May 6, 2024
Contact: Courtney Perrett, 573-882-6217, cperrett@missouri.edu
Molly Miller has always been a proud advocate for her community. The journalism and international studies student graduates this week and is poised to take that stewardship to the next level — something she attributes to the hands-on learning opportunities she had at the University of Missouri.
During her time as vice-president of the Missouri Students Association, Miller was instrumental in bringing safety resources to campus, including launching the STRIPES ride safe partnership with Uber and the Mizzou Safe app. And, through her tenure as president of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri, Miller built a university-wide initiative, VoteMizzou, with partnerships across campus to encourage student engagement in the November election. Because of her service, leadership and academic prowess, Miller was inducted into Mizzou ’39 this spring.
Read on for a Q&A with Miller about her Mizzou experience.
Why are you proud to be a Tiger?
I've been able to experience so many different parts of campus during my time here, and in each of those spaces, I found such passionate individuals who really contribute to the spirit of this community. It’s fun when we have campus-wide events where the culture really comes out. I'm excited to become an alumna and get to continue those relationships and continue to be a part of that signature Mizzou culture.
How did you take advantage of hands-on learning opportunities on campus?
I’m a journalism major, and the world-renowned Missouri Method came into practice a lot throughout my time at Mizzou. I got to work in two separate newsrooms, and I've done everything from cutting video and working the teleprompter for Friday morning KOMU newscasts, to being a staff photographer at the Columbia Missourian, to now transitioning over to reporting and taking photographs at the Capitol in Jefferson City for my state government class. During my sophomore year, I interned in the U.S. House of Representatives through the Congressional Leadership Internship Program (CLIP). Through this experience, I discovered a love for policy work and plan to move to Washington D.C. after graduation. I feel like I've had the opportunity to explore all of my interests in a professional environment, which has been invaluable.
What is your favorite thing about campus?
One of my favorite things about campus is to hang out at Speakers Circle when it gets warm outside. There are often students from all kinds of student involvement organizations trying to interact with their peers and raise money for good causes. For example, I do voter registration in Speakers Circle on a weekly basis, and I think that it's just such a cool visualization of the work that I've done over my four years at Mizzou: being super involved in student government and engagement work, and sharing that with my peers.
What's your favorite Mizzou memory?
Being recognized as one of this year’s Mizzou ’39 cohort is definitely one of my favorite Mizzou memories. I’m very thankful to have had such a special moment in my senior year that felt like a culmination of four years of a lot of hard work that I poured into the university and the community and even the state. It’s one of those moments where you feel like you did contribute something to campus, and you are leaving a legacy.
What would you tell someone who's interested in coming to Mizzou?
There are so many opportunities to make your experience memorable and to be able to grow as a person. The relationships that I've formed and the life lessons that my friends and my community have taught me are things I wouldn't have experienced if I hadn't dived headfirst into my freshman year. I would encourage new students at Mizzou to look for the things that excite them — and try them!
Story written by Courtney Perrett
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