KENNESAW, Ga. | Dec 8, 2022

Between workouts and 12-hour clinical shifts, Kennesaw State senior Sarah Hendrick has lived college life to the fullest.

As a nursing major and undergraduate researcher in the Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, she participated in the Symposium of Student Scholars presenting a study on opioid addiction. As an athlete on KSU’s track and field team, she has earned all-America honors four times in the 800-meter run. To top it off, Hendrick has done all of this while earning President’s List six times and the Dean’s List twice. 

With a schedule sometimes packed from dawn to dusk, she said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I have a great support system, between my coach letting me do workouts in the mornings before clinicals and my professors letting me make up assignments,” she said. “It gets busy sometimes but I don’t have any regrets. KSU’s been a great place for me.”

KSU sits down the road from Allatoona High School in west Cobb County, where Hendrick made all-state in track and field. Conversations with a friend’s grandmother, who was a nurse, steered her toward nursing as a career option. That put KSU at the top of her list when it came to choosing a college.

“The human body is really interesting to me, and I also just love helping people and hopefully helping change people’s lives,” she said. “Kennesaw State has an awesome nursing program, so it was a perfect fit.”

Hendrick is graduating with a BSN this month and will pursue a social media certificate in the spring, which will allow her to compete in both indoor and outdoor track, using her remaining collegiate athletics eligibility. She said she hopes to build some momentum from her final turn around the college track toward a professional running career before picking up her stethoscope as a nurse.

“You’re only young and fit for so long, and I have the rest of my life to be a nurse,” she said. “If I can build on my accolades and get a little bit faster, I feel like I have some options for professional running. And then when I’ve gotten everything I can out of running, I’ll be a nurse.”

Kennesaw State’s Fall Commencement ceremonies are scheduled Dec. 13, 14 and 15.

– Dave Shelles
Photos by Matt Yung

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.