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Jazmine Goode

Student Leader

by Kaitlyn Baase - Dec. 19, 2014
 

Jazmine Goode

When Jazmine Goode, a senior in the Criminal Justice program, first stepped on campus, as a freshman, she knew only knew one person. But that did not stop Goode from taking in all the opportunities she possibly could to develop into a well-known student leader on campus.

Goode grew up in Detroit and graduated from Benedictine High School, in 2011. Ferris State University was recommended to her by her high school counselor. That counselor encouraged Goode to look into Criminal Justice, academically. Today, Goode is scheduled to graduate a year from now, in December 2015.

Goode has been involved in a variety of activities during her time at Ferris. She has been a member of the cheerleading team, T.O.W.E.R.S. (Teaching Others What Establishes Real Success) Leadership Development program, You Beautiful Black Woman, Lambda Alpha Epsilon and the Black Student Union. People around campus have seen Jazmine’s smiling face during the summer as a new student orientation leader, working at the bookstore and as student manager in the Office of Multicultural Student Services.

Goode began to develop her leadership skills in the OMSS, where she got her foot in the door thanks to a cousin.

“My cousin knew Kia Hunter, who worked in the office. My cousin told me to stop in one day and introduce myself,” Goode said. “I walked in and she introduced me around to everyone in the office and familiarized me with the different organizations that OMSS sponsors.”

As the office’s student manager, Goode serves as a middle person between staff and students. She gets to help OMSS host and set up various events and collaborate with other campus organizations.

“I now get to represent OMSS at Dawg Days to potential Ferris students,” Goode said. “Also, if an FSUS class wants a representative to speak to students about getting involved with OMSS, nine times out of 10, they will send me.”

During Summer 2014, Goode decided to take on another opportunity to improve her leadership skills even more by becoming a new student orientation leader at Ferris. As an orientation leader, Goode had opportunities to collaborate with different campus departments to help new students set up housing, register for classes and answer questions from students and their families.

“My favorite part about working with new students was connecting with freshman and being able to answer those questions that no one was necessarily able to answer for me,” Goode said. “It’s also fun to have students come up to me around campus and say, ‘Hey, I remember you from orientation.’”

Goode had another opportunity come her way when she decided to run for homecoming queen in Fall 2014.

“I voiced the idea of running to my friends, and they encouraged me to run and told me it would be a lot of fun,” she said. “I think them pushing me and them having such a great response to my idea really influenced my decision. I didn’t think about it with the thought of losing; the support I was receiving was more important to me.”

Goode and her friends campaigned for weeks on end, chalking the sidewalks, attending events and spreading their message every way possible. Their hard work paid off at the homecoming game when Goode was crowned at Ferris’ 2014 homecoming queen.

“It was a swarm of excitement and I started crying. It was a great feeling that’s really hard to describe. It felt like everything paused and went in slow motion,” Goode said. “I was feeling so many different emotions: I was happy, I was excited and I was proud.”

Goode is now recognized around campus as a well-rounded individual and leader. She advises that students who are interested in becoming leaders on campus should get involved with organizations, as she did, to help open doors to opportunities.

“Do a little research on the different organizations that are on campus; you can even create your own organization if you want,” Goode said. “What you get from being a part of an organization is something that you cannot get from sitting in a classroom. You can be a straight A student, but add in your involvement with an organization, and that will help you grow into a better person overall.”

When Goode graduates, her plan is to move back to her hometown, where she plans to work as a juvenile probation officer. Goode is also considering going to law school in the future, but hasn’t completely decided yet. In the meantime, she continues to build her legacy at Ferris as a student leader. She has taken advantage of numerous opportunities on campus, and even created her own, to help build her legacy at Ferris as the leader she is today.


Kaitlyn Baase is a News Services student writer in University Advancement and Marketing.


For others featured in the Faces of Ferris series, visit: 
https://ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/faces/