Golden Niner Win Wraps Moore’s UNC Charlotte Tenure in a Bow
By Wyatt Crosher, Assistant Director of Communications for Student Affairs
It’s been a long journey for Kenan Moore, a senior marketing major in the UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business with a minor in Africana studies, who graduates this December. But before it even began, Moore first had to decide if he wanted to follow the path that was paved by his sister the year prior to his arrival.
“My older sister went here from 2016-19, and I didn’t want to follow in my sister’s footsteps,” Moore said. “But I had a lot of friends going here. I like to do business entertainment stuff, and Charlotte is a great place to really get my market.”
So Moore ultimately decided on Charlotte. After years of getting involved in a variety of areas on campus, Moore was named the third-ever Golden Niner this past October during halftime of the Charlotte 49ers’ football game against Navy.
The Golden Niner meant a lot to Moore, who could only compare the feeling to a team winning a title.
“It felt like a national championship. You just finally get to complete the story,” Moore said. “I've put hard work in here at UNC Charlotte. Really being able to put a bow on top of it is everything.”
Moore’s journey at Charlotte started on a computer screen.
Because of COVID-19, Moore was remote for the entirety of his freshman year, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact. The all-virtual schedule got Moore into a rhythm, but he said that, eventually, it was up to him to find a way to participate in various groups on campus.
“I knew that even though I was virtual, I still wanted to really get involved because you make the college experience, the college experience doesn't make you,” Moore said. “I remember one day I kind of just was like, I have to get involved.”
In that first year, Moore joined Students Achieving First-Year Excellence (SAFE) and the University Transition Opportunities Program (UTOP). He was also a part of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) and the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS).
That snowballed into an action-packed sophomore year, this time on campus. Moore joined the Black Student Union and the Flag Football Club, and was elected as a senator for the Student Government Association (SGA). He also became a member of the Zeta Delta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated. Moore ultimately became vice president, and is currently the president for the chapter.
But Moore’s sophomore year was highlighted by his creation of the Black Organization Alliance Board (BOAB), which he said started with the intention of aligning the Black organizations on campus.
“I saw that the black population here was a bit split because the Black Student Union and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) had meetings at the exact same time, but in two different locations. So you would see a lot of people either going to one meeting or the other,” Moore said. “I really wanted to make sure that our Black students here were able to be involved in everything that they wanted to.”
The BOAB has now branched out into doing more, including workshops, social events, academic study groups and community service projects, according to the group’s Niner Engage. By the time Moore was a junior, it had won two awards at Charlotte’s Student Organizations Showcase: Best New Organization of the Year and Most Outstanding Online Presence.
This led into Moore’s senior year, where he was chosen to be in the Niner 9 after two previously failed efforts.
“I didn't really know how competitive it was,” Moore said. “I tried my sophomore year and didn't get into it. Tried my junior year, but didn’t get it. So by my senior year, I felt like I really had a good all-around résumé. I felt like this was my year, this was my chance.”
Moore said he enjoyed meeting the other Niner 9 members, visiting various tailgates and getting to watch the second quarter of the Charlotte football game on the field prior to the Golden Niner announcement.
Then, Moore heard his name. Even though he felt he had a good chance at winning, Moore was surprised when his name was actually called.
“I felt like I had a good chance to win, but obviously you're sitting on a court of eight other great people here at UNC Charlotte, so you really don't know,” Moore said. “So hearing my name just shocked me. It really gave me a whole lot of self love and appreciation.”
Moore hopes to win Fraternity and Best Organization of the Year awards, and hopes to earn the Bonnie Cone award for himself. He also seeks to lock down a job post-graduation, and has plans to launch his own company within the fashion and entertainment industries.
Moore’s advice to incoming students is to get involved any way they can.
“My advice is to soak it up,” Moore said. “UNC Charlotte is such a big pool, and there are a whole lot of different opportunities, it’s definitely for anybody here. It's a very nice, open, diverse, inclusive space. So really just jump in there, do everything you would like and don't be afraid to try anything.”