For Students

The OMWC selects ethical, compassionate student leaders to receive Council Scholar scholarships and join the freshman class.

Student Opportunities

The OMWC seeks young women and men who have already exhibited ethical and caring behavior through a deep desire to help others. Furthermore, they should be risk-takers, inspired to create a shared vision through their abilities to articulate and demonstrate leadership and, in the final analysis, serve humankind.

The OMWC plans to recognize these young women and men as new leaders of the 21st century by designating them council scholars and inviting them into the university’s freshman class through a scholarship award.

image of students on the steps

Scholarship Program

Council scholarships award $10,000 annually to incoming freshmen who participate in leadership, scholarship, mentorship, and stewardship programs.

The OMWC currently has two staff mentors who meet with each scholar on a weekly basis. In addition, scholars are paired with a peer mentor their freshman year. Then beginning with their sophomore year, they are paired with a Career and a Life Mentor. The Life Mentor is usually selected from the OMWC members and the Career Mentor is selected based on the scholar’s major. These committed individuals regularly communicate with their “mentee” and guide them in their future career, help with life skills, and network with alumni.

To improve the quality of institutions, corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations, and communities, the next generation must aspire to levels of influence and decision making. They, too, must rely on proven systems, while having the courage to create new models.

Council scholars participate in a series of leadership symposiums using the philosophy of servant leadership as the core curriculum. The students are expected to demonstrate their leadership training in campus-wide organizations and serve as council speakers at special events.

By mixing the right ingredients with commitment, the University of Mississippi has a goal to emerge as the country’s leadership training ground for college students in the 21st century.

All OMWC scholars are encouraged to appreciate the simple but powerful “act of giving.” Each student demonstrates his or her commitment to community service by undertaking a volunteer initiative to actively exhibit new leadership skills. Mentors continue to help guide the process, monitor development and help each council scholar evaluate his or her growth.

  • Award Amount: $40,000 ($10,000 per year)

  • Eligibility: Scholarships are awarded each year to young men and women entering the freshman class at The University of Mississippi, unless otherwise designated by specific scholarships. Academic and leadership record is considered. Some scholarships may be need-based.

  • How to Apply: Apply for admission to The University of Mississippi. Complete Entering Freshman Scholarship Application. In some cases, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is also required. You may complete the FAFSA online at www.usa.gov/fafsa

  • Deadline: Submit an application by January 10. FAFSA priority date is February 15.

  • For More Information: Contact the Office of Financial Aid.

  • Asbury Foundation Council Scholarship
  • Baptist Memorial Hospital/Desoto County Council Scholarship
  • Barbara Caperton Council Scholarship
  • Barbara D. Arnold Council Scholarship
  • Betty West Sherman Ole Miss Women’s Council Leadership Scholarship Endowment
  • Catherine “Kitty” Bryan Dill Memorial Council Scholarship
  • Celia and John O. Emmerich, Jr. Council Scholarship
  • Celia Carter Muths Council Scholarship
  • Christine Hickonbottom Council Scholarship
  • Donna H. Glenn Scholarship
  • Donna Ruth Else Roberts Council Scholarship
  • Dr. Louis Pojman Council Scholarship
  • Elizabeth Brevard Council Scholarship
  • Exie Guyton Gafford Council Scholarship
  • FedEx Council Scholarship
  • Gertrude Hudson Turner Council Scholarship
  • Global Leadership Circle Endowment
  • Gloria Clark Cox Council Scholarship
  • Gloria Dodwell Kellum Council Scholarship
  • Jennie Mosby Cochran Council Scholarship
  • Julia Grimes Council Scholarship
  • Karen Bell Moore Council Scholarship
  • Kathryn Healy Hester Council Scholarship
  • John P. and Wanda Alice Henderson Council Scholarship
  • Lannie E. Gafford Council Scholarship
  • Lena Mitchell Marquette Council Scholarship
  • Lillian Graham Carson Memorial Council Scholarship
  • Lindsay McCauley Kirkley Council Scholarship
  • Lori Sneed Council Scholarship Endowment
  • Lynda M. Shea Council Scholarship
  • Madison Charitable Foundation Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Margaret Denton Khayat Council Scholarship
  • Margaret Pryor Barker Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Marion Mullin Kelly Gordon Council Scholarship
  • Marjorie Wallace Peddle Council Scholarship
  • Martha Dale Fritts Council Scholarship
  • Mary Donnelly Haskell Council Scholarship
  • Mary Jane and Edward R. Wilson Council Scholarship
  • Mary Sharp Rayner Council Scholarship
  • Mary Susan Gallien Clinton Council Scholarship
  • Mildred H. Center Council Scholarship
  • Nancy Harrelson Akin Council Scholarship
  • Nobel and Dorothy Harrelson Council Scholarship
  • Oxford Business Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Patricia Lott Council Scholarship
  • Patsy Moore Bogen Council Scholarship
  • Paula Salter Council Scholarship
  • Phyllis Shane Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Prescott Alden Sherman Leadership Council Scholarship
  • Rachel McPherson Council Scholarship
  • Sally McDonnell Barksdale Council Scholarship
  • Sandra McGuire Guest Council Scholarship
  • Sarah and James Powell OMWC Scholarship Endowment
  • Sarah Meisenheimer Council Scholarship
  • Shirley Wagner Crawford Council Scholarship
  • Stephanie Gibson Barrett Council Scholarship
  • Susan Barksdale Howorth Council Scholarship
  • University of Mississippi Foundation Council Scholarship
  • Vicki L. and Harry A. Sneed Council Scholarship

  • Ellen Robinson Rolfes Ole Miss Women’s Council Rose Garden Endowment
  • Fed Ex Employer Ole Miss Women’s Council Leadership Mentorship Endowment
  • Madison Charitable Foundation Ole Miss Women’s Council Leadership Endowment
  • Ole Miss Women’s Council Legacy Endowment
  • Olivia Lewis Nabors Ole Miss Women’s Council Leadership-Mentorship Endowment
  • Robert. C. Khayat Endowment Scholarship
  • Sally Barksdale Leadership-Mentorship

  • Bardwell, Brumfield, and Dial Council Scholarship
  • Billie Nell Jensen Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Becky Jones West Council Scholarship
  • Dorothy Graham Brown Council Scholarship
  • Edith Kelly-Green Council Scholarship in Accountancy
  • Elizabeth Wight Quirk and Neal J. Quirk Family Endowment for Ole Miss Women’s Council
  • Emma Stroud Griffin Council Scholarship
  • Geraldine McGuire Heffernan Council Scholarship
  • Ginger Guice Clark Council Scholarship 
  • Ida Jo Gallant Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship
  • Janet S. & Robert D. Murphree Council Leadership/Mentorship Scholarship
  • Jayna Michelle Kelly Council Scholarship in Biology
  • Kathryn H. and David J. Brewer Council Scholarship
  • Lena Byrd Jones and Ted Thames Pendley Council Scholarship
  • Rosa Healy Hester and William E. Hester, Jr. Council Scholarship
  • Sloan, Allison, and Elizabeth Weakley Council Scholarship
  • Sue Hodge Council Scholarship

Student Stories

Stories from current students offer a glimpse into the transformative impact of the Ole Miss Women’s Council experience. Through their voices, readers can discover how scholarships, mentorship, and community support are shaping their journeys at the University of Mississippi and beyond.
Two young women stand inside the Colosseum in Rome on a sunny day.
Philanthropy / Student News

OXFORD, Miss. – Reese Milstead and Makayla Russell, two University of Mississippi juniors, crossed several international borders last summer when they decided to step way outside their comfort zones.