Wesley Notestine

During my third year of my undergraduate career, I knew I wanted to change my major, but I was not sure what I wanted to change it to. My mom gave me a great piece of advice, that I still use with current students when they are unsure of what they want to major in. Her advice was to take the university catalog and read the description and course offerings for each degree program. When looking through the catalog, I found Southern Studies. I automatically knew I would love the multi-disciplinary approach to the program. This approach would allow me to take classes that I was truly interested in and learn more about the subjects that I chose. I also looked at the class sizes within our registration system, and I learned that many of their classes were of smaller size compared to some other programs. I went to a small high school and knew I learned well in a space with fewer students where I could discuss ideas and learn from others. The Southern Studies program allowed me to have that space.

When I first graduated from undergrad, I moved back to Nashville, TN. I knew that at some point I would want to get my master’s degree, but I was not sure what in. While looking and trying to decide I wanted to keep my brain thinking and continue to practice learning in a classroom setting. I attended the University of Memphis and received another bachelor’s degree in history and African and African American Studies. While completing that degree I started my career in higher education. I have continued my path in higher education and have worked at four different universities which included Belmont University, University of Minnesota, my alma mater University of Mississippi, and Vanderbilt University. While working in higher education, I did end up graduating from Kansas State University with my Master of Science in Academic Advising and I am now pursuing my Ph.D. in Student Affairs in Higher Education where I have a goal to look at leadership and academic policy. In my job currently, I am the Assistant Director of Academic and Student Affairs at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt. One may ask, how does Southern Studies tie into this? What I learned in Southern Studies was how to critically think, listen to others, and gained in-depth knowledge about the history and society of our small area of the world. This includes gaining knowledge on how systems were created, and how systems and policies are changed. I cannot think of a better program that has helped me every day in listening to others, helping them learn, and how to evaluate policy and change it when needed.

I truly could not say enough good things about Southern Studies. I have always said if I stayed at the University of Mississippi, I would also get my Master’s in Southern Studies. Anyways… there is a William Faulkner quote that perfectly represents the value of studying Southern Studies today. “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” To me, this quote discusses all the food, historical, political, literary, music, and sociological things that have come out of Mississippi and the Southeast as a whole. By looking into these items and studying them it can give you a lot deeper knowledge and understanding of the world we currently live in. With this degree, you could work in an endless number of fields and what you learned in class will truly relate.

The University of Mississippi has always been my home away from home. But throughout my life, I have grown a different appreciation for the university as an alumna, and a former staff member. Oxford is a great town to live in that also has quite a few good restaurants (I am a big food gal which also allows me to put a shout out to the Southern Foodways Alliance). Also, there are endless ways to get involved on campus whether it is student clubs, Greek life, student government, club sports, or just meeting people in your residence hall your first year. The University of Mississippi truly lets you create your path. In addition, the University of Mississippi has a lot of faculty and staff that truly care about the students and are happy to direct students to any resource that the student may find beneficial. Even though it is a good-sized state university, it is one where you can find your group and not get lost. Also, who wouldn’t want to attend a university with great football and baseball experiences, including tailgating in the Grove? And while it is brief, you get to experience all four seasons. What could be better than all of that in one place?