{"id":20789,"date":"2023-06-20T08:52:55","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T12:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/?p=20789"},"modified":"2025-08-19T16:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:10:42","slug":"leading-from-the-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/20\/leading-from-the-front\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading from the Front"},"content":{"rendered":"

When asked what it means to be an EduGator, Essynce Mackey responded, \u201clearning how to support students while also being a student.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This sentiment encapsulates Mackey\u2019s experiences at the University of Florida while enrolled in our <\/span>Student Personnel in Higher Education<\/span><\/a> master\u2019s program. In addition to being a full-time student, she is a graduate assistant at the Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement and represents the state as Miss Black Florida. Despite her busy schedule, she is motivated to find ways to be \u201ca listening ear to the problems students face\u201d and to find solutions or offer tools to help them navigate undergraduate life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally from Chicago, Mackey moved to Gainesville to attend UF after earning her undergraduate degree in Marketing from Central State University, the only public HBCU in Ohio. There, she served as a member of her school\u2019s Royal Court, a historical role on HBCU campuses. Her advisor at the time was earning his master\u2019s in education and told her about the higher education field.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cListening to his experience and seeing the work that he does at the school is what really gave me an understanding of what you need in order to work at universities,\u201d she said. With a passion for higher education, Mackey realized that her undergraduate degree in marketing had provided her with skills that would serve her well in a student-centered administrative role. \u201cWhen you work with student organizations, they need flyers and marketing things to, you know, engage with students.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While looking into options for graduate school, Mackey intentionally decided to find a different school and geographic region than her undergraduate alma mater. \u201cI feel like students should attend different types of universities, especially when wanting to go into higher education \u2014 because you never know where you\u2019re going to end up,\u201d she remarked. \u201cI want to be able to serve all students.\u201d But what stood out most about the UF College of Education was the community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was making my decision to come here, I talked to other grad students from the cohort that was graduating soon\u2026they really walked me through everything.\u201d One student sat with her on Zoom for several hours, talking about the program and helping her organize her application materials, while another aided her in finding a place to live. This sense of community extends into her classroom experience as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all working together,\u201d Mackey observed. \u201cWe\u2019re competitive but still collaborative.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So far, she loves the hands-on nature of the program. \u201cThe approach is \u2018we\u2019re going to read this, but then discuss how you can apply it in your work area,\u2019\u201d she explained. \u201cSo it makes it easier for me to do the coursework.\u201d She is already applying what she has learned to her Miss Black Florida platform: supporting student mental health resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that mental health and education definitely tie together,\u201d she said. Going to college is fundamentally a period of change and transition for students, which can create a need for mental health support \u2014 in a new environment where students might not know how to get help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt really comes down to building community and creating support outside of the offices that we have on most college campuses,\u201d she explained. \u201cI feel like students need to be able to talk with people who they can identify with and who understand where they\u2019re coming from.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For her, this means peer leadership and mentoring ambassadors across four different college campuses. \u201cAs Miss Black Florida, my main focus is trying to do a lot more student-led activities,\u201d she said. Letting students lead from the front \u201callows them to gain leadership skills, to feel heard, and creates a sense of belonging on their campuses. As higher education professionals, we always talk about needing a sense of belonging.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Never one to slow down, Mackey has a busy summer ahead. She will fulfill her program\u2019s internship requirement by working in the <\/span>Fraternity and Sorority Life office at Georgia Tech<\/span><\/a>. Additionally, she will travel to Washington D.C. to compete for Miss Black USA against her counterparts from other states and regions. As for the future, Mackey hopes to pursue a Ph.D. and ultimately sees herself on the administration side of university life. Her goal? To one day return to Central State \u2014 as president of the university.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n



[\/av_textblock]<\/p>\n

Essynce Mackey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Essynce Mackey is helping students build their community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20796,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students"],"yoast_head":"\nLeading from the Front - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/20\/leading-from-the-front\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leading from the Front\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Essynce Mackey is helping students build their community.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/20\/leading-from-the-front\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UF.COE\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-20T12:52:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-19T16:10:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kaylasharp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UF_COE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UF_COE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kaylasharp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/20\/leading-from-the-front\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/education.ufl.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/20\/leading-from-the-front\/\",\"name\":\"Leading from the Front - 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