A Chinese language instructor and a wellness and recovery support specialist have been named the recipients of this year’s Frist Student Service Award at the University of Mississippi, according to a May 6 announcement.
The award recognizes university employees who demonstrate exceptional service to students. The winners, Katherine Ann “Kakky” Brown, assistant director of student support for the William Magee Center for Alcohol and Other Drugs and Wellness Education, and Meng-Chieh Lin, an instructor in the Chinese Language Flagship Program, were selected by a committee appointed by Chancellor Glenn Boyce from dozens of nominees across campus.
Boyce announced the winners during the annual spring faculty meeting. Each honoree will receive $1,000 and be recognized at Commencement on May 9. “Every year, this award reminds me of what makes Ole Miss special,” Boyce said. “Kakky Brown and Meng-Chieh Lin represent a genuine calling to serve. Whether Kakky is sitting with a student in one of their hardest moments or Meng-Chieh is going the extra mile to make sure a student feels supported, their care for the people in front of them is evident to our students and community. We are thankful and fortunate to have them here.”
Brown graduated from Ole Miss in 2013 before working as an educator at Oxford High School until 2022. She returned as a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling that year before joining the Magee Center full-time in 2023 and transitioning into her current role later that fall. Nominators praised her work supporting students recovering from substance use disorders through programs like Collegiate Recovery Community. One undergraduate shared that after meeting Brown following treatment at Oxford Treatment Center: “Within 20 minutes, Kakky and I had a plan in place for me to remain in recovery, stay involved in school and get plugged into campus resources… If I had not met Kakky when I did, I would have dropped out of school and gone right back to the drugs.” Brown said she considers it “a privilege to have the opportunity to play even the smallest role” in students’ lives.
Lin joined Ole Miss’s Department of Modern Languages faculty in 2020. She described teaching language as providing “a gateway to intercultural literacy” so students can become better global citizens: “It helps students develop cultural awareness, question their assumptions and build resilience… Language humbles us because it reminds us that there is always more than one way to see, think and express meaning.” A nominator wrote that Lin frequently mentors students beyond class time—including inviting them for dinners or accompanying them during study abroad experiences—saying her approach recognizes that academic success depends on personal stability: “This level of care is typical… because she understands academic success is impossible without personal stability.” Lin said receiving this award reflects her commitment: “the freedom [for students] to explore… knowing someone is there to listen… help them move forward.”
