JTC 26: Dismantling Barriers, Building a Village

Dymond Mitchell graduates in May from the University of Mississippi as a Stamps scholar, member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and worldwide traveler with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in society and health. She also leaves a legacy robust with leadership and community action.

“I am not seeking a career where overcoming barriers is the goal,” Mitchell said. “I want one where dismantling them is the standard.”

This fall, Mitchell plans to begin work on a doctorate in nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a program and place she never predicted four years ago.

Raised in a “people-first” household in Prosper, Texas, Mitchell envisioned becoming a physician. That vision began shifting during a summer 2023 internship at the University of Texas Southwestern’s Weight Wellness Clinic, where she conducted sociological research and observed clinical care.

Subsequent experiences sharpened Mitchell’s focus.

As a health ambassador at the Jackson Free Clinic for a brief, but meaningful, time, Mitchell supported patient intake and education for uninsured populations, bridging gaps between health literacy and access. On a Global Brigades medical mission in Panama, Mitchell assisted health care teams in rural clinics and led workshops on sanitation and preventive care.

Across these roles, Mitchell noticed unsettling patterns, including barriers to weight management medications, persistent biases and systems that failed the people they were meant to serve.

That revelation guided Mitchell’s work at Ole Miss, such as her role as chair of nutrition for Grove Grocery, where students and employees can obtain nutritious food and hygiene products.

With Grove Grocery, Mitchell led efforts to improve access to nutrient-dense food options and designed and disseminated surveys to better understand the needs of the food pantry’s patrons.

“To better serve our community, I had to listen first,” she said. “Everything starts with understanding.”

Mitchell’s commitment to community-building is equally evident in the Honors College, where she has served with the Honors College Ambassadors. In her first year as an honors ambassador, peers awarded her “The Sally Spirit Award” in honor of her outstanding community engagement and commitment to inclusivity.

Her second year with HCA, Mitchell earned a spot on the executive team as vice president of development, and this year, she has served as president.

“Dymond is an empathetic leader who always puts others first,” said Aidan Waters, a fellow HCA executive and honors senior. “She is the first to show up and the last to leave, continually demonstrating a true heart for service.”

Mitchell is also a two-year member of Honors Senate, which represents the interests of the 1,800-plus member honors student body. The group also plans and hosts events, including the annual Honors College Formal.

Honors Senate director and senior Numa Maryam appreciates Mitchell’s example and dedication.

“Dymond’s love for the HoCo makes prospective students want to come here and current students want to stay,” Maryam said. “Dymond is literally a ray of sunshine that brings so many happy memories, stomach-clenching laughs and positivity to our campus.”

Mitchell is adored by the Honors College leadership and staff, as well. As a student worker for a few semesters, she brought joy and a can-do attitude in the building.

Last summer, Mitchell tackled the biggest responsibility of an Honors College student worker when she helped organize Honors Welcome Week, a four-day experience for more than 500 incoming freshmen. She took the lead in curating some 128 sessions, managing evening events and supervising meal distributions.

Penny Leeton, assistant to the dean for administrative support, supervises the student workers.

“Dymond leads with high emotional intelligence and kindness,” Leeton said. “To know her is to love her.

The Honors College also hosts Chancellor’s Scholars Day each spring, when the university’s top scholarship prospects and their families visit campus.

Allison Lavender, assistant to the dean for student engagement, meets with Mitchell regularly.

“As the HCA president and a Stamps scholar, Dymond has helped me organize the past two (Chancellor’s Scholars Day) events,” Lavender said. “Dymond successfully oversaw the selection and coordination of more than 50 student volunteers, developed individualized schedules, facilitated one-on-one meetings, managed transportation logistics and coordinated event materials, all while fostering a welcoming, inclusive and highly organized environment.”

While leading, serving and working, Mitchell also researched and wrote her honors thesis, which explores how social factors shape Americans’ use of prescription weight-loss drugs.

With the encouragement of two faculty mentors in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, professors Laurel Bradley and Nadeeja Wijayatunga, Mitchell’s academic and professional path became clearer.

Bradley taught an honors nutrition course, wherein Mitchell’s enthusiasm for the material prompted Bradley to recommend meeting with Wijayatunga, who in turn invited Mitchell to the American Society for Nutrition conference last summer in Orlando, Florida.

“Everything seemed to align,” said Mitchell, whose conference travel was funded by her Stamps scholarship. “Professor Wijayatunga knew that conference would expose me to the field of nutrition and would help me better understand the range of opportunities within it.”

Many doors opened for Mitchell on that trip.

“I discovered that a physician I interned with UT Southwestern was speaking at the conference,” she said. “It felt like a full-circle moment.

“I attended sessions on gut health, the microbiome and the evolving landscape of nutrition. I loved every second of it.”

One presentation stood out. Transfixed, Mitchell realized she was “watching someone doing what I didn’t even know was my dream job.”

That presenter encouraged Mitchell to explore the nutritional sciences doctoral program at UAB. Mitchell emailed the program director that very night.

With additional support from Wijayatunga, Mitchell connected with yet another expert, who had recently collected more than 3,000 survey responses, including a data set on prescription weight loss medications. With the researcher’s blessing, that data set became the foundation of her honors thesis.

Mitchell presented her research in March at the American Council on Consumer Interests conference. Encouraged by Yunhee Chang, professor of nutrition and hospitality management, Mitchell and Numa Maryam traveled to Long Beach, California, where they won first and second place, respectively, in the ACCI Undergraduate Student Poster Competition.

“Looking back, it feels like everything was leading me here,” Mitchell said. “Metaphorically, I see myself on a staircase. There have been large and transformational steps, others that were out of the public eye and overwhelming, and celebratory steps.”

Not every step came clearly or easily. After being rejected from a desired internship, Mitchell turned to her parents, who simply advised, “It’s not a door God opened. Keep seeking.”

“Those two words, ‘keep seeking,’ shifted something in me,” she said. “There was no criticism, no questioning, only a quiet confidence that something better was ahead.

"The more I reflect on it, the more I realize my parents weren’t asking me to do anything they haven’t done themselves.”

At young ages, Mitchell’s parents immigrated from the Bahamas to Texas. Through a winding and arduous process, her dad obtained U.S. citizenship in 2020, and her mom followed two years later, during Mitchell’s second semester in Oxford.

“Their strength and ability to build a life, raise three kids and persevere through so much uncertainty is something I will never fully comprehend,” she said. “But I know their journey is a large part of why I am who I am today. They kept seeking, and so will I.

“I genuinely believe that every person I’ve encountered along the way has played a significant role in where I am now.”

In return, Mitchell’s determination and benevolence inspire her loved ones.

“Dymond and I met freshman year living on the fourth floor of Pittman Hall, and she’s been my closest friend ever since,” said Capri Lobotzke, a fellow honors senior. “One of her favorite sayings is, ‘If you want to have a village, you must first be a villager.’

“Dymond is the ultimate villager. She shows up, celebrates others and checks in, even from thousands of miles away.”

As Mitchell anticipates a new adventure this fall at UAB, she remains grounded in gratitude and purpose.

“My dad often reminds me that I am living out my ancestors’ dreams,” she said. “But the truth is, my ancestors weren’t even given the space to dream.

"I know I am living out what they didn’t dare to dream.”

Top: Dymond Mitchell, a sociology graduate from Prosper, Texas, graduates in May before beginning doctoral studies in nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A Stamps Scholar and Honors College Ambassadors president, Mitchell has traveled to 11 countries and conducted research presented at the American Council on Consumer Interests conference. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

See more photos from Dymond Mitchell's Journey to Commencement