![\"Business](\"http:\/\/blogs.lib.purdue.edu\/asc\/files\/2018\/09\/bop_1977_edit_jpg.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThrough the BOP, Dr. Bell brought bright and promising students to enroll in the Krannert Business School. The initiative was started after Bell observed that Krannert and other business schools were historically lacking in diversity, which contributed to an overall lack of diversity in the profession of business.<\/p>\n
After entering the program, students like Agee received mentorship, tutoring, and a sense of family and belonging at Purdue. Kassandra entered the program in the fall of 1977 and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Purdue.<\/p>\n As a sophomore in the fall of 1978, Agee was elected Purdue’s Homecoming Queen, the first and, to date, only African American Homecoming Queen in Purdue\u2019s history. As a representative of Meredith Residence Halls, she competed against 23 other competitors to win her title.<\/p>\n When reflecting later upon the nomination and campaign experience, Kassandra remembered being told, \u201cThey\u2019ll never let you win this.\u201d But she drew upon the strength of her faith, family, friends, and dorm-mates, as well as her own tenacity.<\/p>\n She worked tirelessly on her campaign, going door-to-door, speaking with groups across campus, and hanging campaign posters.<\/p>\n She remembered, \u201cI didn\u2019t let it get to me. I never let anyone talk me down\u2026. In the end, I was able to make my family and sisterhood proud\u2026I felt like Cinderella\u2026it was all a collective effort of sisterhood, of campus-hood, of brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n After winning, Agee received local and national press, as well as campus and community wide support. Along with the many press releases, newspaper clippings, and congratulatory notes, she was invited to appear in the Rose Bowl Parade alongside the Homecoming Queens from the other Big 10 Universities. As she later said, \u201cI\u2019m a blue collar daughter but I was queen on the campus of Purdue. In sharing my story of what is possible during the most improbable and seemingly impossible time, I hope [to] inspire.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to her role as Homecoming Queen and a leader for African American students on campus, Agee was also active in extracurricular activities. She was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta freshman honor society, Purdue Pals, and the Black Voices of Inspiration Choir. Agee was also a president and founding member of Purdue’s Society of Minority Managers. She served as a social counselor for the Business Opportunity Program and was a member of the Mortar Board senior honors society.<\/p>\n Her involvement in student activities reflected her leadership role on campus, as well as her excellent academic record.<\/p>\n After graduating from the Krannert School of Management, Agee held positions at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, Exxon, Dow Chemical and Procter & Gamble.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n