Martha Grace Mize

I chose the University of Mississippi for my undergraduate degree in part because of the Girl Scout Gold Award scholarship, the small class sizes in the Honors College, and the opportunity to learn from faculty who knew their students. A tour and conversation with the Anthropology Department, particularly with Jay Johnson, helped confirm that UM was the right fit.

When I decided to pursue graduate school, returning to UM was an easy choice. The collaboration between Anthropology and Southern Studies offered a combination of resources, knowledge, and faculty expertise I could not find anywhere else. I wanted to understand the South through both its people and its culture, and UM gave me the opportunity to do that.

Some of my proudest accomplishments at UM were both personal and institutional. I’m proud to have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, received the Francis James Award for Outstanding Senior in Anthropology as an undergraduate and the Jay Johnson Award recognizing outstanding graduate work in Anthropology, and earned the Liberal Arts Graduate Achievement Award.

I’m also proud of my advocacy for students with disabilities while I was at UM. I ensured that every department had a Student Disability Services coordinator trained in appropriate accommodations and advocated successfully for the university's implementation of testing centers all the way to the chancellor's office. These efforts mattered to me and were especially important because access to education should be equitable, and that equity must be supported by the people and institutions in positions to make it possible.

Above all, I’m proud of my research on culture and economic development in rural Alabama. It brought together my interests in culture, community, and the ways people shape their own futures.

But when I think about my favorite memories, it’s the people and the everyday moments that come to mind just as readily as the awards. I spent nine years at UM across my undergraduate and graduate studies, and I have far too many memories—and wonderful research advisors—to count. I think fondly of sitting in Penny Leeton’s office at the Honors College, shooting the breeze and whispering “Roll Tide” together (shhh don't tell anyone :) --we were the only Alabama fans for miles) in what had become my home away from home. I also think of my Honors 101 class with Dr. Sullivan-Gonzalez (DSG) and later in Bruce Levingston's class, which were some of the formative experiences that helped make the university feel like a community rather than just a place to earn a degree.

My experience at UM was shaped not only by the friends I made among my classmates, but also by the faculty and staff who invested in me, challenged me, and gave me room to grow- and now who I can more than call my friends. They helped make UM a place where I could explore new ideas, find my footing, and become more fully the person I am today. I left with an undergraduate degree, later two graduate degrees, wonderful memories, and a deep appreciation for the people who make a university feel like home.

Anthropology unlocks doors. Unlike a degree that prepares you for one clearly defined profession, anthropology gives you practical tools you can carry into almost any field. If you want to work with people, anthropology teaches you to listen, understand cultural context, recognize perspectives different from your own, and approach your work ethically, responsibly, and with empathy. Cultural competency is one of the most valuable skills you can develop, and it is increasingly important to employers.

Anthropology also teaches you to connect what people experience and do with data that helps explain why things happen. It can take you to new places, challenge your assumptions, and change how you understand the world—something especially valuable today.

Anthropologists become attorneys, business owners, nonprofit workers, medical professionals, forensic specialists, cultural translators, pastors, marketing and media professionals, advocates, archaeologists, and so much more. The field is broad because people are at the center of nearly everything we pursue. If you want to make a difference, anthropology equips you to do more than 'give back': it helps you understand the systems, relationships, and cultural contexts necessary to make that difference meaningful and lasting.

Since completing my graduate degrees at UM in 2021, I’ve built a career connecting resources with the communities and organizations that need them. I've worked with foundations, civic groups, youth organizations, and led organizations focused on tourism and outdoor recreation. That might look like job hopping on paper, but to me, it has been anthropology in application. My research helped me recognize that communities often lead themselves through the nonprofit sector, and that's where I've focused my career ever since.

I began as Grant Coordinator at the Food Bank of North Alabama, managing a substantial portfolio of grants and building systems to support fundraising across an eleven-county region. I then joined the Alabama Scenic River Trail, advancing from Development and Outreach Coordinator to Director of Growth and Development. There, I built fundraising capacity, led communications and public relations, and helped advance state funding initiatives for outdoor recreation and community development statewide. During this period, annual state appropriations associated with the organization increased from $600,000+ in 2024 to $1+ million in 2026.

In 2026, I founded and launched Mize Nonprofit Consulting, LLC, where I help nonprofits strengthen fundraising, improve organizational systems, communicate their impact, and make better use of the resources available. I also serve on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals North Alabama.

What I find most fulfilling is helping people turn their ideas into action. Nonprofits often understand their communities and what those communities need, but may lack the funding, systems, or capacity to move forward. I help bridge that gap, often acting as a translator between need and resource, leader and community member. In many ways, my work is an extension of what I studied at UM: understanding people and their circumstances, respecting local knowledge, and helping communities build the resources and relationships they need to shape their own futures.