Cathy (now known as Kate) Sterling served as the first female student body president at North Carolina State University, 1970-1971. She conducted a successful write-in campaign with a platform that focused on students’ rights and the administration’s use of student fees. In the Spring of 1970, Sterling married Gene Messick, a graduate of the School (now College) of Design at NC State and director of the multimedia program at Stewart Theatre. Soon after, Messick accepted a teaching position at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and Sterling moved to Ithaca to join him after the conclusion of her term as Student Body President. However, Sterling remained active in NC State’s Student Government activities throughout the 1971-1972 academic year. Sterling later returned to NC State, where she graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in vocational industrial education.
From the guide to the Cathy Sterling Papers, Bulk, 1970-1972, 1966-1999, (Special Collections Research Center)
