Runako Campbell is a member of the Class of 2021 from Lawrenceville, Georgia. She is ecstatic to be a part of the African-American Studies concentration and was immediately drawn to the department’s incredible professors and courses. Runako is pursuing a certificate in Dance and considers the art form to be a huge part of her life and identity. She intends to focus her academic studies in the dance realm. She is curious about the historical and current black dancing body, body memory, embodied knowledge, dance as activism, and arts inequity.

On campus, Runako has served as Artistic Director of the widely acclaimed DiSiac Dance Company and is also a member of Princeton University Ballet, Questbridge Scholars Network, and Princeton Association for Black Women. She works as a Welcome Desk Attendant at Frist Campus Center, a Movement Research Assistant for Dance Department Director Susan Marshall, and as an Associate Strategy Analyst for More Canvas Consulting, an arts consulting firm founded by a Princeton alumna. Runako is very active in the Lewis Center for the Arts as a Peer Arts Advisor and a consistent performer in Senior Dance Theses productions. Runako is a recipient of the Outstanding Freshman in the Dance Program Award and the Alex Adam ‘07 Award, which grants three undergraduate students $7,500 to pursue summer projects that result in the creation of an original work of art. Runako used the award to travel throughout Europe and participate in world-renowned summer dance programs, and she was fortunate to work with black dance icons Kyle Abraham and Micaela Taylor, among others.

After graduation, Runako aims to become a professional dance artist in an internationally-touring contemporary dance company, an arts educator, a creative director/choreographer, and a writer. She also intends to work for a national arts organization and eventually attend law school.