JTC 26:  Gaming His Way to a Career

Wayne Weaver grew up in the Neshoba County town of Philadelphia playing video games like such as Super Smash Brothers and Pokémon at area gaming shops and tournaments around central Mississippi.   

As he prepares to graduate in May at the University of Mississippi, he said that his younger self never would have imagined that he could represent Ole Miss in international tournaments against players from around the world.  

“There were so many opportunities that I never even knew existed, when I first got to campus,” Weaver said.   

One of the first groups Weaver found was the Ole Miss Esports team.  

“I found out that Ole Miss players had their own area in a building on campus, and I thought it was amazing that we had our own space to come together and compete,” Weaver said.  

“I didn’t even know this when I came to campus. It was cool to discover this and find this community.”  

A 2022 graduate of Neshoba Central High School, Weaver came to UM to pursue a degree in English.  

“I’m an avid reader, and as a Mississippian, studying important literary works in the hometown of William Faulkner was a big draw for me,” Weaver said.  

When he arrived, Weaver was involved in the Foundations of Academic Success Track program, designed to help freshmen build campus connections and develop a strong foundation for academic success.  

Weaver said he appreciated the support and experiences as a member of the program. He credited retired FASTrack mentor, Camp Best, with helping him return to school after he took a break and moved home at the end of his first semester.  

“Camp kept checking in on me and advocated for me to come back to campus,” Weaver said. “He helped me find a dorm room again and made sure I was on track with my classes.    

“I wouldn’t have come back to school if it wasn’t for him.”  

That support helped Weaver realize that when he returned to Ole Miss in fall 2023, he wanted to help students who might struggle as he did and need someone to encourage them.  

He became a student mentor in the FASTrack program during his junior year, as well as a resident assistant in Residence Hall 1 during his junior year and at Northgate during his senior year.  

“I wanted to help students like Camp helped me,” Weaver said. “I talked to students about what they were involved in and ways to find community on campus.   

“I reminded students that they would find their people. They would find their purpose and there is something for everyone here.”  

The Ole Miss Esports club also provided lots of support. 

“It was a great community of people for me to meet coming into my first year of college,” Weaver said. “We had something fun in common and it made it easy to connect with other students.”  

Weaver’s game of choice, “Street Fighter,” was developed by Japanese gaming publisher Campcom in 1987 as an arcade game. This legendary title pioneered one-on-one fighting.  

“When I joined Esports, the only fighting game Ole Miss players played was Smash Brothers,” he said. “So, my sophomore year, I was encouraged by the Esports board to host tournaments for Street Fighter, and it really took off.”  

In his sophomore year, Weaver decided to step into a leadership role and join the executive board for Ole Miss Esports.  

“Part of my journey on the executive board was to get the street fighting games recognized for how exciting they are and how fun they can be for collegiate players," he said.   

“They are relatively accessible for anyone who wants to play. You only need one person to play a one-versus-one, and the prize payouts at tournaments are really competitive.”  

Weaver has been a key part in the rebuilding of the Ole Miss program, said John McDermott, UM Esports director.  

“His work putting on events has been very well received and his leadership abilities have really grown,” McDermott said.   

“His passion for making cool events is infectious and hopefully we will see that passion be cultivated in other students.”   

Weaver said one of his favorite memories was competing with teammates at the Esports Dreamhack Atlanta competition for the first time back in 2023.  

“Being with this team, it was like a family,” he said. “It was a great experience traveling to a different city and enjoying playing together in an event that strengthened our bond further.   

“I knew these were people I’d be friends with for a long time.”  

He also played at the International EVO Fighting Games Championship Series tournament in Las Vegas, representing Ole Miss against players from around the world in 2024 and '25.   

In 2025, he finished 64th out of more than 500 people at the tournament and had an opportunity to organize communities within the tournament.  

Weaver is finding ways to tie his love for gaming with his minor in cinema studies. He said his dream goal is to write a screenplay for a movie or a television show one day.  

“Everything ties together,” he said. “I have an idea for a script about an Esports manager with a less than-great team being bought by a foreign country and the experiences they will have.”  

For right now, he’s using the skills he’s learned about video production to manage the Ole Miss Esports Tik Tok and Instagram accounts to share word about the program with the community and future recruits.  

He’s also been elected as the incoming president of the Ole Miss Esports club for 2026-27.  

Weaver's experiences at UM have been a force behind his decision to prepare for a full-time career mentoring and helping college students.   

He is enrolling this fall in the university's master’s program in higher education and student personnel.  

“When I found out more about the graduate program and began to think of ways to use that knowledge, I just thought maybe I could use it to help more students find their place whether that’s through Esports or some other way,” he said.  

“I think I can turn my passion for connecting students with opportunities into a career.”   

Top: Wayne Weaver, an English graduate from Philadelphia, Mississippi, graduates in May after competing in international esports tournaments, serving as a resident assistant and mentoring students through the FASTrack program. He will continue at Ole Miss in the fall to pursue a master's degree in higher education and student personnel. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services