Langston University

by Ellie Melero, Media Relations Specialist

There are over 70 registered student organizations at Langston University offering students chances to find communities with like-minded interests and, for those willing to seek them, opportunities for leadership. From Greek Life to the English Club, there is always a need for campus leaders, and the Office of Student Life works hard to provide mentorship and learning opportunities to develop these students’ leadership skills.

Dr. A. Dominique Williams, the assistant dean for the Office of Student Life, tries to connect students not only with each other but also with resources that can help them be successful. For her, honing students’ leadership abilities is an important part of preparing them for their future careers, and she emphasizes that anyone willing to put in the work can become a leader, regardless of race or gender.

“Even though it’s 2025, there are still a lot of places in corporate America, non-profits, multiple different industries where Black women and women of color are not given leadership roles,” Dr. Williams said. “So, it’s really important to show our students, ‘You can be a leader. You absolutely can be in these rooms and be at these tables, and this is how you can lead in these spaces.’”

Lady Lions all over campus prove every day that women can be leaders. Let’s meet a few of the young women leading at Dear Langston.

Elise Thompson – SGA Vice President

Elise Thompson has always been civically engaged.

An Oklahoma City native, Thompson didn’t always feel like she fit in at the Dove Science Academy where she went to school, so from a young age, she sought out different avenues to try to find her place. She ended up joining youth leadership programs, which is how she first met Anastasia Pittman, a former state senator and state representative and a Langston University alumna.

Pittman’s work for Oklahoma’s 99th District inspired Thompson, and Pittman became her mentor. Working with Pittman and learning about government helped Thompson realize that was what she wanted to do when she grew up: serve her community as the State Representative for the 99th District. That’s the goal she’s still working toward.

After high school, Thompson came to Langston University as a McCabe Scholar studying accounting and immediately joined the LU Student Government Association (SGA). She ran for freshman class president and tied the race before losing by three votes in the runoff election. Instead of discouraging her from pursuing future leadership positions, the loss motivated her to work on herself and develop her skills for next time.

“That was a turning point for me,” Thompson said. “That just made me want to work harder. I saw the people who did have those positions and used them as inspiration. Even though I didn’t win, I made sure that I stayed around so I could learn.”

Thompson continued to join student organizations on and off campus, and she took advantage of leadership and development opportunities whenever they presented themselves.

She joined the Oklahoma Student Government Association (OSGA), and in Fall 2024, OSGA passed three bills she proposed, which have now been passed on to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE). She joined the NAACP and attended their national convention in New Jersey her sophomore year. As an LU Student Ambassador, she helped plan and put on Lion Camp, and she has served as the Civic Engagement Chair for Women of Purpose for three years.

As an SGA senator, Thompson helped lobby Langston University administration to raise the fall bursar balance cap for spring enrollment from $200 to $1,000, allowing many students to continue their studies without having to take a semester off. As the SGA Vice President, Thompson helped register over 200 LU students to vote in the 2024 presidential election, and she attended OSRHE’s Student Advisory Council. She is currently helping plan Alternative Spring Break, which is a student community service trip to Washington D.C.

“I can see that my work is not done in vain,” Thompson said. “I actually do have an impact on people, on my community.”

Her hard work has earned her opportunities outside of LU, too. She was invited to attend the Oklahoma City Police Department Youth Leadership Academy where she was able to build a working relationship with Police Chief Ron Bacy, and she received a George and Donna Nigh Public Service Scholarship to represent Langston University at the Nigh Institute. Additionally, she has been an intern for Rep. Ajay Pittman for the past 6 years.

Thompson is aware she still has a lot of room to grow as a leader, but she’s proud of how far she’s come and how much she’s been able to accomplish during her time at Dear Langston. She is constantly learning from those around her, and she’s doing it all so she can one day use all she’s learned to help improve her community in east Oklahoma City.

“I want to help my community be able to thrive,” Thompson said. “Even if it’s something small, knowing that I’m able to help someone really just fills my heart, and that’s what keeps me going.” 

Nadia Mooreland – Co-Founder of LU Athletics Social Media Team

Nadia Mooreland lives her life by Habakkuk 2:2: “Write it down, make it plain.”

For Mooreland, the first step to achieving a goal is to write it down. The second step is to put in the work. Her hard work and dedication have transformed the Langston University Department of Athletics’ approach to social media.

Mooreland transferred to Langston University as a broadcast journalism major in Fall 2022 after running track at Oklahoma Baptist University for three years and taking a gap year to focus on her mental health. Growing up in Cushing, Oklahoma, without many Black peers or role models, Mooreland felt an immediate sense of belonging when she arrived on the Langston University campus, and that motivated her to seek out ways to get involved.

