For some, coming to Ole Miss feels inevitable, but Sam Sepe never imagined she would end up 13 hours away from her home in Pittsburgh. Although the destination was unexpected, Sepe fell in love with Ole Miss at first sight.
“I came here for my tour, my very first time being in the state, and I cried on my tour,” Sepe said.
In high school, Sepe could be described as someone who was involved in anything and everything. So naturally, in addition to being an education major, Sepe has continued to be involved in various ways, such as being an ambassador for both the university and School of Education, the Kappa Kappa Gamma chaplain and a Cru student leader.
Sepe never imagined her time at Ole Miss to be as valuable to her as it has become. Sepe simply would not be who she is today without the university and its community.
“I never thought I would have been a sorority girl. I would have never thought I would have been somebody in a khaki skirt and a polo,” Sepe said.
She especially never thought she would be Miss Ole Miss.
“Whenever the reporter came up to me and she asked how I felt, I just said, ‘I am just a girl from Pittsburgh,’ because that is literally how I felt,” Sepe said.
Despite her initial comment, Sepe has proven herself to be so much more than “a girl from Pittsburgh” through her bright and welcoming personality. Her campaign, “Smile with Sam,” was centered around the idea of making students smile in the face of adversity, big or small. Once criticized for her smile, Sepe was inspired to turn it into her biggest strength.
“Junior year of high school, this one girl made fun of my smile. She was like, ‘Sam has big teeth,’” Sepe said. “ I love my smile. That is one of my favorite things about myself, because I feel like I’m always smiling.”
Being genuine was one of the most important values Sepe wanted to uphold going into campaign season. If she was going to win, she needed to win as herself.
“We did not want to produce something that was fake. That was not me. That was not any of my team members either, because I feel like it is easy to slip into that and easy to fall into the world of campaigning rather than who you are and why you’re doing it.”
Sepe’s “why” for her campaign began by partnering with the William Magee Center, a free wellness education center for students. Through her fundraising efforts, Sepe accomplished her goal of raising $6,543, representing the last four digits of the center’s phone number.
Sepe’s journey to Miss Ole Miss was not a walk in the park. She experienced one of her greatest fears — a runoff. Once the announcement rang out, Sepe was overwhelmed with both relief and anxiety, as her work was far from over.
With the unwavering support from her friends and campaign team, Sepe spent the next 40 hours campaigning to the best of her ability, no matter the outcome. Winning Miss Ole Miss may have been the original goal, but she explained that her campaign ultimately meant much more than a title.
“This campaign is about more than just numbers and goals; it is about the connections we have forged, the smiles we have shared and the belief in a brighter future,” Sepe said. “It is about how we can love one another well and love our university well.”
After two weeks of tabling, fundraising and smiling, Sepe was left speechless as ASB Attorney General Helen Philips announced her name as Miss Ole Miss.
“My knees — my individual patellas, they were literally shaking. I felt like I was sinking,” Sepe said. “Everything paid off and it was just so rewarding. I still get so giddy about it. I don’t know if it will ever sink in. I’m just so honored.”
As her time as an undergrad is coming to a close, Sepe is beginning to set her sights on graduate school for her M.Ed. Her heart feels as though she cannot leave Ole Miss just yet, but she remains open minded to spreading her kindness elsewhere. In the meantime, Sepe believes that her work as Miss Ole Miss is just beginning.
“I just want to continue this ‘Smile with Sam’ slogan, continue my work with the William Magee Center and just continue being a light on campus,” she said.
