Tucker Fox was born into the Ole Miss family.
Even though the newly elected Mr. Ole Miss was born and raised in Memphis, Fox knows Oxford. He traveled down for game days with his family as a kid.
The senior managerial finance and banking and finance double major entered Ole Miss as a bright-eyed freshman with dreams of walking on to the golf team.
“I had offers from small D2 and D3 schools, but I just knew Ole Miss was the place for me,” Fox said. “I wanted to give it a shot here.”
The scratch golfer tried walking on the first couple years of college but ended up not earning a spot on the team.
“I really wanted it to work,” Fox said. “It was definitely God closing one door for another one to open.”
During his junior year, Fox applied for Ole Miss Ambassadors. Previously an ambassador for his high school, Fox said he loved the prospect of sharing a place he loved with strangers.
“It was extremely rewarding sharing my Ole Miss home with people who had never been here before,” Fox said.
After talking with Martin Fisher, the associate director of admissions for orientation and campus visit programs who runs Ambassadors and orientation, Fox decided to become an orientation leader.
During his summer as orientation leader, Fox learned lots from his new experiences.
“It was one of the coolest experiences of my entire life, getting to see all the different kids coming here,” Fox said. “Some kids have it all figured out and grow up all Ole Miss, and others are stepping foot on campus for the first time.”
After announcing his candidacy, Fox said he set out to build the best campaign and team possible, organizing his campaign around the theme of Ole Miss family.
“We have so many students from all types of backgrounds, but we all love Ole Miss,” Fox said.
Reaching out to build a winning team was difficult for Fox, who never ran for anything like this before.
“I didn’t want this to be self-serving. I wanted people who believed in the platform and what they were saying,” Fox said.
Without the help of Karson Nelson, Fox’s campaign manager, Fox said he never would’ve run.
“I wasn’t going to run unless I got Karson. She had the experience and knew what to do. I trusted her completely,” Fox said.
Nelson, a senior public policy major, became friends with Fox during an Ole Miss baseball game.
“Leaving that day, I considered him a great friend that I had a personal relationship with,” Nelson said. “That’s what led me to jump at his invitation to be his campaign manager. He made me feel like my opinions and outlooks were valued and understood.”
While Nelson served as the organizational leader, Kelsea White operated as the workhorse for the campaign team.
“I was part of Tucker’s core campaign group. I continuously reached out to people and asked for their support for Tucker,” White, a junior accounting major, said. “I helped him in any way that I could, from standing by the sign and actively campaigning to just being there as support.”
Together with White and Nelson, Fox ran and won on the principles of the Ole Miss family, a theme he believes is here to stay.
“It’s not my idea. It’s not an original. It’s something that was before I was here and will still be used after I’m gone,” Fox said.
In keeping with past traditions, Fox and Smith are finalizing plans for their big project to help give back to the school.
“To be able to do this with Savannah Smith is definitely a dream come true,” Fox said. “I want to help encourage and unify people. I just want to continue to treat people with love and kindness, because that’s what the Ole Miss family is about.”
