Senior Theatre Design major Graham Callahan is the recipient of the Kent State University Leadership Center’s Student Leader of the Month.
The Student Leader of the Month program seeks to recognize students for excellence in leadership through campus and community involvement.
Katie Mattise, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, nominated them.
Mattise said:
"I first met Graham when they arrived on campus a few years ago. Even back then, they were strong in their beliefs and looking for ways to move Kent State and the people that make up its community toward social justice. Since that time, that drive has grown, and they’ve found ways to take up that cause more formally. Graham just started working in the LGBTQ+ Center on campus this semester. Last year and this year, Graham has served as the president of Threads. Last year was an especially tough year, and it didn’t spare student group involvement. Graham took that year to occasionally meet with me (the advisor) to strategize and plan this year. Since being back on campus, Graham has worked hard to build up Threads and get back what was lost throughout the pandemic (recognition, membership, events & planning). They’re still in the process of doing so, but the time and effort they put in should be recognized.”
They continued:
“They were instrumental in planning a Queer Fam night during K/T. They tabled at the resource fair for K/T and Blast Off. They did all this while being the only e-board member, moving back to the Kent area, getting ready for their classes, taking on a new position at the LGBTQ+ Center, and dealing with all the challenges of the pandemic still raging on. Their commitment to creating community, especially for those with multiple marginalized identities, is inspiring. Graham’s dream for Threads is to provide a space for those that don’t always have them at KSU (queer people, trans folks, students of color, people with disabilities, etc.) and to educate around and advocate for them. Graham has grown tremendously since I first met them. They’ve stepped up into leadership roles in ways I don’t know if they would’ve been comfortable when they first got here. It’s been really amazing to be along for the ride.”
The news humbled Callahan.
"I was nominated for this award by Katie Matisse, a faculty member who I have known longer than anyone else on campus,” they said. “They offered me kindness, safety, and support when others who claimed to be advocates for the wellbeing of students utterly failed me; they know where I've come from; they've helped me rise from some of my lowest points. To receive any award that Katie, my mentor and friend, saw fit to nominate me for is a great honor.”
For being selected Student Leader of the Month, Callahan will receive a commemorative certificate, a Kent State t-shirt, a $15 gift card to the Kent State bookstore, along with being recognized on the Leadership Center website, monthly newsletter, and the @KentStateLeads Instagram page.
To nominate a Student Leader of the Month, visit www.kent.edu/csi/student-leader-month.
For more information on the Leadership Center, visit www.kent.edu/csi/leadership.