Hello and Welcome All!
I am Kionna Henderson, a third-year doctoral student at Michigan State University, a proud native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the youngest of five, and a first-generation college student. I believe life is for the living so I try my hardest to make the best out of any situation. Having fun is my happy place, along with sunsets, being of service, and changing people’s lives one word at a time. Let’s raise a glass of wine for the potential first-generation graduates!
Class of 2017
Undergraduate Experience
I am a proud Golden Lion alumna of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. As a resident of Pine Bluff, I grew up watching how UAPB brought pride and spirit to my community. It has always been a dream of mine to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). Here, I learned myself, my culture, and how to deal with life through various forms of adversity.
Andrika Memorial Scholarship Foundation
Community Service
During my sophomore year in undergrad, I lost my sister, Andrika to a rare cancer. I, along with my family, were devastated. To this day, I still have not gotten over the losing her. In order to make a horrible situation better, I teamed up with two of Andrika's long-time friends and created a scholarship in her honor at our high school alma mater.
Podcast Host
Hobbies and Interests
To show diversity within the geography field, we (Veda Hawkins, Raven Mitchell, and myself) created a geography focused podcast to discuss how integrated this field is in our everyday lives.
B.S: 2017
MPH: 2019
Doctorate: 2023
Graduate / PhD Journey
My academic career has spanned over 8+ years. Throughout this time I have: laughed so hard that I cried, stepped out of my comfort zone thousands of times, experienced losses that words cannot describe, doubted myself and my abilities, lacked direction and guidance, and thought about giving up. I said all of this to say, that throughout my academic career, life happened but it did not deter me from my ultimate goal which is to help students who are just like me!