Joel Buchanan Archive of African American History: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/ohfb
Samuel Proctor Oral History Program
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Program Director: Dr. Paul Ortiz 241 Pugh Hall PO Box 115215 Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 392-7168 https://oral.history.ufl.edu
AAHP 136 Kelvin Henry African American History Project (AAHP) Interviewed by Candice Ellis on September 4, 2010 22 minutes | 14 pages
Abstract: In this interview, Kelvin Henry talks about his time as a student at the University of Florida in the early 1980s. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Si and ROTC. He also talks briefly about his time in the Air Force and working for Pepsi Co.
Keywords: [African American History; University of Florida; ROTC; Air Force]
For information on terms of use of this interview, please see the SPOHP Creative Commons license at http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AfricanAmericanOralHistory. AAHP 136 Interviewee: Kelvin Henry Interviewer: Candice Ellis Date: September 4, 2010
E: I’m Candice Ellis here on September 4 with Kelvin Henry?
H: Yes.
E: Nice to meet you.
H: Nice to meet you as well.
E: How are you doing today?
H: I’m doing great. It’s great to be back here at the University of Florida.
E: When was the last time you were here?
H: The last time on official university business was I believe three years ago. My
fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi had a alumni reunion. So I think it’s three years ago I
participated in the university.
E: Do you try to get back often, visit everyone here?
H: I’d love to get back often. I don’t get back as often as I’d like to. Certainly would
like to get back more often.
E: Well that’s great that you can make these visits here and there. Just to back
track, can we start with where you were born and when, if you don’t mind saying?
H: No I don’t mind at all. Born in Miami, Florida. Born and raised there, obviously,
went to high school there, then came to the University of Florida.
E: When did you enroll at UF?
H: The class of [19]80. The fall of [19]80. I remember coming up, seeing the
university, hadn’t met anybody at the university other than my guidance
counselor, who was a Florida graduate. I remember falling in love with
Gainesville. AAHP 136; Henry; Page 2
E: So you knew in high school that you wanted to be a Gator?
H: No I didn’t. I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know that the University
of Florida would be that choice.
E: Where else did you apply?
H: I applied to Florida State, got accepted. University of Miami, got accepted.
Bethune Cookman College, got accepted as well.
E: But it was UF.
H: It was UF absolutely.
E: Wonderful decision. Do you have any siblings?
H: Yes, I have four brothers including myself and one sister. My older brother lives
in Atlanta. I got a brother who lives in Louisiana. Brother in New York, works for
Merrill-Lynch and then brother here in Florida. My sister is also in Florida and my
mom is in South Florida as well.
E: Any other Gators?
H: No other Gators, but wannabe Gators.
E: If you’re not a Gator, then you’re a wannabe Gator.
H: If you’re not a Gator, you’re Gator bait.
E: What do your parents do?
H: My dad is deceased and my mom is retired from manufacturing work.
E: Did they push you to go to college?
H: It was always that they wanted the best for us. We were the first generation to go
to higher education. They did not but they wanted us to. They supported us AAHP 136; Henry; Page 3
spiritually, nurtured us emotionally. Even financially, at that time we were able to
get a lot of scholarships and financial aid to attend the university.
E: I’m not familiar when Bright Futures started, were you in on Bright Futures?
H: No, I’m not familiar with Bright Futures.
E: Maybe that was a little later, I guess. But you did get in on several scholarships
and they helped you out with that?
H: Yes, I did. I was related to John Boatwright. He was a member in the Office of
Admissions at that time. I remember getting a contact from him when I applied
and got an acceptance. Mr. Boatwright called me and said, “We’re going to give
you some money, come to school here.” I was like, “Whoa.” That was a major
league blessing. To God be the glory for that.
E: You said you instantly fell in love with Gainesville.
H: Soon as I got here. I remember catching a Greyhound bus. I didn’t have the
privilege of mom and dad dropping me off, so I got the Greyhound bus. Came to
the University of Florida and came on campus. Actually I came the summer
before, I came to the Preview Program. I came up here and just literally fell in
love with the university: the people, the place. Gainesville obviously was a big
change in scenery from Miami. I just fell in love with the place. I knew at that time
that I made the right decision. Having not been here before. As soon as I got
here, was shortly thereafter that I realized I’m going to love it here.
