Larissa Kennedy
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Larissa Kennedy | |
|---|---|
| 61st President of the National Union of Students | |
| In office 1 July 2020 – 1 July 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Zamzam Ibrahim |
| Succeeded by | Shaima Dallali |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | University of Warwick |
| Occupation | NUS President, Activist |
Larissa Kennedy is a student politician who was President of the UK National Union of Students 2020–2022,[1] succeeding Zamzam Ibrahim. She was the first president elected via online ballot, defeating six other candidates.[2][3] She served a two-year term to oversee the NUS's three-year plan to financially overhaul its organisation following a £3 million shortfall in 2018.[1][2] She is also a trustee of Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK),[4] an educational charity formed in response to the climate emergency and ecological crisis.
Kennedy was born in London and grew up in Croydon, south London. She is a "granddaughter of the Windrush generation", with family roots in Jamaica, Barbados and St Vincent.[5] She studied at Croydon High School, an independent girls' school.[6]
She has been involved in activism and student politics since she was 16, when she served on the Girlguiding UK’s national Advocate panel.[7] While studying politics, international studies, and Hispanic studies at University of Warwick, Kennedy founded the "Warwick Decolonise Project".[8][7] She was formerly elected Education Officer and Deputy President at Warwick Students’ Union.[5] Between 2018 and 2020 she served on NUS’ National Executive Council, and she is a member of the NUS Black student's campaign.[9]
Kennedy previously served as Advocacy and Campaigns Officer at Plan International during a sabbatical year from her undergraduate studies, and was a 2017–2019 trustee to the British Youth Council.[10] She served as UK Youth Delegate to the Council of Europe Congress in 2018.[11][12]
Kennedy is a member of the UK committee of the global Youth for Change organisation, which campaigns to end gender-based violence and FGM.[7][8] She is an alumna of the TuWezeshe Akina Dada Fellowship, a young women's leadership programme run by the charity FORWARD.[13]