Shining Light on Black Excellence: Cherrish Hudgins 

By Grace Bertrand 

CHERRISH Hudgins, a graduate organizational leadership major, felt like she was at a dead end during the gap year she took before coming to Rider. She had just earned her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders at William Paterson University in 2022 and was at a crossroads of where to go in her career. 

All of that changed when she came to Rider. 

Getting a fresh start at Rider as a graduate assistant for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in 2023, Hudgins immediately found her place and developed a new rhythm with going back to school. She credits the outcome of events to her faith and how it led her to Rider. 

“I’m a very spiritually led person,” said Hudgins. “I have strong faith in God and I just continued to pray and I knew God was going to work it out for me.” 

Hudgins leaned on her faith as she navigated Rider. She worked closely with CDI student worker Nicholas Depass, a sophomore psychology major, and Naa’san Carr ’24, a former Student Government Association president. During their time together, they bonded on their shared faith and came to realize there was a hole missing on campus for students of color to come together in their faith and feel safe. 

They ventured out in starting their own ministry on campus with the help of outside churches and quickly discovered the existence of Black Campus Ministry. Through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, an evangelical Christian student organization for colleges nationwide, Hudgins successfully brought Black Campus Ministry to Rider. 

“We knew there was a uniqueness to being spiritual in the Black or brown culture and community, so we wanted to bring that to Rider,” said Hudgins.

Starting the “Christ Culture” bible study groups on campus, Hudgins set out to create a space open to anyone, regardless of race or ethnicity, so that everyone could feel comfortable in embracing their differences amongst their race and their spirituality. 

“We want people to know that your culture and your spirituality don’t have to be separate,” said Hudgins. “You can feel comfortable embracing your spirituality and how it’s led culturally and still feel comfortable in your skin.” 

The groundwork of Christ Culture with Hudgins, Depass and Carr came through their connection in working for the CDI. Depass expressed that he immediately knew he found a friend and mentor in Hudgins upon meeting her. 

“Cherrish is very hardworking and very driven,” said Depass. “Whatever Cherrish sets her mind to, best believe she’s going to do it.” 

For Hudgins, her faith and identity are one and the same. She explained how her faith coincided with growing up in a “Black church,” where there was a certain culture and community cultivated that couldn’t be replicated in churches under different denominations.  

Outside of the CDI and Black Campus Ministry, Hudgins also serves as the community director for Hill Hall, where she supervises the seven community assistants in the residence building and helps with programming events for the students. 

Hudgins previously served as a residence advisor at William Paterson University during her undergraduate studies, which she explained prepared her for the role of CD at Hill Hall. 

Hudgins found her own mentor in Associate Director of Annual Giving Tamica Lloyd, who shared her experience in watching Hudgins grow as a person and worker. Being a Christmas baby, Hudgins’ “positive, infectious energy” could be felt by Lloyd from the jump. 

Since their first meeting, Lloyd explained how Hudgins has taught her about life just as much as she has taught Hudgins, specifically in Hudgins’ ability to deal with people in a respectable manner as a leader. 

“What I love about [Hudgins] is that you can have a conversation with her and you can both feel differently about a topic and can both still express yourselves,” said Lloyd. 

Lloyd also conveyed her admiration for Hudgins’ ability and determination to break the stereotype of “laziness,” as she calls it, placed on people of color. She champions Hudgins as someone who draws people in and leads her community by example. 

“Every time you showcase a Black woman doing good, then that person becomes a positive model for everyone,” said Lloyd. 

Hudgins is determined to be just that: “a positive model.” She explained the importance in making sure people of color are prepared to face the outside world when they graduate college and enter spaces that may not want to see a person of color in a leadership role. 

“It’s very important that student leaders, not just Black leaders, are prepared to take a stand once they leave Rider and while they are still at Rider,” said Hudgins. “They have to be ready to become inclusive leaders themselves.” 

This article is part of the Shining Light on Black Excellence series by The Rider News to showcase impactful Black figures on campus in honor of Black History Month.