University of Mississippi Hall of Fame inductees for 2025-26 were announced at the Who’s Who ceremony held at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, April 10. The university’s Hall of Fame recognizes senior undergraduate students for outstanding scholastic and extracurricular achievement.
A panel of faculty members decided that these students have exhibited exemplary leadership, academic excellence, research skills and made countless contributions to the Lafayette-Oxford community and university.
Amber Amis
Amber Amis is a senior integrated marketing communications major on the pre-med track from Clinton, Miss. She has served in numerous roles, including president of the Jackson Free Clinic Health Ambassadors, co-founder and philanthropy director of Student Providing Aid Ole Miss, treasurer for the Public Relations Student Society of America and outreach chair for the Clinical Experience Network.
Amis is involved in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Ole Miss Ambassadors, College Panhellenic Council recruitment leadership, Kappa Delta sorority and other mentorship roles. She is a recipient of the Stamps Scholarship, Chancellor’s Leadership Award and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Order of Omega.
Ryan Augustine
Ryan Augustine is a senior allied health studies major in the College of Liberal Arts from Madison, Miss. He has held leadership roles on campus including executive director of the Student Activities Association, treasurer for the Jackson Free Clinic Health Ambassadors, orientation coordinator, co-coordinator of training and selection for Ole Miss Ambassadors and mission trip leader with Ole Miss Cru.
Augustine campus involvement also includes membership in the Columns Society, Global Brigades, RebelTHON and the Clinical Experience Network. Augustine has completed hundreds of service hours through mission work in Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica and the Big Event.
His honors include the McDonnell Barksdale Scholarship, Chick-fil-A Remarkable Futures scholarship, multiple Chancellor’s Honor Roll designations, the Larry D. Ridgeway Award, the Gilman International scholarship and recognition as Mr. Ole Miss in 2025.
McKenzie Cox
McKenzie Cox is a senior integrated marketing communications and public policy leadership double major from Concord, N.C. She has served as president of the Public Relations Student Society of America, vice president of finance for the Kappa Delta sorority, weather anchor for NewsWatch Ole Miss and global ambassador for Ole Miss Study Abroad.
Cox’s campus involvement also includes the College Panhellenic Council Standards Board, Trent Lott Leadership Institute and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Cox has been deeply committed to community engagement, contributing through food drives, Girl Scouts education programs, RebelTHON and the Big Event.
Cox was named Miss University 2025, a Taylor Medalist, a Stamps Scholar, a Delta Scholar and a Campus Favorite during her college career. Cox will compete for Miss Mississippi this summer and plans to attend law school to pursue a career in public policy.
“Ole Miss is the place that empowered me to grow into a more authentic, fuller version of myself. It is an honor to be recognized for giving back to the university that has given me more than I could ever repay,” Cox said to The Daily Mississippian via email. “I’ve been fortunate to serve in a variety of leadership positions on campus, but it was through mentoring other students interested in leadership that I began to see the ripple effect of pouring into others.”
Emily Davis
Emily Davis is a senior exercise science major in the school of applied sciences from Benton, La. She has held roles on campus including president of Ole Miss Special Olympics, president of the Pre-Occupational Therapy Association and student director and program creator for the READY Inclusive Higher Education Program.
Davis has also served her community through Ole Miss Cru, College Panhellenic Council recruitment leadership, Kappa Delta sorority and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. She was elected Homecoming Court Senior Maid in 2025 and given the Student Activities Association Spirit of SAA Award.
“Being named to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame is an honor beyond words. I feel extremely grateful and humbled,” Davis said. “This honor does not reflect me or anything I have done, but what God has allowed me to be a part of at this university.”
After graduation, Davis will begin her doctorate in occupational therapy at LSU Health Sciences in Shreveport, La.
Riley Dellenger
Riley Dellenger is a senior marketing major in the school of business administration from Ocean Springs, Miss. Dellenger has served as vice president of member development for the College Panhellenic Council, president of Rho Lambda, director of First Year Experience for the Delta Delta Delta sorority, orientation leader and director of membership development for RebelTHON.
Dellenger was elected Miss Ole Miss in fall 2025. Her involvement also extends to the Student Activities Association, Ole Miss Cru, Catholic Campus Ministry, Women in Business club and the Ole Miss Ambassadors program.
She has contributed to service efforts including mission trips to Ecuador and Costa Rica, RebelTHON, Court Appointed Special Advocates fundraising events, Special Olympics and more than 100 hours with the Ole Miss Ambassadors.
Cate Drane
Cate Drane is a senior public policy leadership and public health double major from Natchez, Miss. She has served as president of the American Cancer Society chapter at UM, executive leadership and development coordinator for the Leadership and Engagement Ambassadors, service chair for the Trent Lott Leadership Institute Student Advisory Board and recruitment counselor for the College Panhellenic Council.
Drane is also the founder and president of The Children’s Literacy Project — a statewide initiative dedicated to improving K-5 literacy.
Her involvement extends across the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Luckyday Scholars, Mortar Board honors society, Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Beta Phi, Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and multiple national and international leadership fellowships.
Connor Gee
Connor Gee is a senior biological sciences and business administration double major from Madison, Miss. He has held influential roles including co-executive director for Ole Miss Ambassadors and principal of mental health for the Associated Student Body.
Gee served as director of finance and fundraising for the Big Event, co-director of Greek development for RebelTHON, community service chair for Lambda Sigma and is a leader in the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity and Reformed University Fellowship.
“I could not be more grateful to receive this incredible honor. Even more so, I am thankful for the people who have invested in me to make me the man I am today,” Gee said. “Leadership is not defined by recognition but by genuine service.”
Eron Hendrix
Eron Hendrix is a senior public health major in the school of applied sciences from Tupelo, Miss. Hendrix has served as executive director of the Big Event, president of PeriodUM, senator and chair of the ASB Committee on Student Life, co-director of Homecoming for the Student Activities Association and a student representative on university-wide search and advisory committees.
Her involvement spans the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Kappa Delta sorority, the Student Health Coalition, the Public Health Student Association and the Health Professions Advising Office.
Hendrix has performed service work through menstrual equity initiatives, community markets, the Grove Grocery food pantry and global health work in Ghana. She is a recipient of the Stamps Impact Prize and multiple academic scholarships.
Yasmine Ware
Yasmine Ware is an interdisciplinary studies major with international studies, Chinese and global security studies minors from Madison, Miss. She has served in numerous roles, including president of the Undergraduate Black Law Student Association, principal of ASB Inclusion and Cross-Cultural Engagement and secretary of the Columns Society.
Ware founded the OneUM Committee during her time at the university, a campus-wide initiative fostering dialogue and unity across communities.
She was named a 2025 Harry S. Truman Scholar and recipient of the James Meredith Community Transformation Award. Ware has also represented the university nationally and internationally through Model United Nations conferences, the Croft Diversity Engagement Committee and global study programs in Europe and Asia.
Braedan Watters
Braedan Watters is a senior biology major from Madison, Miss. He has served as president of both the Interfraternity Council and the Jackson Free Clinic Health Ambassadors, president of the Health Professions Advising Ambassadors and a leader within the Big Event and Kappa Alpha Order fraternity.
Watters’ campus involvement spans the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, ASB Judicial Council, Clinical Experience Network and the Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board honors societies.
“This award represents not just personal achievement, but the culmination of the relationships, mentorship and opportunities I’ve been fortunate to experience at Ole Miss,” Watters said. “This achievement is truthfully something that I have prayed about for a long period of time, so to see it come to fruition is undeniably a gift from the Lord.”
Watters will attend the UMMC School of Medicine in fall 2026.