She pondered how she could combine her interests in sports and social media with her desire to find a way to give back to the university, and then she came across the LUBoys TikTok account. The page, run by her fellow broadcast journalism students as part of a class project, was filled with interviews and highlight reels of the LU football team.

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Man, it would be cool if we could do this but for all the sports programs,’” Mooreland said.

The idea stayed in the back of her mind until one Fried Chicken Wednesday that spring when her sister introduced her to Quinzaria Tatum. Tatum had a similar interest in revamping Athletics’ social media, and Mooreland knew she had found someone to help bring her idea to life. They met up again a few weeks later, and Mooreland brought a notebook filled with ideas to use social media to bring attention to LU athletes. To her delight, Tatum had done the same.

The two worked together to conduct a SWOT analysis of LU Athletics’ social media presence and then create a strategic plan and campaign proposal. They set up a meeting with Athletic Director Donnita Rogers and Assistant Athletic Director Fachaitte Kinslow where they pitched their plan for a social media team. They then gave their presentation to Sports Information Director Kyle Taylor, then again to the coaches of all Langston sports, and finally to the Office of Public Relations. In Fall 2023, Mooreland and Tatum officially founded the LU Athletics Social Media Team.

For the past two years they have co-led the 15-person social media team, creating content and managing the Instagram and Facebook accounts for all eight sports teams. The team has received lots of positive feedback from LU students and alumni, and coaches now use the content they create for recruitment. LU Athletics’ online exposure and engagement has increased exponentially; one of their football videos has over 600,000 views and earned dozens of ‘follows’ from high school football players.

“Langston University doesn’t get a lot of good press, but I like to call it the Hidden Gem of Oklahoma,” Mooreland said. “If you look inside that Hidden Gem, you see the talented, motivated, hardworking and passionate future leaders of America just killing the game at Langston University. And we just wanted to show exposure to our HBCU, one post at a time.”

Part of Mooreland’s original vision included increasing Athletics’ media and community engagement, and she has been spearheading the team’s media relations and brand storytelling. She organizes media days for every sport and team promotes theme nights for home games, and this year she started conducting post-game press conferences and half-time reports for men’s and women’s basketball.

Mooreland has learned and grown a lot from leading the social media team, but she is now facing her biggest challenge yet: letting go. As she prepares to graduate this July, she is mentoring and training the underclassmen on the social media team to take over for next year.

“It’s kind of hard starting a legacy but then coming to the realization, ‘Dang, I have to leave it,’” Mooreland said. “We have to give it to the younger people so they can put their own twist on it, and they can continue the legacy.”

Cambrie Cannon – LU Student Ambassadors

For Cambrie Cannon, confidence is key in leadership.

A junior double majoring in corrections and broadcast journalism, Cannon has learned a lot about leadership since high school. Growing up in Oklahoma City, she always had examples of strong leaders thanks to the many military service members in her family, including her father who served in the Army National Guard, Army and Army Reserves. As she neared her high school graduation, she knew she wanted to serve her country, but she also knew she wanted to pursue a higher education.

Luckily for her, it didn’t have to be one or the other.

Cannon enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard after graduation and attended basic training that summer. In the fall, she accepted a Regent Scholarship to attend Langston University.

“I find myself following in my dad’s footsteps,” Cannon said. “He also served and he also attended Langston.”

At first, Cannon felt odd being an active-duty service member in school, but she was quickly able to find community among her fellow Lions. As she became more comfortable, she started getting more involved on campus. She became an LU Student Ambassador, joined the Student Government Association and became an active member of the Legal Lions, a club for pre-law students. As she got more involved, she began to take on leadership roles within these student organizations.

Cannon is the Constitution Revision Chair for the LU Student Ambassadors, the Civic Voice Chair in the SGA Senate and the Public Relations Chair for the Legal Lions. In the National Guard, she has earned the rank of Specialist and works in Public Affairs.

“These positions are really shaping me as a leader, and I’m definitely going to carry these skills and traits on when I go to law school,” Cannon said. “The skills that Langston is teaching me now are going to make me a better leader. I feel like the skills that you develop here, they’re skills that you can’t get anywhere else.”

Cannon knows the lessons she has learned in both the military and as a student have been building off each other, enabling her to better serve in each of her respective positions. Her experience in the military has given her the confidence to trust herself and her abilities, while her experiences at Dear Langston have given her the confidence to be creative in her problem solving, use her resources and interact with authority figures.

When Cannon finishes her degree, she plans to go to law school, though she is unsure whether she would like to go into criminal or family law or pursue a career as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) officer. Whichever path she chooses, she knows she’s prepared.

“Langston is giving me that confidence as a woman and as a minority to go after these positions,” Cannon said. “I’m not scared to apply for promotion boards, I’m not scared to communicate with my higher ups. I’m used to Langston pushing me to take on these positions. So when it comes having the confidence to go after something that I want, Langston has given me the confidence to do that.”