This story is a part of the 2026 Journey to Graduation collection, which celebrates the head of the tutorial 12 months by highlighting College of Mississippi college students and their excellent educational and private journeys from faculty scholar to school graduate.
Wayne Weaver grew up within the Neshoba County city of Philadelphia enjoying video video games like equivalent to Tremendous Smash Brothers and Pokémon at space gaming retailers and tournaments round central Mississippi.
As he prepares to graduate in Could at the College of Mississippi, he mentioned that his youthful self by no means would have imagined that he might signify Ole Miss in worldwide tournaments towards gamers from around the globe.
“There have been so many alternatives that I by no means even knew existed, after I first obtained to campus,” Weaver mentioned.
One of many first teams Weaver discovered was the Ole Miss Esports crew.
“I came upon that Ole Miss gamers had their very own space in a constructing on campus, and I thought it was wonderful that we had our personal house to return collectively and compete,” Weaver mentioned.
“I didn’t even know this after I got here to campus. It was cool to find this and discover this neighborhood.”
A 2022 graduate of Neshoba Central Excessive Faculty, Weaver got here to UM to pursue a level in English.
“I’m an avid reader, and as a Mississippian, finding out necessary literary works within the hometown of William Faulkner was a giant draw for me,” Weaver mentioned.
When he arrived, Weaver was concerned within the Foundations of Tutorial Success Observe program, designed to assist freshmen construct campus connections and develop a robust basis for tutorial success.
Weaver mentioned he appreciated the assist and experiences as a member of this system. He credited retired FASTrack mentor, Camp Finest, with serving to him return to highschool after he took a break and moved dwelling on the finish of his first semester.
“Camp saved checking in on me and advocated for me to return again to campus,” Weaver mentioned. “He helped me discover a dorm room once more and made positive I used to be on observe with my lessons.
“I wouldn’t have come again to highschool if it wasn’t for him.”
That assist helped Weaver notice that when he returned to Ole Miss in fall 2023, he needed to assist college students who would possibly battle as he did and want somebody to encourage them.
He turned a scholar mentor within the FASTrack program throughout his junior 12 months, in addition to a resident assistant in Residence Corridor 1 throughout his junior 12 months and at Northgate throughout his senior 12 months.
“I needed to assist college students like Camp helped me,” Weaver mentioned. “I talked to college students about what they have been concerned in and methods to search out neighborhood on campus.
“I reminded college students that they’d discover their individuals. They’d discover their goal and there’s something for everybody right here.”
The Ole Miss Esports membership additionally supplied a lot of assist.
“It was an excellent neighborhood of individuals for me to satisfy coming into my first 12 months of school,” Weaver mentioned. “We had one thing enjoyable in frequent and it made it simple to attach with different college students.”
Weaver’s sport of alternative, “Avenue Fighter,” was developed by Japanese gaming writer Campcom in 1987 as an arcade sport. This legendary title pioneered one-on-one combating.
“Once I joined Esports, the solely combating sport Ole Miss gamers performed was Smash Brothers,” he mentioned. “So, my sophomore 12 months, I used to be inspired by the Esports board to host tournaments for Avenue Fighter, and it actually took off.”
In his sophomore 12 months, Weaver determined to step right into a management function and be a part of the chief board for Ole Miss Esports.
“A part of my journey on the chief board was to get the road combating video games acknowledged for the way thrilling they’re and the way enjoyable they are often for collegiate gamers,” he mentioned.
“They’re comparatively accessible for anybody who desires to play. You solely want one particular person to play a one-versus-one, and the prize payouts at tournaments are actually aggressive.”
Weaver has been a key half within the rebuilding of the Ole Miss program, mentioned John McDermott, UM Esports director.
“His work placing on occasions has been very properly acquired and his management talents have actually grown,” McDermott mentioned.
“His ardour for making cool occasions is infectious and hopefully we are going to see that keenness be cultivated in different college students.”
Weaver mentioned one in all his favourite recollections was competing with teammates on the Esports Dreamhack Atlanta competitors for the primary time again in 2023.
“Being with this crew, it was like a household,” he mentioned. “It was an excellent expertise touring to a unique metropolis and having fun with enjoying collectively in an occasion that strengthened our bond additional.
“I knew these have been individuals I’d be mates with for a very long time.”
He additionally performed on the Worldwide EVO Combating Video games Championship Sequence match in Las Vegas, representing Ole Miss towards gamers from around the globe in 2024 and ’25.
In 2025, he completed sixty fourth out of greater than 500 individuals on the match and had an alternative to arrange communities throughout the match.
Weaver is discovering methods to tie his love for gaming along with his minor in cinema research. He mentioned his dream purpose is to jot down a screenplay for a film or a tv present at some point.
“All the pieces ties collectively,” he mentioned. “I’ve an concept for a script about an Esports supervisor with a much less than-great crew being purchased by a overseas nation and the experiences they’ll have.”
For proper now, he’s utilizing the talents he’s realized about video manufacturing to handle the Ole Miss Esports Tik Tok and Instagram accounts to share phrase in regards to the program with the neighborhood and future recruits.
He’s additionally been elected because the incoming president of the Ole Miss Esports membership for 2026-27.
Weaver’s experiences at UM have been a power behind his choice to organize for a full-time profession mentoring and serving to faculty college students.
He’s enrolling this fall within the college’s grasp’s program in greater schooling and scholar personnel.
“Once I came upon extra in regards to the graduate program and started to consider methods to make use of that data, I simply thought possibly I might use it to assist extra college students discover their place whether or not that’s by Esports or another approach,” he mentioned.
“I believe I can flip my ardour for connecting college students with alternatives right into a profession.”
Prime: Wayne Weaver, an English graduate from Philadelphia, Mississippi, graduates in Could after competing in worldwide esports tournaments, serving as a resident assistant and mentoring college students by the FASTrack program. He’ll proceed at Ole Miss within the fall to pursue a grasp’s diploma in greater schooling and scholar personnel. Photograph by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Companies