2026 Class President Cornelius Kennedy
Candidate for Bachelor of Science in Social Work
Discipline and leadership are what Cornelius Kennedy brought over to Medgar Evers College during his time earning a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and coming out of it with a final GPA of 3.7. It’s the kind of drive that led him to enlist in the Army National Guard in 2020 (where he is currently serving as a sergeant) and eventually found him getting elected to be the Medgar Evers College Class of 2026 Senior Class President. Having emigrated from the small town of Buff Bay in the Portland Parish of Jamaica, Cornelius came to the Crown Heights campus “…as a Jamaican wanting to get an education from people that looked like me, understood me, had an idea of my struggles and were able to guide me in the right way.” He found all of this and more when he matriculated at Medgar Evers College.
Cornelius quickly gravitated towards social work with a concentration in child welfare given his belief that teenagers don’t get as much attention or guidance as they should, particularly given how different it is for them versus prior generations. Along the way, he found a history of women in civil rights taught by Peter Williams to be a favorite class thanks to his professor’s own personal role working in the NAACP and ability to “…understand the full culture and how everyday people can effect it.”
The decision to run for Senior Class President stems from a desire to lead and hone those leadership skills dating back to high school when Cornelius served as his student council president. In coming to Medgar Evers College, the Jamaican native wanted to go beyond being an enrollee and feel like he had a part in helping the school improve. Part of his involvement led to Cornelius being a part of the Black Social Workers Club and the Cultivating Holistic Academic Mindsets to Promote Student Success (CHAMPSS) program.
As someone with an affinity for politics, Cornelius is eager to go down a future path helping people “…on a macro level to try to change some of these policies that don’t benefit people that it needs to benefit.” It will all start with applying to Columbia University following a gap year. But in the meantime, the future Medgar Evers College alum cherishes this chapter of his life. It’s also one Cornelius highly recommends to anyone looking to be part of an experience with “…a community you never experienced and didn’t realize you needed until its over.”