Cedrick Henderson-Smith is a junior criminal justice major with a minor in psychology. He is not only a student at Washburn, but also a staff member. He is part of the Diversity and Inclusion office, also known as Student Services / Career Services. He runs errands and helps out Danielle Dempsey-Swopes and Melissa Posey with anything that they need.

“Myself and another student help out these two women, often with things that they get too busy to do themselves. Or if they are in a hurry, we help them out with anything else that they require us to do,” said Henderson-Smith.

He helps put up flyers, take phone calls and essentially does all that he can to make their lives and jobs easier. 

He is taking several interesting classes this semester, such as a homeland security class, a cognition class, an easier public speaking class and two more upper level classes for his major. He plans to apply for a Masters program here at Washburn for a Masters degree in Criminal Justice, then his end goal is to join the law enforcement, specifically becoming an FBI agent in the Special Victims Unit. He got his inspiration from the “Law and Order” show, but he prefers “Criminal Minds” more.

Henderson-Smith enjoys all of his classes and doesn’t really have a least favorite class, especially since they are all necessary for his major.

“I really love all of my teachers, especially Erin Grant. They all seem to have a great love for teaching as well as a great love for the subjects that they teach,” said Henderson-Smith.

He says it is inspiring when a teacher is really passionate about what they teach and he thinks it is visible, which makes the students more eager to learn because they can see the passion and energy.

Todd Rilinger, a senior actuarial science major, thinks that he seems like a friendly person to talk to.

“I don’t know him personally, but I have been to a few events where he has been, and I have heard him interacting with others around him. He seems to be really cool and interesting, as well as friendly to those who come up and talk to him. Along with that, he knows what he is talking about and I look forward to getting to know him later on in the semester, I feel like I will have the opportunity to meet him face to face soon,” said Rilinger.

Chastity King, a freshman psychology major, also thinks that he seems like a positive person to interact with.

“Oh yeah, I know him. He is a really cool guy. We don’t hang out too often and I don’t see him around a whole lot, but even if I see him passing by, he always has a smile on his face and is super positive about life in general,” said King. “It is quite inspiring how he looks at his day to day life and channels his energy into being himself all the time.”