Public health major Ivory Kendrick is a man of his word.
The newly elected president of the University Student Government (USG) spoke his destiny into existence last year when he set his sights on leading the organization. Now, Kendrick is ready to hit the ground running.
"When I was in my senator position, I wanted to be president, but it wasn't a goal as much as something that I wanted to keep in mind, like 'yeah, maybe I can do this.' But then, after getting a lot of support from my friends, it was like I definitely should do this. If people believe in me, I should take this and run with it. It didn't set in until I gaveled to adjourn the meeting for the first time. And I stood up and I saw all my friends and fellow leaders applauding for me and cheering me on, and it set in that I can do this not just for me, but for them."
As he steps into his new role, Kendrick realizes there will be challenges as well as triumphs. Here he is speaking with Kent State Today about what lies ahead.
During Fall Semester 2023, when Kendrick was a sophomore, he talked about his plans for leadership roles on the Kent Campus. At the time, Kendrick said he wanted to be a senator in USG. Spring of 2024, Kendrick was elected USG Senator for the College of Public Health.
Kendrick had been involved in student government in high school, and since his freshman year at Kent State University, he has held various leadership roles and served as a mentor on campus. Now he is a McNair Scholar, and he is putting his public health major to work as an AmeriCorps Vista intern, designing posters for the Kent City Health Department.
Now that he is USG president, Kendrick wants to address several issues, including taking a look at increasing safety on campus and helping students understand the constraints of Senate Bill 1. He knows that it is a challenging time in this state and country to be a leader.
"One of my top issues is we campaigned on is increasing safety on campus," Kendrick said. "A lot of people I've talked with think that there are some things that need to be changed with Title IX. It's a long process and a lot of red tape. We don't want that for our students. I want to set up more USG-sponsored events to make sure the administration is hearing the students and making sure that the students understand what the administration can and can not do with the way the legislation is going in Ohio. I also want to be more transparent as a USG. I want to be the one who is empowering other communities."
Becoming president of USG 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. He is grateful for the administrators, instructors and friends in the College of Public Health and at Kent State who have been like a second family to him.
Kendrick thinks about how his father would have reacted to his accomplishments if he were still here.
"My dad would go crazy for just the little things that I did," Kendrick recalls. "If I saw him now, he would be in awe. He would think that I'm the next Barack Obama. I do think about what my dad would think. He would be proud of himself for being able to raise me and proud of me."