As a Black Student Union parliamentarian, senator for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a member of the Student Government Association, and lover of Chic-fil-A fries; Jamilah Kangudja is known for her outgoing, can-do attitude, quirky personality and willingness to participate in campus life.

“I make sure that we are following the rules of our bylaws, I’m like a mediator within the Black Student Union,” Kangudja, exercise physiology junior, said.

Taylor Dinkins, marketing senior, recommended Kangudja for her position with SGA and has even asked Kangudja to attend a black leadership conference in February. Kangudja worked with the SGA for since late September.

“Jamilah is just a very capable person,” Dinkins said. “She doubts herself a lot, but if she just believes in herself a little bit more, she’ll be able to do anything she wants to.”

Treston Lacy, mass communication senior, met Kangudja through a fraternity brother during a new member presentation event and said she’s always been a great supporter of the fraternity’s events. Kangudja caught Lacy’s eye when she was taking turns with the camera with his fraternity brother.

“Jamilah is fun and she’s very outgoing. I love that she speaks her mind,” Lacy said. “I always respect someone who says what’s on their mind.”

After class, Kangudja has a 10-minute window to make it to her job at SGA until 3 p.m. then starts her job in the Office of Equity, Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs where she is a student ambassador specialist helping with campus outreach.

“The office is about allowing the diverse groups on campus to have a safe spot to come discuss [topics] and study or whatever the case may be,” Kangudja said. “What I’m supposed to do is to go out and find out what the campus climate is like for them [the groups], what the campus culture is like and to provide resources.”

With little time between classes, work, and campus involvement, Kangudja said she somehow finds the time to sit down and focus on her studies.

“When I do study, I’ll buckle down and study for like eight hours straight,” Kangudja said. “I’ll isolate my self because my time does consist of being around people almost 24/7. I have to find, typically on a Sunday, a quiet place to study. I don’t know how that eight hours every two weeks helps me, but it helps me to pass.”

Every event or organization Kangudja attends, she meets new friends.

“I just admire how she got involved, especially this semester,” Kari Bell, management senior, said. “She was also our coach for lip-sync. She just does a great job with everything that she does.”

Kangudja was also a resident advisor for McCullough-Trigg Hall last semester where she was the third RA within a week.

“When they told me that [she was the third RA in a week] I was like, ‘Is it haunted?’ ‘Do I need to quit too?,” Kangudja said laughing.

Kyla Budgewater, accounting sophomore, met Kangudja during her stint as an RA her freshman year.

“She stuck with us,” Budgewater, said. “She stayed positive and always had events for us to go to. Even when people didn’t show up she still made events and tried to keep the hall fun for us.”

Kangudja said she cannot live an unchaotic life and that she needs to always be busy. After her classes, her work, and her volunteering, she makes time for her organizations such as the BSU and the Echoes of Gospel. Her typical Wednesday has her on a tight schedule from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. Though she sometimes worries about an image, she doesn’t always feel it’s accurate.

“I feel like I’m living up to an image that I may have possibly created,” Kangudja said. “However, at the end of the day I want people to realize that I’m still human.”