MidAmerica Student Recognition – Roderick Campbell

Roderick earned his bachelor’s in Health Communications with a minor in African American Studies at Northwestern University in 2020. He is currently in the MHA program and anticipates completing his degree in 2022. Roderick chose Health Administration because his passion lies in helping others. “I believe I can be a catalyst for change on the business side of healthcare and receiving a master’s in health administration is a great opportunity to achieve those goals. I want to bridge the gap of health inequities in underserved communities, specifically Black communities, by educating people on the healthcare system and building trust from the Black communities toward the medical industry. There is a long-standing distrust between the Black community and the medical community, for a good reason, and I think that being a Black man in the healthcare industry paves the way for what Black children aspire to be, not just athletes and musicians.” Roderick is a Saluki Football athlete and President of the Black Student Union, a student-led organization under the umbrella of the newly-founded Saluki Unity (which he also helped to create). He also works as a Pharmacy Technician at Walgreens and is in the process of becoming trilingual in English, French, and Spanish! He chose Southern Illinois University Carbondale because of the people. “From my first interaction with the coaching staff, Dr. Sandy Collins, Mr. Al Taylor, and my teammates, I felt genuine energy. Authenticity is very essential to me, and I did not feel that SIU staff were trying to sell a dream, per se. As a bonus, I’m from St. Louis, so my family only has to drive 2 hours to watch me play instead of 5 hours.