Leadership has been the one constant in this ILR senior's career

Jamal Henderson in the ILR School courtyard. He's an ILR major from Buffalo, N.Y. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

By Linda Myers

When Barry Taylor met Jamal Henderson, "you could see leadership written on his face," said Taylor, the former associate director of the ILR Office of Student Services, now at Princeton.

Henderson became vice president of the Minority ILR Student Organization (MILRSO) last year and president this year, served on Cornell's Minority Finance Commission and is involved in Alpha Phi Alpha, the first U.S. black fraternity, founded at Cornell in 1906. Those efforts and his work as urban marketing representative for Atlantic Records led to his being named one of the 25 most influential students by the Cornell Daily Sun last fall.

Henderson was an executive intern with Atlantic in New York City in summer 2002. The job involved promoting the music of such hot stars as rap musician Fat Joe, who performed this May at Slope Day at Cornell, and it led to the marketing representative stint.

While he is modest about his achievements, others have a different view. Stephen Keyes, M.S. '86, a lawyer with AOL Time Warner who saw leadership qualities in Henderson when he interned at Time Inc. in summer 2001, said: "He knew how to work with people. He was energetic, proactive, eager, diligent and he inspired confidence, but he was also low key, humble and respectful of others' time and position."

The ILR School was an obvious choice. Growing up, Henderson heard a lot about it through his mother, who is affiliated with its Buffalo extension office. Both parents (his actor father teaches theater at the University of Buffalo) also liked the idea of their son attending school in nearby Ithaca. But it was not until Henderson met a human resource executive with Xerox on a college visit that he saw a fit between his "people skills" and what he might study.

Once on campus, however, he aimed for a broader education and shifted to pre-law studies that included economics, negotiation and other courses.

His involvement with the MILRSO taught him that he could work easily with all kinds of people, an ability that Taylor attributed to Henderson's active listening skills and well-thought-out decisions. With the 65-member student organization, Henderson helped organize a speakers series, inviting executives to campus to talk on topics like diversity, ethics and entrepreneurship and give informal career advice. He also helped plan splashy yearly fundraisers in which group members, Henderson included, displayed their talents and modeled stylish outfits donated by top fashion designers. This year, under his leadership, the event raised $20,000, a record.

Henderson shifted direction again this year, when he accepted a position in human capital consulting with Deloitte and Touche. The job offers him mobility and diversity of experience. "I'll travel four days a week and work with different clients and companies. It's a chance to see things from new angles," he noted.

"I would like to work for change ... in the world," Henderson told a Sun reporter last year. He seems well on his way toward that goal.