JTC 24: Coming Into Focus

When Cody Farris first stepped onto the University of Mississippi campus in 2017, it was the same day as the "Great American Eclipse" and he knew that he was in the right place.

Farris started as a pre-med student, but years of obstacles led him to his passion for video storytelling. The Brookhaven native is preparing to graduate with a degree in journalism.

"I was a part of freshman council, joined the fraternity; I just tried to make the most of it," Farris said. "About two years after beginning my college career, I began to struggle immensely, specifically with alcohol.

"When the pandemic hit, I turned 21 in March of 2020, and there was no excuse to go outside anymore, so I just kept drinking.

"Eventually, it came to a point where I wasn't doing well in school at all. I lost my dad and the alcohol abuse got even worse, as you can imagine, after a loss like that. So I decided to get some help."

After a few semesters of remote classes during the pandemic, Farris decided to take a break and started addiction therapy and grief counseling. He returned to Ole Miss in the fall of 2023 with a new direction.

"When you're a doctor, you can help one person at a time, and I thought that being a journalist could address social issues and also health issues," Farris said. "I thought that this is how I could help people, and that's more hearts that you've touched.

"I switched because I didn't want the doctor life. It felt so impersonal, so clinical. Journalism is such a personal industry and to me, the most beautiful thing is the story that somebody has inside, and getting that to come out, that's a talent."

After returning to campus, Farris connected with Debora Wenger, associate dean of the School of Journalism and New Media. Wenger saw that Farris shares traits with some of the best journalists.

"He cares deeply about the issues and the people he covers and is capable of producing compelling and high-quality news stories," Wenger said. "Cody is a student who always wants to get better at the craft.

"He edits his stories four or five times until he has the best version possible. That focus on quality is going to make him a wonderful storyteller."

Last semester, Farris signed up for Journalism 578: Television Documentary Reporting, taught by Michael Fagans. Farris stood out in the class, and he and Fagans have spent the spring semester working together on an independent study documentary project focusing on mental health access for children in Mississippi.

"This year, he stood out as one of our better students, if not one of our best," Fagans said. "And that says a lot about him and his growth and who he is as a human being. The other thing I thought was remarkable was he won the respect and admiration of the grad students.

"We all have different time frames that we mature, and we all come at things differently. Sometimes it becomes more clear when we forget who we are and what we want to do. And so, you know, kudos to Cody for doing that."

Farris is finishing the editing process on the documentary in hopes of making it to the Oxford Film Festival in 2025.

Farris says he isn't sure if he would have ended with a journalism degree if things hadn't happen the way they did, but he thinks he would have found a passion for storytelling no matter what course his life took.

"If you want a tree to grow pretty, you have to prune some leaves," he said. "You have to take pieces of it off, and that's what happened to me. I think some pieces were taken away but in place grew a little prettier."

See more photos from Cody Farris' Journey to Commencement