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Sydney Lynch has never backed down from a challenge – whether it was going to a university she had never seen or taking on an international security project as an undergraduate.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Lynch is double majoring in classics and political science. She's also pursuing three minors in museum studies, art history and intelligence and security studies.

Along with her rigorous course schedule, Lynch co-authored an award-winning case study on debt traps in Montenegro, served as an officer of Eta Sigma Phi, the Department of Classics' student organization, and founded the first United States chapter of , a counterterrorism society, during her time at Ole Miss.

"People think that I do things on a whim, but there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes," Lynch said. "I like to try new things, and I think you just have to go for it.

"Apply for things even if you don't necessarily think you have the credentials. Put your name in the hat. Just keep trying.

"But then you have to do the work to back it up."

When she chose to come to Ole Miss four years ago, she came for one reason only: the Department of Classics.

"As someone who's interested in classics, there weren't a lot of options besides the Ivys and a few other small schools," she said. "But my mom had just watched 'The Blind Side,' and she said, 'Why not try that school?'"

Lynch applied during Christmas break of her senior year, was admitted to the university and accepted before ever seeing campus.

"She declared classics when she was coming in – we don't have a lot of students who do that," said Molly Pasco-Pranger, chair and professor of classics. "She's a real ham, just a genuinely funny person, but something that we noticed from the beginning, even as a freshman, is that she's an outstanding writer."

Not long after joining the campus, Lynch decided to take another risk.

"I came in dead set on what I wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to be a professor. I wanted to be a classicist. But my professors said, 'Don't be afraid to explore something else.'

"They encouraged me to look out around campus and see what else there was. That's how I found the ISS minor."

Intelligence and security studies prepares students to work in national and international security, training students to go into the U.S. government or the private sector. Lynch was intrigued but knew she hadn't taken the required prerequisites to apply for the minor.

She applied anyway.

"She marked on the form that she hadn't taken the prerequisite, but her essay was one of the best we'd seen," said Susan Marie Kelly, program manager for the . "So, we accepted her, and she jumped right in."

Kelly said the intelligence and security studies team jokes that Lynch's entry into the ISS minor was an act of espionage.

"I remember walking out of that meeting, and I hear one of the professors go, 'How did we let that happen?'" Lynch said.

Espionage or not, Lynch found a new passion in the study of national and international security. In 2023, she agreed to lead a case study with the wherein she and other students spent months researching Chinese investments and debt traps in Montenegro.

"Keep in mind that it is usually graduate students who normally work on a project like this, and it's normally for a class," Kelly said. "These were undergrad students that just wanted to be a part of it, and Sydney really took the lead on that.

"In the end, when the summer rolled around and the project wasn't complete, she's the one who stayed to make sure it was done."

The recognized the Tearline Project that Lynch led with its inaugural Product of the Year award, citing the report's "exceptional value to the nation."

While developing her interest in security studies, Lynch maintained her love of classics. She can translate Latin, read ancient Greek and has studied abroad multiple times. She's studied ancient graffiti in Pompeii and lived in a Roman convent for a semester among a gaggle of nuns, where she learned about ancient Rome.

"It's been amazing to watch Sydney use her initial love of classics and the analytical skills she built in humanities to launch her into so much else," Pasco-Pranger said.

"She has boundless energy and has been extremely present since the beginning. Even as she's been involved in all of these other things, the energy and love she has for classics has never flagged."

Many of these experiences would not have happened if Lynch never applied.

"My biggest thing is don't be afraid to try," she said. "The worst that can happen is someone will say no, but I've been told no a million times.

"People on the outside think there's one culture at Ole Miss, but that's not the case. It's a really vibrant place to be and there are so many experiences you can have here. You just have to try."

Looking ahead, Lynch has been accepted into Georgia Tech's master's program in international relations. After that, she knows she wants to work in the nation's capital, but getting there may still be a challenge.

Luckily, she has experience with those.

Top: Sydney Lynch loves to be challenged, and that willingness to stretch herself has led to ger graduating from the university with degrees in classics and political science, plus minors in museum studies, art history and intelligence and security studies. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

See more photos from Sydney Lynch's Journey to Commencement