Kenneth Anthony Simmons Jr. is a member of the Class of 2027 from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is majoring in African American Studies with a concentration in the Race and Public Policy track, and is also pursuing a minor in Visual Arts, focusing primarily on analog medium-format photography. A transfer student and U.S. Army veteran, Kenny served fourteen years as a Special Operations Medic and laboratory technician before coming to Princeton. His decision to major in African American Studies was inspired by a desire to continue serving marginalized communities through advocacy, art, and ultimately law—his goal being to attend law school after graduation.
Kenny’s academic journey includes conducting epigenetics research at Yale School of Medicine as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REVU) program in 2023. In the summer of 2025, he will participate in a Princeton-sponsored global seminar in Bangalore, India. He is currently a board member for Princeton's Progressive Law Society (PPLS) to help prepare him for the future while making an immediate impact within the Princeton student community. His research interests within AAS center around the intersection of race, health, and policy—particularly exploring how systemic issues such as food deserts and targeted policies affect Black and Brown communities. He is deeply curious about the ways technology, healthcare, and law can intersect to provide solutions to these longstanding issues.
Kenny’s passion for storytelling extends into his artistic practice. Drawing inspiration from collaborative works like those of Langston Hughes and Roy DeCarava, he is committed to documenting the Black experience through both written and visual mediums. His work seeks to merge advocacy with art, capturing narratives of resilience, identity, and justice.
Outside the classroom, Kenny is the proud dog dad to two mini Goldendoodles, Cali and Cloud. He hopes to continue developing projects that blend his lived experiences, academic interests, and creative practice into meaningful contributions to the department and beyond.