E: And you were not overwhelmed at all by the size of the campus? I know
sometimes people are nervous about that. AAHP 136; Henry; Page 4
H: I was not overwhelmed by the size of the university. I did think this is a big place.
This is a huge organization. I came here—I guess it’s part of destiny—I came
here knowing that I would get involved with the university. I had a great time here
at the University of Florida getting involved. I think when I first came here, not
overwhelmed, but just almost like wow, this is big. It was almost like a city within
a city. I was very active in high school, in several approved activities. I was in
Student Government and different organizations. I had been used to being
involved.
E: The kind of recognition and I guess on campus.
H: Exactly. I was used to being involved and so when I came here I was like, wow,
this is big.
E: It might be a little more difficult to make a name.
H: That’s what I was thinking at that time, yes.
E: Do you remember what dormitory you lived in?
H: Oh yes I was in Hume Hall. That was before Hume was the honors dorm.
E: Wow. That housing has a reputation.
H: Hume is the honors dorm now. I probably would not have been in Hume at that
time. I remember coming to campus, standing at Hume Hall. I don’t remember
the guy’s name but he was an RA at the time. He made me feel really welcome
on my first day. Subsequently we became friends. He was a graduate student, he
had already graduated. He did kind of mentor me along the way as well.
E: What was your roommate like? AAHP 136; Henry; Page 5
H: That was interesting, coming from Miami. I had what we called the international
room. I’m African-American from Miami. I had a White roommate from a small
town called Dunedin. Then we had a student from China in our room. We had
three in the room. We had the best time, different backgrounds, different cultures.
When you think of three guys in one room you think there might be some conflict.
There was never any conflict, it was beautiful.
E: There are so many opportunities for something to go wrong, putting three people
in one room.
H: Kenny was from Dunedin and Chin was from China, great people.
E: Are you still in touch with them?
H: No, but I did meet some folks who were in the same dorm but down the hall in
the same dorm. Jeff Berger and I, we actually are friends today. He was in my
wedding. We became friends, it’s a lifetime I guess. Lifetime friends.
E: Was it co-educational at that point? I know they made that transition sometime in
the early [19]70s.
H: The University of Florida? Yes. I got here in the [19]80s. It was co-education at
that time. Hume Hall was actually one floor guys and another floor was the girls.
That was different as well, having the co-ed experience.
E: Sneaking downstairs.
H: I won’t say that on camera, but I will just say it was fun.
E: You mentioned you were really involved on campus. Can you talk about that?
H: I’ll be glad to, sure. I was an athletic trainer in high school. I came here hoping to
get involved with the Athletic Association as a trainer. I interviewed with Chris AAHP 136; Henry; Page 6
Patrick, who was the head athletic trainer at that time. I think he still is. They
looked over my application and I was accepted immediately as a student trainer
for the University of Florida Gators football team. I subsequently went to the track
team and baseball team as well. That was my initial involvement with the
university as an athletic, student trainer. I often say to folks that being a student
trainer is like a seventy-hour-a-week job. You work as hard as the athletes
preparing for the games, during the games, and after the games. It was a great
experience. It tied me to the university. It made the university so much smaller. It
was like family, being part of the university athletics.
E: Kind of a pride thing, too. Was it a volunteer position or what is it a paid job?
H: It wasn’t paid, but we did get room and board, which is better than paid.
E: That takes a lot of the stress of paying for school.
H: From there I got involved with my fraternity. I pledged Kappa Alpha Psi in the
spring of [19]81. That led to me getting involved with the Inter-Fraternity Council,
that led me getting involved with the different university committees, also led me
to get involved with just other activities throughout the university. I was also, I
joined Air Force ROTC, so I was a ROTC cadet. That was a big part of my life
here at Florida, as well. I did all those things not to just to get involved, but with a
purpose. The purpose was to get to know people and be a part of this university
family. It’s a much smaller place and much more nurturing place when you can
get involved. It makes the university that much smaller. I encourage anyone
when they come here, to look for areas to get involved in with a purpose. I really
enjoyed my time here as an undergraduate getting involved. AAHP 136; Henry; Page 7
E: What were you majoring in?
