The Undergraduate Student Government Vice President Derek Moore is the first Black vice president in USG since 1983. Credit: Courtesy of Derek Moore
As a first-generation college student coming from a low-income family, Derek Moore wasn’t sure he would ever attend college. Now, Moore serves as the first Black vice president in Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government since Eric Seabrook in 1983.
Without financial stability from two unemployed parents, Moore, a fourth-year in information systems, said in an email he was unable to attend college right out of high school. Remembering this as the most challenging time of his life, Moore took the year after high school to save up for college, eventually enrolling in Purdue University.
“When it was time to move to college (Purdue), my parents still could not financially support me nor had the money to travel with me for my move,” Moore said. “So, there I was, with my 62-year-old grandmother in a mini-van packed with my childhood bedroom, driving across state lines to start my first year in college.”
Moore said he was able to maintain good grades and participate in extracurriculars, but he was forced to drop out of Purdue because he could not afford to return. Taking another eight months to save up, Moore worked hard to re-enroll in college, this time at Ohio State.
“He has always went above and beyond to achieve his goals. He inspires me by his work ethic when it comes to how hard he works to make positive changes in the lives of the people he comes in touch with,” Antoinette O’Larry, Moore’s mom, said in an email.
O’Larry said Moore has exhibited the skills of a leader since he was “a young child.”
“I knew this kid was going somewhere because he would often dress in business suits and carry a briefcase. His mindset was always advanced for a child his age, he loved to lead the pack,” O’Larry said.
During his first few weeks at Ohio State, Moore said he got involved with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion with former Associate Vice-Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Jacquelyn Meshelemiah, researching the university’s history and relationship with marginalized communities.
“I discovered a 2018 Lantern article outlining the experiences of Black men at Ohio State, and I remember I felt like my heart dropped when I read it,” Moore said.
Through his research, Moore said he discovered Ohio State had only accepted 129 Black men out of 7,136, and the GPA averages were alarmingly low in 2017.
“I thought to myself, how will I do this? I felt like I was standing amid an infinite wall of barriers,” Moore said. “Change needed to happen on campus. I didn’t know if I would be the person to do it or if I even could do it, but eventually, I knew I had to try.”
Moore said in his junior year during the 2022 election, he was appointed USG vice president after the elected vice president stepped down, making him the first Black student since 1983 to hold the title. Blindsided by the role he was about to take on, Moore wasted no time jumping into action.
“The role was one of the hardest things I’ve done,” Moore said. “Within my first weeks, I spent over 55 hours a week developing the overall strategy for the organization and building our team. But in the end, it was completely worth it. One of the most rewarding experiences I could ever ask for.”
As a Black student, Moore said he uses his leadership position to combat the feeling of being an outsider on a college campus for other students of color who may be feeling the same way.
“I never felt truly comfortable on any college campus. To exist on most college campuses means to exist within an institution that was never designed for you in the first place,” Moore said. “Identifying this as a root cause of my discomfort opened my eyes to the many other communities that were initially excluded, and it truly shaped my lens in building a more inclusive campus for everyone.”
Moore serves with USG President Andrew Pierce, making the executive branch entirely made of Black students.
As vice president, Moore said he has served on the Diversity and Inclusion Board for the Ohio Union Activities Board, where he researches how to better connect the organization with underrepresented groups on campus. He also serves on multiple university committees including the Framework 3.0 Committee where he works to provide more inclusive planning for students with disabilities, additional affinity spaces like an LGBTQ+ center and the Hale Hall revamp.
Selena Chen, USG’s senior director of communication and a third-year in marketing, said in an email Moore is “like a machine that never stops running.”
“I have never seen anyone more hardworking than him. Even more, he never boasts about his achievements and always acknowledges the contributions of others,” Chen said.
Before he served his term, Moore held the position of vice chair of policy for the undergraduate Black Caucus as the first Black man in the role. During this time, Moore said he and his team held a forum where Black students’ could voice challenges and propose ideas for university support.
“From these forums, I learned many of the pain points that students brought up were the cost of transportation as a commuter student. That is what inspired my participation in creating the free Airport Shuttle to and from campus,” Moore said.
The free airport shuttle ran during the winter break of 2022 and helped to eliminate thousands of dollars worth of Uber fees for students. The airport shuttle will be running again for the upcoming spring break.
Moore said he plans to leave a lasting impact and inspire Black students at Ohio State.
“As I come to the end of my term, my message to Black students on campus who feel like they are standing amid a wall of infinite barriers; you are,” Moore said. “The historical and current exclusion of the Black identity presents an unforeseen strength; the resilience to face a wall of infinite barriers and be the first to knock them down every time, and that is Black History.”
