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Kenneth Hooks
Kenneth Hooks

​California State University, Northridge
Ron and Mitzi Barhorst Scholar

Overcoming adversity and the challenges that come with it have been the story of my life.

Kenn​eth Perry Hooks Jr., a disabled U.S. Army veteran who fought homelessness, has overcome many obstacles. He grew up in a single-parent household that often was on the road and he attended five schools in three states before age 10. Prior to becoming a student at California State University, Northridge, he attended three community colleges over the course of 11 years.

Today, Kenneth is a junior at CSUN majoring in criminology with an emphasis in social justice and justice reform. His passion for fighting injustice led him to volunteer for an internship with Loyola Marymount Law School’s Project for the Innocent, where he interviewed witnesses and pored over case transcripts for new information that helped overturn wrongful convictions.

Kenneth volunteers at the homeless shelter where he once lived, assisting other veterans in their efforts to better themselves. He plans to use his degree and experiences to become a teacher and advocate for social justice.