By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Before she ever attended a college class, Godiva Kekeh was already getting involved at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
During New Student Enrollment, the Bennington native connected with a student leader who encouraged her to join the Black Student Union. What started as a conversation quickly turned into action, with Kekeh stepping into an executive role and helping plan events that summer.
“That’s what first got me involved, then it just grew from there,” she explained.
Now a junior studying criminal justice with minors in entrepreneurship and public law, Kekeh has since built a campus experience defined by leadership and service. Her long-term goal is to attend law school and eventually serve as a judge.
“I’ve always wanted to help people,” she said. “A lot of my family members are health care professionals, but after taking a high school government course, I realized there are other ways to help people beyond medicine. This is something I enjoy and can see myself doing for a long time.”
Supporting others, strengthening community
Kekeh’s resume reflects her commitment to advocacy and community-building.
She serves as vice president and treasurer of the Black Student Union and vice president of Upsilon Eta Upsilon Honor Society for Black Excellence, one of four honor societies she’s a member of. She’s also been a senator in UNK Student Government and will take on the role of chief of staff for the executive cabinet during the 2026-27 academic year.
On top of that, she works at the Brewed Awakening student-run coffee shop and participates in Pre-Law Society.
Her passion for community engagement started before college. In high school, she founded a Multicultural Club to create opportunities for students to connect and learn from one another.
“It’s truly not just for me,” she said. “It’s for every student who can benefit from this. That club is still active today, and many students are involved now.”
That mindset continues to guide her work at UNK.
“The friendships, the faculty, the staff – those relationships that I’ve built – just knowing that somebody else could also have those same relationships or mentors or friendships, that’s why it’s important to me,” Kekeh said. “I’m helping advance initiatives that truly build and foster community.”
Through organizations such as the Black Student Union and Upsilon Eta Upsilon, she helps organize events throughout the year, including Black History Month programming, social gatherings and professional development opportunities.
“I want Black students and our allies to know there’s a place where they can succeed academically while also having fun,” she said. “These organizations are there to help better their experience now and in the future.”
Building toward something bigger
Kekeh chose UNK because she believed it would challenge her in ways staying closer to home would not.
“I knew that UNK had a really good pre-law program, and I knew I could truly succeed here,” she said. “I truly think, and I now know, that UNK is the place that I was meant to grow and strive in.”
She credits the university’s close-knit environment and access to faculty and mentors as key factors in her development.
“With the next step of going to law school, I know I have advisers and mentors and other students who are there to help me,” she said. “I know there’s always going to be someone to lean on.”
That support system has allowed her to explore opportunities beyond campus, including visiting the Nebraska College of Law, networking with attorneys and participating in “I Love NU” Day at the State Capitol.
A legal career is only part of the bigger picture.
She also hopes to one day start a nonprofit focused on connecting community members with resources and guidance, inspired in part by her summer internship with the Midlands African Chamber in Omaha. That organization provides business financial literacy, technology and leadership trainings to youth and young adults and supports underrepresented entrepreneurs through mentorship, technical training and access to capital.
“I want to do something similar to that, just to empower people in the community,” Kekeh said.
Her ultimate aspiration is to become a judge, a role she sees as an extension of her commitment to leadership and service.
“I’ve always valued justice and making sure everything is fair for everyone,” she said. “I want to continue to impact people’s lives in a positive way.”