H: Which semester? I came here wanting to be a doctor. I wanted to major in
something called Biomedical Engineering. The spring of my freshman or
sophomore year I took Calc, Chemistry, and Physics in one semester and that
didn’t agree with me. Then I had to do something else because the GPA wasn’t
going in the direction that I wanted to.
E: That sounds like a nightmare.
H: It would’ve been okay. I guess I found some extracurricular activities outside of
the classroom that really kept my attention. I came here to be a pre-med student
but ended up majoring in Health Services Administration with the College of
Health-related Professions. I had experience working in hospitals growing up in
high school. I actually said if I can’t be a doctor I’ll do something in the medical
field.
E: What do you do now?
H: I’m actually a sales manager. I work for Pepsi Co. When I left here I ended up
going to the Air Force for four years as a commissioned officer. That’s when I got
into sales. I got into sales as a way to have a job, didn’t really want to do that
long term. Once I got into sales with Proctor and Gamble it actually felt like a
calling more than just a job. So subsequently I’ve been in sales for twenty years,
some form of consumer product sales either with Proctor and Gamble, Nabisco,
or Pepsi Co. That’s been my career.
E: What kind of stuff did you do with the Air Force? AAHP 136; Henry; Page 8
H: I was what they call a squadron section commander. I was in a maintenance
squadron. I joined the Air Force to see the world and they sent me to Oklahoma.
E: Were you in Oklahoma all four years?
H: All four years. I said, “Who did I tick off?” That was actually a very good
experience. I was responsible for three or four hundred men and women who
were in a maintenance squadron. They maintained the C141 airframe for the Air
Force there.
E: Well now is the time to see the world. It sounds like your experience there was
still a good one.
H: Oh it was actually very good. I would recommend it for any young man or woman
to serve the country.
E: Do you have any mentors at UF that stood out in particular?
H: I had a couple that actually stood out. Dean James Scott who’s in heaven now,
he was a big mentor of mine. Dr. Art Sandeen, who was the Vice President of
Student Affairs, a big supporter and mentor. Chris Patrick I mentioned him
earlier. He was the head athletic trainer at the time. He was almost like a father
figure to me. He kind of guided me and directed me. There were others, students
as well. Eugene Pettis, who was a student leader at the time, was also a big
influencer. There was other stuff. You never can come to a university like this, a
setting like this and get through on your own. You’re always standing on the
shoulders of someone else. AAHP 136; Henry; Page 9
E: That’s great that you were able to find your group of friends and everything, a
comfort zone. Did you do anything off-campus? Any kind of off-campus
activities? Were you a part of a church?
H: I attended church but not as a regular member. I went to a church on 23rd
Avenue, a little small Baptist church. They came to pick us up back in the day,
when we didn’t have a car. I did attend church, probably not as regularly,
because I was mostly involved with the university.
E: You had so much stuff on your plate, it sounds.
H: I ended up being just so involved with the fraternity. I ended up being the
President of my chapter there, so that took a lot of time, the studying took a lot of
time. The Air Force ROTC was fun, but it did take some time as well. Again
having the privilege and the honor to work on several university committees at
the time was major league blessing. One of the hallmarks of leading here though,
and this was truly one of the honors of my life and it still is, I was recognized as
the Outstanding Male Leader for the Class of [19]85, spring of [19]85. That was
such a tremendous honor.
E: Is that an elected position?
H: No, that was one of the highest honors that a graduate can receive at the
University of Florida at that time. I’m not sure if they still have it or not. That was
just representative of all the things that we did here at the University of Florida.
Also a big honor while I was here at the University of Florida I was tapped into
Florida Blue Key, which still is one of the prestigious leadership honoraries here
in the state of Florida and at the university itself. Also, I was tapped into Savant AAHP 136; Henry; Page 10
UF which was kind of an honorary as well. I also was a member of the Black
Student Union while I was here. Again, it was an active time for me.
E: It sounds like it. Do you have a lot of friends here?
