Katie Kaiser
OXFORD, Miss. – Katie Kaiser, a senior majoring in hospitality management at the University of Mississippi, has earned the title of Applied Sciences Student of the Month for October by taking “hospitality management” to a new level.
A member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, the Olive Branch native is completing a thesis investigating Ole Miss students’ perception of Mississippi as a tourist destination.
Kaiser is quite active at the university, where she serves as second in command on the Chapter Management Team for Delta Gamma Sorority and is president of Ole Miss Ambassadors for Southern Hospitality. She has served as a co-director on the Student Programming Board executive council and was recently inducted into Mortar Board Senior Honor Society.
Even with rigorous academic requirements and leadership roles, Kaiser maintains a 3.7 GPA and has been nominated for membership in the Golden Key Honor Society, which recognizes the top 15 percent of the senior class.
“Winning this award was a wonderful surprise,” Kaiser said. “I am proud, and this award is one I particularly treasure because it comes from the School of Applied Sciences, which is the place at Ole Miss that has made me feel most at home.”
Kaiser’s passion for the hospitality industry has brought her study opportunities in locations including the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, N.C., Dickie Brennan’s New Orleans Restaurants and Hollywood Casino in Tunica. She has received several scholarships, including a Lucky Day Scholarship, Delta Gamma Foundation Scholarship and the Hospitality Management Foundation Scholarship.
She is a former Miss Olive Branch (2009) and was chosen first alternate at Mississippi’s Miss Hospitality Pageant last summer. Kaiser was recently voted to the Top 10 in the University’s Parade of Beauties.
She attended Desoto Central High School and is the daughter of Robert and Kathleen Kaiser of Olive Branch.
For more information about the Department of Applied Sciences, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/applied_sciences/.