Honorable Mention Winner
Kelly Browning
University of South Florida
Graduate Student in Criminology
3.94 GPA

You won’t ever catch criminology graduate student Kelly Browning, 31, jay-walking near the University of South Florida campus—unless she’s in hurry to get to work at her own consulting company, volunteer at the Juvenile Detention Center, or attend a conference to lobby for increased financial aid for graduate students.

As president of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization (GPSO), Browning ensures that graduate students are eligible for need-based grant money. “Graduate students at USF pay more than $1 million yearly in financial aid fees to support need-based grants, for which they weren’t even eligible to apply until now,” she says. Browning also has made an impact on graduate student travel to professional conferences through lobbying for a 55 percent increase in money to support such programs.

During her presidency, Browning implemented monthly graduate luncheons with the president, provost, and dean of graduate studies, and gained university approval to offer a university-wide graduate student orientation, a program that was never before available. She also organized the first statewide Graduate Student Organization conference.

This past fall, Browning founded and became co-president of the Criminology Graduate Student Organization (CGSO). Through this group she promoted educational workshops and organized colloquiums on subjects such as the death penalty, corporate crime, qualitative research, and terrorism. In addition, Browning helped create a Criminology Graduate Student Passport, a tool used to welcome students to the department and to inform students about ID cards, parking on campus, community activities, and available fellowships. “Kelly’s most striking quality is her ability to lead,” says Rod Hale of the multicultural graduate programs. “She is adept at gaining consensus and creating alliances.”

In the community, Browning actively participates in Humanists of Florida, a group that promotes and protects the human and civil rights of citizens. She’s currently one of the vice presidential nominees.

Outside of school, Browning works hard as the owner of her self-named consulting company, Browning Consulting. Her company designs, implements, and evaluates research studies for federal, state, and local agencies. Other jobs she’s held include working as a graduate teaching assistant at USF and as a graduate research assistant for the University of Central Florida. Browning also worked as a research consultant for several companies including the Serenity House, the National Center for Forensic Science, the House Next Door, and the Mental Health Association.

Browning volunteers her time at the juvenile detention center to teach basic parenting skills. She also volunteers at the Suicide Prevention Coalition.

Browning funds her education mostly through her job as a researcher and as a graduate assistant, supplemented by financial aid. –EG

Contact Browning at kbrowning@grad.usf.edu.