H: Yeah. I am thoroughly seeing some folks, we’re reuniting, reacquainting if you
will. But also what’s exciting is that we’re meeting other folks that I had not met
people that we matriculated at the same time but just had not met. I’m actually
building new relationships, planting new seeds for the future. It’s always good to
reacquaint and come back. I love the University of Florida. I don’t get back as
often as I want to, or would like to.
E: It’s kind of difficult to fly to Gainesville.
H: It’s a little challenge to get back here. Every time I come back here I’m renewed, I
get recommitted. It’s like coming home. Right now I’m already getting refocused
on some of the goals and things I want to recalibrate and achieve to stay
connected this time.
E: Do you have any children?
H: Yes I do.
E: Possible Gators maybe?
H: I actually want my children to come to the University of Florida. They both attend
universities in Louisiana. One happens to be LSU Tigers. I wanted my daughter
to come here, but they offered major scholarships. It was the out-of-state tuition
thing versus the in-state tuition thing. So Louisiana State has her now. Then my
son attends Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. I’m very proud of
him. The other big hallmark of my Florida experience is that I met a young lady, AAHP 136; Henry; Page 11
can’t talk too much about that on camera, right. I met her my freshman year at a
dance at Broward Hall. I’m not sure if Broward Hall is still there.
E: Still ther.
H: And ended up marrying her, Paulette Rents. She is from Gainesville so I get back
to Gainesville more than I come back to the university, for an activity like this. I’ll
always be connected to Gainesville and always be part of the Gator Nation for
my life. I’m a Gator for life, as the slogan goes. I am deeply honored that you
would even have me to say something about my background and my experience
here at the University of Florida. I love this place, it helped me prepare for life.
E: It’s a great springboard.
H: It is. It helped me prepare educationally, emotionally, socially and helped me to
get prepared for the prosperous career that I have. Of course, my faith is in God,
my steps are ordered by God. I believe that there is a divine plan, and here at the
University of Florida, it helped prepare—there was a major part of that plan
preparing me for activities in life. Activities that I still must go through. I still think
my better days—my best days are still ahead of me. That’s all a part of this
learning experience here at the University of Florida. I learned to love, I learned
to laugh. Hopefully we’ll learn to leave a legacy for others to follow here at this
great institution.
E: Sounds like you definitely made your mark here.
H: I was part of it. I’m humbled by the fact that there were so many others who
came before me. I was a part of that beginning and as I went through here, I
knew I had a responsibility. I didn’t know that initially, but as I got towards my AAHP 136; Henry; Page 12
senior year, I was a fifth year senior, I was on a five year plan. As I got towards
my fourth and fifth year, I knew I had a responsibility to this university and to the
people here. I didn’t know exactly what would look like at the time, what that
responsibility would look like. But it’s giving back time, it’s giving back skills.
Encouraging another student who’s going through, that’s part of that
responsibility.
E: Yeah because students definitely need that. It’s a crazy time in life. It’s good that
you can come back and be a guide.
H: Also to enjoy the Florida Gators football team. Hopefully we’ll have a big win
today over Miami Ohio. I think we’ll sweep by them, probably by forty points. It’s
always good to come back and then be a part of the celebration here at Florida. I
would be remiss to end this interview if I did not say it, one of the other reasons
that we are here this weekend, and perhaps the backdrop of this whole thing is
my wife’s parents are celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. A lot of kudos
to them for fifty years. We’re actually having a dinner tonight for them. It’s great
that we can come back and be a part of activities like this, but it’s also great to be
a part of something big like that. To celebrate a golden year anniversary with my
in-laws, they’re more than in-laws they’re just parents.
E: They’re family. Are they Gator fans?
H: They are true Gator fans.
E: Well you’ll have even more to celebrate tonight after the game.
H: Absolutely, it will be a celebration all the way around. I am honored that you all
would even ask me to share some time. Hopefully it’s helpful AAHP 136; Henry; Page 13
E: It will be very helpful.
H: Hopefully relevant. Again, I am thankful and appreciate it.
E: We’re thankful, thank you so much.
H: Thank you very much. God Bless.
[End of Interview]
Transcribed by: Andre Everette, 2013
Audit-edited by: Cristina Rodriguez, October 23, 2017
Final edit by: Ryan Morini, February 18, 2019