It was a Monday night in December, the week of autumn semester finals, and Ohio State senior Ginette Rhodes faced a packed audience in the Fawcett Center.
To her left sat a New York Times bestselling author. To her right, an Ohio State associate professor of history. At front, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty. Rhodes, a panelist for a statewide tribute to Rosa Parks, never flinched. Giving her views on issues of race, she regularly ignited the loudest applause.
Twenty-four hours later, she was a keynote speaker before a group of distinguished Ohio State women philanthropists, describing her extensive research on the Carmen Collection, an initiative to add 150 untold Ohio State stories to University Archives to help celebrate the university’s 150th anniversary celebration.
The rest of her week? Rhodes worked study tables into the early morning hours in Hale Hall as part of her role as president of Ohio State’s NAACP chapter.
Oh, she also studied. A lot.
“I accomplished so many milestones that week,” says Rhodes, a political science major with minors in African American and African studies and legal foundations of society. “I spoke on prominent platforms to prominent people. The words of encouragement I got were overwhelming. I literally cried tears of joy.”
Rhodes’ mother, Valarie, was in attendance both nights to see the woman Ginette has become since leaving their St. Louis home for Columbus in 2015.
Rhodes didn’t grow up with Scarlet and Gray dreams. Instead, she came to the university after earning a Morrill Scholarship and gaining acceptance into the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program.
But while the scholarships brought her here, mentors and friends made her a Buckeye. And those relationships took root immediately.
As a freshman, Rhodes thought Ohio State’s student body could become more diverse. She reached out to leaders across campus and was invited to meet with the associate vice president and director of admissions, along with the vice president for strategic enrollment planning. They encouraged her to become a diversity ambassador — the first of many leadership roles at Ohio State. That meeting foreshadowed a college career in which a variety of mentors encouraged Rhodes to speak out for change while helping her develop critical thinking, research and leadership skills.
“That meeting was the catalyst for all the changes that helped me become immersed in Ohio State,” Rhodes says. “Since then, Ohio State has been a platform for me to say, ‘Yes, you can.’”
