BY ZAWADI NICHOLAS, student writer, Inside
Oakwood

(Photo: Kenesha Bennett and Alex Trebek, couresty of Jeopardy! Productions, Inc.)

Kenesha Bennett, a senior
education major at Oakwood University, recently competed in the Jeopardy!
College Championship and Ford Black College Quiz. She is also the
captain of Oakwood's Honda Campus All-Star Challenge team.

What drives Kenesha
Bennett? Along with her passion for equal education, she remembers wanting to
compete on Jeopardy! from a young
age.

"I've always wanted to
be on Jeopardy!, like always,
always!"

She never imagined that her
dream would come true, but it did. After much prayer Kenesha was granted the
opportunity to compete with other students on the show and win money for
school. She describes the experience as one that "affirms her belief
that God can, and will, grant the desire of His children's hearts."
Kenesha credits God for helping her achieve one of her life-long dreams.

Kenesha's second dream is
to help equalize education in America. She recalls earlier in life being one
of the few black students who were placed in the honors class. She observed
that her fellow black classmates did not know as much a she did, though they
attended the same school. Her desire to fix this was further encouraged by
seeing Waiting for Superman, a
documentary chronicling the educational development of students in Harlem,
New York.

"I realized that it
was a struggle for parents from all over the country to find quality
education for their students," she said.

Kenesha's love for the
enrichment of black students is especially reflected in her love for Oakwood
University. "Oakwood gives you an opportunity to see teachers who have
worked hard for their degrees helping young people who are striving to be
successful."