Thanks to a Luckyday Scholarship, Kinzey Le is graduating with a dietetics and nutrition degree from the University of Mississippi on May 13 and will attend occupational therapy school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the next three years.
“I really want to work in pediatrics because as an occupational therapist, I would help children with their development and create that foundation for them to excel into their adult life,” said Le of Starkville, Mississippi. “Children are very important to me, and there’s no better feeling than seeing them blossom and grow.”
Le knew few people on arriving in Oxford as a freshman and so credits the Luckyday Scholarship as one of the main reasons she began to feel comfortable on campus.
“The scholarship was the first interaction I had with anyone on campus, so it was how I found the people that made this place my new home,” Le said. “When I toured the campus, I fell in love with Oxford, and if I had the chance to go back in time and make the decision again, I would still choose Ole Miss.”
As Luckyday Scholars, students are engaged in four areas of success: scholarship, community, service and leadership.
Since the program’s inception in 2000, the Luckyday Foundation of Jackson, Mississippi, has awarded more than 2,000 students – all Mississippi residents with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher – Luckyday Success Scholarships.
At Ole Miss, the program provides 80 scholarships to incoming freshmen for $24,000 ($6,000 annually for four years), and 25 community college transfer students for $12,000 ($6,000 annually for two years).
Luckyday Scholars can participate in an annual retreat exclusively for freshmen, providing them with an opportunity to take campus tours and get to know peer leaders, faculty and staff members.
During their time in college, the scholars continue to receive support if they meet minimum requirements, which include maintaining a minimum GPA, participating in Luckyday programming and living their first year in the Luckyday Residential College. A living-learning community, the Luckyday Residential College includes a resident faculty fellow, a dining hall, its own library and an exercise facility.
“The people I’ve met through the Luckyday Residential College have really helped to shape the person I am today,” Le said. “Walking into the Luckyday building is like a home away from home and being able to volunteer and give back is an added bonus.”
Le is a part of MPower, an extended orientation leadership experience for incoming freshmen, and she served as one of its directors last year. She also works with the Ole Miss Athletics Department as a sports nutrition volunteer and is a leadership and engagement ambassador through the university’s Student Engagement program.
For more information on the Luckyday Success Scholarship Program, visit https://luckyday.olemiss.edu.
By Eva Luter/UM Development