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Ford Plans to Work as a Bridge Builder and More    

Promotion and unification are two things at the top of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) graduate student Kaia Ford’s list as she becomes a Southern Illinois University (SIU) Board of Trustee member.

“I will advocate for staff on campus,” said Ford. “I will make my role more well-known and understood among SIUE students, and I will work to bridge the gap between administration and students.”

Ford’s one-year term begins July 1, 2024. She was elected by SIUE students to serve on the SIU Board of Trustees which was chartered in 1949 to operate, manage, control and maintain the university system. The board includes seven members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, and two student members selected by the student bodies of SIU Edwardsville and SIU Carbondale.

Ford is from Prairie City and graduated from Bushnell-Prairie City High School in 2020. She earned a bachelor’s in psychology from SIUE in 2023. She is in her second year as a graduate student at SIUE, majoring in industrial/organizational psychology.

As an undergraduate, Ford was involved in several groups and activities across campus. While on the SIUE Student Government, she served as a senator for the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) and an election commissioner. She was also vice president of the Psychology Club and the Psi Chi Honors Society.

As a student, Catherine S. Daus, PhD, professor in the SEHHB’s Department of Psychology, describes Ford as “driven, focused, task-oriented, thoughtful, conscientious and prepared.”

Ford worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant for Daus. She has taken two graduate courses from the professor and is in her second year of the master’s level Industrial/Organizational Psychology program, of which Daus is the director.

As a leader, Daus uses the adjectives of “performance-driven, inclusive and collaborative,” to describe Ford. She also adds that Ford is task driven and conscientious, has excellent time management and a strong work ethic.

In Ford’s first year of graduate school at SIUE, she served as internal affairs officer for SIUE Student Government.

“As the Internal Affairs Officer, I worked to make the student government office more inviting and welcoming to the student body, as well as the officers within the organization,” shared Ford. “I worked to better promote  student government events in an effort to make its accomplishments widely known.” 

“Kaia is a consummate juggler of multiple demands on her time,” noted Daus. “She is a planner and a thinker. She is considerate and a strong team player.  She strives for excellence in both her individual work as well as on any team she is a part of.  She will make an excellent addition to this board!”

Ford is currently working at Bi-State Development in St. Louis as a learning and development intern. As the 2024-2025 school year beings, Ford will also be working as a grad research assistant under Dr. Rachel Bradley for the SIUE Department of Psychology. Ford plans to complete her master’s at SIUE next spring.

PHOTO: SIUE Student Trustee Member Kaia Ford