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Ole Miss First
University of Mississippi

Leadership Team

Rosie McDavid, MSW

Rosie McDavid is the Program Manager for the Ole Miss First Scholarship program. She is a 1983 graduate of the University of Mississippi, and received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama in 1985.

While in Oxford, she has been involved in a variety of settings providing mentoring to youth and young adults including the Leap Frog tutoring program, the Episcopal Church at Ole Miss and the Ole Miss Women’s Council Scholarship Program, prior to joining the staff of Ole Miss First. As the Program Manager, her duties include mentoring students, coordinating student dinners and volunteer opportunities, supervising office staff, serving as a liaison between students and donors and representing Ole Miss First in the larger community.


Mary Grace Cahalan

Graduate Assistant

Mary Grace is a first-year graduate student in the communication sciences and disorders master’s degree program at the University of Mississippi School of Applied Sciences. She is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in communication sciences and disorders from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Mary Grace is excited to explore Oxford and to get to know students through the Ole Miss First community.


Sarah Morgan Johnson

Graduate Assistant

Sarah is a first-year graduate student in the Southern Studies program at the University of Mississippi. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, she earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Mississippi State University. She is thrilled to be in Oxford and honored to take part in Ole Miss First community.


Catherine Adkins

Development Associate

A 2021 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Catherine received her Bachelor of Science degree in integrated marketing communications, with a minor in general business. She previously served as the program coordinator for the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy prior to her start as a development associate. A lifelong Rebel fan originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Catherine is proud to now call Oxford home. When not on campus or attending an Ole Miss sporting event, you can find her teaching at Pure Barre Oxford, where she has been an instructor for five years, or often nestled between Heartbreak Coffee and the Farmstead Floral stand reading a good book. Catherine is also an active member of Pinelake Church.

Contact email: ceadkins@olemiss.edu