As Kent State students approach finals week, the light at the end of the tunnel is quickly approaching for graduating seniors. Those seniors will have to prepare for the next big milestone of their lives, moving from college life to the public or private job sectors.
For one senior, the opportunity to reflect on his time at KSU is a bit more complex than that of the everyday student receiving a diploma in May.
Undergraduate Student Government President Ivory Kendrick is set to graduate this year, and with that, his time leading USG will come to a close.
Kendrick’s presidency has seen a lot of interesting and chaotic events unfold. From Senate Bill 1 drastically changing the culture of discourse on campus, to extreme weather situations, Kendrick’s plate as president has been quite full.
However, as all students can relate to, Kendrick’s journey to massive responsibilities happening all the time did not happen overnight. Rather, Kendrick pushed through a heartbreaking point in time in pursuit of an education.
“I came into Kent State my senior year of high school, and I actually didn’t want to go to college,” Kendrick said. “It was my dad and I living in a one-bedroom apartment. Right before my junior year started, my dad passed away from a massive heart attack. It was just him and me after that. I was kinda on my own.”
Kendrick, whose father always told him to get an education, went through the age-old process of applying for every scholarship available, which ultimately led him to Kent State. With an inkling that he wanted to work in the medical field, Kendrick went on to apply as a nursing major before being deferred to public health.
“I fell in love with it,” Kendrick said. “I started realizing that public health is so much more than just one word; it’s interdisciplinary. You can do anything you want in public health.”
In a major that can lead students to a diverse variety of futures, Kendrick decided that focusing on public policy best fit him. Little did he know that the decision to focus on policy-making and understanding the ins and outs of legislation would pay off for him during his time in Portage County.
“My sophomore year, I decided I wanted to do policy,” Kendrick said. “And then here I am now, going into my master’s program.”
After immersing himself further in the world of public policy, the spark that led Kendrick to student government actually came outside of lecture halls. The first issue he aimed to tackle was inside his own dorm.
“I lived in Verder, and it was like 96 degrees,” Kendrick said with a laugh. “I had meetings with Jill Jenkins, [the senior executive director of university housing], and we talked about how horrible it was inside the dorms. And after advocating, they were like, ‘You should join USG.’”
From there, Kendrick went on to be elected as the senator of the College of Public Health. The decision proved to be the right call, as it allowed for Kendrick to strive for things that were truly important to him.
“[We] got Narcan in DeWeese, advocated for Verder a little bit more, tried to build more of a community in my college,” Kendrick said. “Then [I became] president, and here I am.”
In a role where multiple decisions are made on a daily basis, Kendrick landed on two memorable choices that will stick with him as he prepares for life after his first four years of college.
“One that’s definitely made me happy was building better connections within USG,” he said. “I think one of the most important parts of representation is letting the people you represent know that you hear them, and that you’re there for them. I think I did that this year, reaching out to different communities, going to the International Student Council or Pride! Kent meetings. There was, at one point, I talked to Turning Point, especially after the Charlie Kirk stuff.”
The assassination of the conservative speaker, along with huge developments at the statehouse in Columbus, were just a few selections among many political circumstances that Kendrick often had to deal with during his presidency. But it was a battle with Mother Nature that he’ll remember most when thinking of his achievements as USG president.
Harsh winters thrashed KSU’s campus over the last two years, opening up debate among students as to whether or not the university should cancel more classes and change its weather policy. Kendrick listened and created entirely new legislation on weather.
“I read the policy. I did research, and I came up with an 11-page paper. I just kept asking people for insight on it,” Kendrick said. “And then I took all the insight, put it into this document, and then gave it to the Provost, and then we had it changed.”
So much change occurred under Kendrick’s leadership, and that surely won’t be any different with Transformation 28 on the horizon. With concerns popping up on the radars of students more frequently, Kendrick wishes to leave a message of tranquillity.
“I think it’ll be okay. We’re only here for four years. And when you think about those four years, it’s like you’re getting a new cycle of people,” Kendrick said. “I think for people who are here right now, it might be hard because a lot of things that they’ve known and loved are changing. But for the new students coming in, this is going to be something that is completely new to them.”
Gage Wellman is the sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].
