This month, University of Tulsa’s Student Government Association President-elect Kadee Jo Ransom was selected for the 2025 Student Voting Honor Roll by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN).
Honor roll students are recognized for their exemplary leadership in advancing nonpartisan student civic engagement. Ransom, a political science and psychology junior in UTulsa’s Kendall College of Arts & Sciences, has devoted hundreds of hours to promoting college student voter participation.
“It was such a surprise when I saw the confirmation email,” she said. “I was the most excited about what this would mean for future voter education and engagement at the university!”
ALL IN empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student civic engagement. Through an intentionally designed program that provides structure, support, and recognition, ALL IN works to improve civic learning, voter participation, and ongoing engagement in our democracy at more than 1,000 U.S. campuses.
Ransom, a Wakita, Oklahoma, native, was inspired to participate in the ALL IN Challenge because of her rural roots, where voter registration and informed voting were not encouraged. At UTulsa, she became involved with the Office of Civic Engagement, which allowed her to take her passion for student voting and make it a reality on campus. She particularly credits Melissa Abdo, UTulsa’s director of civic engagement, for supporting her work.
Ransom’s efforts recently earned her a feature in Forbes magazine, showcasing her and the other young leaders from universities like Yale, Carnegie Mellon, and American University on the 2025 Student Voting Honor Roll.
“I love the work I get to do. Even if it takes 10 hours of work to encourage one student to vote, that makes it completely worthwhile,” Ransom said. “I will never let a student go through their time at UTulsa without being asked if they are registered and educated to vote. Our slogan ‘Ask Every Student’ rings so true in the valuable work we are doing on campus, and this award was a validating moment.”
Last spring, UTulsa was recognized by ALL IN with the 2024 Highly Established Action Plan Seal for its strong plan to increase nonpartisan democratic engagement by promoting civic learning, political engagement, and college student voter participation. Also in 2024, UTulsa received a Silver Campus rating from ALL IN for fostering high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections.