PLS senior introduces Vice President Harris at MSU rally
November 14, 2024 - Karessa Weir
Introducing U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris before her East Lansing rally was not an honor that Sedrick Huff ever expected, even after he spent months campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidate.
“It is cemented as one of the most surreal experiences of mine,” said Huff, a Political Science Pre-Law senior and president of the Black Undergraduate Law Association.
Huff was working at his second job at the shoe store Foot Locker when he got a call from an unknown number. He expected it to be from someone soliciting for a campaign and let it go to voice mail.
“Something told me to actually check this one out,” he said
It was a member of the Kamala Harris campaign’s outreach and service team, who wanted Huff to call him back when he could.
“I just dropped the shoes in my hand,” he said. “I went out of ‘Foot Locker mode’ and called him back.”
The coordinator, Bobby Bennett, asked Huff if he wanted to introduce the Vice President before her rally at Jenison Field House Nov. 3. Huff asked him to repeat it.
“He said, yeah man, this is real,” Huff said.
He couldn’t sleep the night before because he was too excited. The campaign sent him a speech and that was when he realized it was actually going to happen. He was told to be at Jenison around 3 p.m. for the 6 p.m. rally.
“I’ve never done anything like that before in my life, so I really had to psych myself up,” he said.
While Huff was waiting for his turn on stage, he “got the VIP treatment” meeting with MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and his family, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, and other state and national political figures.
Huff had been spending days working on the campaign, canvassing for support, but nothing had prepared him to introduce Harris.
“I was not ready. Nothing could have prepared me,” he said. “But I did pretty good.”
Huff did go “off script” for a portion of the introduction, responding to the energy of the packed fieldhouse.
Vice President Harris strode on the stage following the introduction and shook hands with Huff.
“I just soaked it all up,” Huff said. “It was amazing to see her in person and feeling her energy and vibe. I love how she got the crowd engaged.”
During her speech, Harris called out students like Huff, telling them “I see you.”
“It definitely warmed my heart when she said how much she admired Gen-Z,” Huff said. “Just having that recognition that she knows we are willing to work as head as we can, to change our lives, to change the future, to have a role in society.”
In addition to his work on the Harris campaign, Huff serves as an intern with 30th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina. Currently, he is taking a course with MSU PLS Professor Dr. Sarah Reckhow.
“Sed is a terrific student in class who is also highly engaged in politics, policy, and leadership outside of the classroom-- as President of the Black Undergraduate Law Association and through his internship. Seeing him introduce Vice President Harris on-stage in front of thousands of people with so much poise and composure was really exciting,” Reckhow said.
Following graduation, Huff plans to take a gap year to work in his hometown of Detroit to build connections for his future while studying for his LSAT exams for law school. He would love to go to a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) for law school and knows he will end up in Washington D.C. someday.
“Once I get through law school, I will be a civil rights attorney for five to 10 years and then run for some type of office, maybe judge,” he said. “I want to take my legal and political aspirations as high as they can go.”
Photographs courtesy of Finn Gomez @fingophoto
