Clay Hale
Homecoming King Brady Wood’s campaign banner reads “I believe” in huge lettering. The senior integrated marketing communication major says that having faith in himself has pushed him all through his college experience at the University of Mississippi.
“I knew I wanted to do something related to my experience on this campus, and I feel like a big part of my experience on this campus was the belief that it put in myself; so I really wanted to accentuate that,” Wood said. “(The campaign) was really focused on belief in yourself and belief in each other and belief in the overall community that we’ve created here.”
Though it was rooted in community, Wood revealed that the campaign journey was not what he expected.
“It was a lot of ups and downs – it was a lot different than I expected. But overall, I got to meet so many of the best people that I never thought I would be able to meet,” Wood said. “I just had a blast being able to kind of spread my message and my goal through it. I was able to be myself the whole time.”
When the campaign was over, Wood found himself surrounded by friends new and old just off the steps of the Lyceum. In a moment of tension so tight it could be cut with a knife, Wood was announced as this year’s Ole Miss Homecoming King. For Wood, this was a beautiful moment where his and many others’ work paid off.
“I immediately burst into tears,” Wood said. “It felt like months and months of preparation and thinking about it and just imagining all these things happening were finally coming together on that night.”
It turns out that those “months and months” of planning were actually summing up to years. This is something Wood has been preparing a long time for. The run itself was ignited by lighthearted banter between Wood and his friend, Kayce Hunter.
“It actually kind of started my sophomore year. Me and my friend were just joking about it one day, and we were like, ‘Wait, what if we actually did it.’” Wood said. “She ended up being my campaign manager.”
Wood has found home in many organizations on the UM campus. He is president of the Baptist Student Union, a Grove Retreat counselor, UM ambassador, executive member of the UM School of Journalism and New Media Ambassadors, section leader for the Pride of the South Marching Band and a Talbert Fellow. Wood also spent last summer as a UM orientation leader.
“(Being an orientation leader) not only formed my future career path, but also made me have an extreme love for this university – more than I even had before,” Wood said.
Wood grew up in Fulton, Miss., which is a town of just 4,542 residents. His shift from growing up to college could certainly be described as life-changing.
“I grew up in a very small town, which I would say is definitely formative of who I am,” Wood said. “I was used to a very close-knit community where everybody kind of knew everything about everybody. So coming here was a little bit of a culture shock.”
Wood says an average day in his life is full of meetings and time commitments, but he says that every one of them is worth it. In his off time, he enjoys making playlists and playing instruments, which include his signature Pride of the South baritone, a little guitar, a little keyboard and the trombone.
As for what is next, Wood says it is graduate school. He has just started working on applications.
Wood says that above all, he is thankful for the opportunity he has had to get to know people and build connections. He thanks the university for providing him an outlet.
“I wanted to give back at least a little bit of what this campus has given to me, because this campus has given so much to me,” Wood said.
