Malasia McClendon, a first-generation student in the University Honors Program, was named Leader of the Pack on Saturday during NC State’s Homecoming game.
Technician sat down with McClendon, a third-year studying political science with a concentration in law and justice, to discuss her involvement at NC State and what she hopes to accomplish as Leader of the Pack to improve NC State’s community.
Technician: The Leader of the Pack program recognizes students who make outstanding contributions to NC State. What contributions have you made to the university?
Malasia McClendon: When I came to NC State, I started with my involvement in the Leadership and Civic Engagement Office, and it started with the Leaders for Change Program. With that program, I was responsible, along with two other people, for coordinating programs that were related to the social justice issues that we were passionate about, such as education and race poverty. I was able to serve the NC State community by putting on a bunch of programs targeted towards these issues, and the average turnouts for these programs were about 20 to 30 people, just engaging in conversations that would not otherwise be had if there was not a safe space for those to happen. In addition to that, I also reactivated the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) on campus, which was inactive for four years prior to me coming and getting it started. For me, that is a really big contribution because it has taken a lot of hard work, and it has definitely helped to knit this community together and bridge the gap between different organizations that serve multicultural organizations at NC State.
T: How have you been a leader at NC State?
MM: One of the major ways I’ve shown leadership that is consistent throughout all of my involvements is through being intentional in the things I choose to participate in. Right now, I am currently still serving as president of the NAACP, I work at member services for Wellness and Recreation, I am an Alternative Service Break team leader, I am doing research for the political science department and I am still a Chancellor’s Aide. I have had multiple positions with new student programs where I have been able to work one-on-one with incoming freshmen, transfer students and international students through the Summer Start Program, and just being able to mentor them and share those experiences that I have had already was awesome. The Alternative Service Break program has allowed me to give back by connecting with students that I wouldn’t otherwise come into contact with on campus and challenge them to open their minds and figure out what they are passionate about and how they can impact the community as well.
T: What do you hope to accomplish now that you are Leader of the Pack?
MM: One of my biggest goals as Leader of the Pack is to inspire others to take risks for the sake of their futures and the futures of others, and to teach others around me that anything is possible. It is very important to me that the things I have done don’t just end with me, but that they are passed on so that others can reap the benefits. I really want to focus on creating a legacy that can continue to live at NC State after my undergraduate career is over.
T: What are you going to do as Leader of the Pack to engage with students and foster a stronger community at NC State?
MM: I want to inspire students, through what I am doing and how I am leading, to continue to do things that are out of the ordinary for them, to challenge themselves, to become leaders and to find the leader in them, because I believe that everyone does have that leadership potential in them. I really hope to lead by example and to mentor as many people as I possibly can before my time here at NC State is up, so that one day the people that I’ve come in contact with can say that I have had an impact on them and they have been able to learn from me the things that I have learned from faculty, students and staff here.
