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�鶹ӰԺ State Today followed a group of Golden Flashes for the 2023-24 academic year chronicling their efforts and successes during the fall and spring semesters. The group included students, faculty and administrators who are in different places on their �鶹ӰԺ State journeys.

It was Fall Semester 2023 and sophomore Ivory Kendrick talked about his plans for leadership roles on the �鶹ӰԺ Campus. Kendrick said he wanted to be a senator in University Student Government (USG).

He was involved in student government in high school and since his freshman year at �鶹ӰԺ he has held various leadership roles and served as a mentor on campus.

Flash forward to Spring Semester 2024, and Kendrick is elated to be elected USG Senator for the College of Public Health and he’s been named a McNair Scholar.

As the saying goes, he believed he could and so he did.

Here is Kendrick speaking with �鶹ӰԺ State Today about how important his role is as a senator on USG:

Becoming a USG senator is an amazing feat because it was just three years ago that Kendrick had no intention of attending college. He was without an anchor after his father’s death in his junior year of high school. He lived with family friends, but he said “technically I was homeless." However, after his father passed away, his whole perspective on life changed and college attendance became imperative.

Administrators, instructors and friends in the College of Public Health and at �鶹ӰԺ State have been like a second family to him.

Kendrick carried a schedule of 17 credit hours this semester including courses in environmental health and safety, biostatistics and public health policy and management.  

He is putting his public health major to work as an AmeriCorps Vista intern, designing posters for the �鶹ӰԺ City Health Department.  

Kendrick also works as a trainer for the P.E.E.R. (Peer Experiential Education and Reflection) Success Academy, a two-credit hour course designed to train students to cultivate and nurture critical skills. The course serves as a foundation for peer educator and peer leader positions across �鶹ӰԺ State.

“This year took a lot out of me,” he said. “Biostatistics killed me. Luckily, I have experience in Excel."

This summer, Kendrick will be living on campus and working with Transfer �鶹ӰԺ State (TKS), helping students with orientation to the university.

Now Kendrick has his sights set on becoming president of USG. As the saying goes, he believes he can …