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Hornbuckle relishes winning election
Sean Hornbuckle, MarshallÕs new student body president, in the student government office on March 31, 2009.
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HUNTINGTON -- Sean Hornbuckle was raised in such a way that nothing was out of reach if you worked hard enough to achieve it.
That's how Marshall's next student body president and Huntington native won Marshall University's student body election in March, despite not formally announcing his campaign until right before the filing deadline.
"I never thought about losing," said Hornbuckle, who grew up on Doulton Avenue.
But on election night, he still couldn't believe it when former student body president Dominique Elmore announced the vote tallies.
"That feeling, once I heard ... I was like, 'Are you serious? We just won,' " he said. "You also go through the feeling of 'Here comes the hard work.' "
Hornbuckle, 23, already knows about hard work. He is the father of 20-month-old Tristan Hornbuckle, whom he is raising with his girlfriend, Claire Snyder. He's also finishing his second year of graduate school, as he's pursuing an MBA.
His parents and teachers have pushed him toward success since he was young. He attended Spring Hill Elementary, Cammack Middle School and graduated from Huntington High in 2003. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management and marketing in 2007.
"My parents always made sure my sister and I did the right thing," he said. "They always pushed us for higher goals. They are very instrumental in me getting to this point."
His dad, Moses, passed away about three years ago, but Hornbuckle knows what he would have said on election night.
"My dad would have been, 'I told you you'd win.' A lot of what my dad did is in me," he said. He was able to talk to his mom, Patricia, who told him how proud she was.
Hornbuckle characterizes his rise in student government as unexpected. He and a classmate at Huntington High ran for president and vice president. They lost, but he really didn't see it as the start to something bigger.
"In college, I wasn't interested in it," he said.
Then Elmore, also a Huntington native and long-time friend of Hornbuckle, came along during his senior year. She asked him to be on her vice presidential staff. Then, when he decided to return to Marshall for graduate school, Elmore made him chief of staff during her term of student body president.
Then came this year's student body president, Matt James. Hornbuckle said James called him and offered him the running mate position.
It also was James who saw the potential in Hornbuckle as president.
"I can't thank Matt enough," he said. "He's a great friend and teammate. He told me last year, 'You have the qualities to become president.' "
But he was behind a bit for this year's election. Tim Ward and Randy Tomblin announced their intentions last fall. Tomblin even asked Hornbuckle to be on his staff. During Christmas break, a conversation with James pointed him toward making it official in February, asking Lashawna Sampson to be his running mate.
He also said he's put together a great staff that will help him achieve his goals for the upcoming year.
"The ultimate goal is for our students to have the most beneficial all-around collegiate experience while working to become a better person in life after school; with that in my mind I will go above and beyond to make sure they exceed society's expectation," Hornbuckle wrote in a bio for The Herald-Dispatch.
The election of Barack Obama as the nation's first black president also makes his own victory more important, though he is not the first black student to hold the office at Marshall.
"The significance is greater now," he said. "Me becoming president this year makes it sweeter. (Obama's November election) didn't make me say yes or no, but it impacted my journey."
With all that's happened in his young life, Hornbuckle still points back to Doulton Avenue. He relishes in being from Huntington and accomplishing so many goals as a student at Marshall University. And it's that attitude that he said will carry him as student body president.
"At the end of the day, it's not about the title," he said. "It's the work you put in."
An inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Friday, April 24.
