where to be involved,” Winters said. “On top of everything I do at Ole Miss I started my own business freshman year. I own a store in Corinth and we wholesale stores across the South. It’s called Down South Collection and my mom helps me run it now and it’s what I want to do after college as well.”

Mr. Ole Miss candidate Rob Barber is from Hernando. He will graduate Ole Miss with a major in public policy leadership/pre-med and a minor in religious studies and chemistry. He has served as an orientation leader, served on ASB Senate and was on the Model UN Team. Barber was crowned Mister Ole Miss Oct. 18.
“During my time at Ole Miss I have had some really incredible experiences and involvement has been a majority of those experiences,” Barber said. “When I think of Mr. Ole Miss I think of someone who has a genuine love and passion for the University. Someone who is interested in being an inclusive representative and voice for the student body. Someone who has the time, energy, and dedication to give back every single day of their term in office,” Barber said.

Luke Love, from Jackson, is an integrated marketing communications major and a candidate for Mr. Ole Miss.
He has been involved in Student Alumni Council, ASB Senate and Manna Ministries.
“My main campaign is my love for the student body. My love for the friendships and relationships and how special that has become and how the student body has become like my family,” Love said. “The saying goes ‘We are Ole Miss’ and I think that is what Ole Miss really represents, the student body as Ole Miss, and not the select few who have gotten involved. Since Mr. Ole Miss is such a service position, it would be an honor to be able to give back to the community and give back to Ole Miss.”

Grady Nutt is a marketing major from Louisville, Kentucky, running for Mr. Ole Miss.
He is the Senior Class President for the class of 2015,  an ASB senator, and he on the Chancellor’s Committee for Buildings Renovations and Grounds.
“Mr. Ole Miss is an opportunity, more so than a position. It’s an opportunity to give back to the Ole Miss student body that has given me so much,” Nutt said. “If elected Mr. Ole Miss, I would want that title only to serve, and using that title as a thank you to all the people that made my Ole Miss experience what it is. More than anything, I really want the students to vote. It is so important to vote, and I want the students to have a say about what happens on their campus.”
Molly Brosier and Rachel Gholson are HottyToddy.com staff reporters and can be reached at mebrosie@go.olemiss.edu and regholso@go.olemiss.edu.