This week’s Student Spotlight shines on senior Gabby Kennedy, an active member of the MSMS community. From Puckett, Mississippi, Kennedy is an Emissary at MSMS, co-president of the Students Against Destructive Decisions, and co-president of Young Independents club. Along with her other interests, she has a passion for soccer and hot chicken wings, which she describes as “the hotter the better.”

Kennedy is also working to ensure her career in medicine. Not only is this shown inside the MSMS community, but after winning the National Youth Ambassador Award this past summer, she went to Washington D.C. and lobbied to congressmen to support the FDA’s authority to regulate e-cigarettes and cigars and to reject proposals to weaken it. She believes that the Food and Drug Administration should regulate all tobacco products so that these products are not marketed towards the youth and users have a better understanding of what is in these products. Stemming off of this interest, Kennedy is the Vice Chair of the Mississippi Tobacco-free Coalition in Clay, Lowndes, and Oktibbeha counties, and this year she is working on a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance in Columbus, Mississippi.  

“So far, I’ve really enjoyed my time at MSMS and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year unfolds,” Kennedy explains. “ It’s important to be involved in your community and to help out where you can.”