“I never really wanted to go to an SEC school,” Betsy Vise said. “And then I toured Ole Miss.”
Vise, who is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., also never saw herself as someone who would run a campaign for a homecoming election. But here she is, four years later, recently elected as the University of Mississippi’s Miss Ole Miss.
Vise said that her friends were the ones that initially motivated her to run. After working on 2023 Homecoming Queen Anna Ware Brown’s campaign last year, Vise became more acquainted with the process and confident in her decision.
“Before I ran her campaign, I kind of thought campaigns were just tension filled and kind of annoying and a lot of work,” Vise said. “And then I saw the way she did it. (I saw) how much fun it was to stand at the table and meet the people I was campaigning with.”
The senior Arabic and international studies major is a member of Chi Omega sorority, the Reformed University Fellowship, Ole Miss Ambassadors and the Columns Society.
“The best thing about getting involved and getting plugged in is the people I’ve loved,” Vise said. “I probably wouldn’t have stuck with it if I hadn’t made (so many) friends in different circles.”
Vise also said that through programs like the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, she has been able to experience the smaller class sizes of a liberal arts college while still being able to participate in the culture of an SEC school.
“I don’t think I could have had my college experience without tailgating and football games and all the things that come along with it,” Vise said.
Vise’s campaign focused on being genuine as well as spreading the love and joy that she found in the Ole Miss community.
“The mission was (that) I wanted to approach people in a genuine way, meet more people and spread that joy that I’ve loved so much here,” Vise said. “And I think I was able to do that. Whether that was with the people I was tabling next to, the people I was campaigning against … I feel like so many freshmen love to stop by the table more so than anyone else, and it was cool to meet them.”
Vise expressed her gratitude to all of those who made her campaign and victory possible.
“It takes so much work to run a campaign — from the banner being made to the stickers to the tabling,” Vise said. “I’m really, really grateful for people on my team — Mollie Wright, Haley Cote, Jake Vineyard and Bert Bassi.”
After graduation from the University of Mississippi, Vise plans on completing a fifth year in Morocco with the University of Mississippi Arabic Flagship Program.
“It’s 11 months,” Vise said. “It’s a final year of taking you from really good at Arabic to really, really great.”
In the lead-up to homecoming weekend, Vise feels honored to be chosen to represent the Ole Miss student body.
“I’m just excited, too. I think I’ve fallen in love even more,” Vise said. “It’s such a cheesy saying, (but) at the end of every little day, I would leave and (realize) I love Ole Miss so much more; it’s just cool to represent a place I love so much.”
