While attending the University of Central Arkansas All Greek Step Show in 2013, Kelsey Broaddrick watched Spencer Sims ’13, who was the current Student Government Association (SGA) president, as she kicked off the show.
Admiring Sims, Kelsey leaned over to her twin sister, Kailey, and said, “That’s going to be me one day.” Kailey responded, “I’m not going to let you forget it. You’re going to do it.”
From the moment Kelsey became a freshman in fall 2013, that’s exactly what she set out to achieve, but she has done much more.
Upon entering UCA, Broaddrick was elected by her peers as SGA freshman class president. With the success of a great term, Broaddrick kept the momentum, and later attained SGA sophomore president and vice president of operations her junior year. Now as a senior, she is executive president.
“It’s empowering, but I’m not going to say it’s easy,” said Broaddrick.
Throughout Broaddrick’s time at UCA, she has served tirelessly to embody all that it means to be a proud UCA Bear.
“There are so many ways to get involved and meet people, faculty or staff, that unless you are actually trying not to be connected, you will be,” said Broaddrick. “People talk all the time about how the community of UCA is what makes it so great, but you really don’t understand how incredible it is until you experience it.”
In addition to serving four years on SGA, Broaddrick has served three years on the Student Orientation Staff and has served as director of Lead Team, a program composed of undergraduate and graduate level students that provide leadership development training for student organizations. Broaddrick is a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority where she has served as a Panhellenic Delegate and other leadership roles.
“I have gained so many mentors along the way, some of the most important being my three advisors in SGA- Rick Tarkka, Hank Phelps and Charlotte Strickland. They have honestly shaped me into the best leader that I could be,” said Broaddrick. “Dr. Tarkka teaches me to be logical and think things through before acting or making a decision. Hank teaches me to respect everyone that I work with and demonstrate true leadership. Charlotte teaches me to be empowered in what I am doing, to not be afraid to be aggressive, and to always fight for what I think is right.”