A few weeks ago, the campus was buzzing with a rumor that had spread quickly across campus; Keene State College had been recently noted by the Huffington Post as one of the most “socially awkward colleges” in the U.S.
When I heard this, I thought to myself how little sense this made. I have never felt the slightest bit awkward here at Keene, and have felt accepted from the minute I got here.
Eventually I got tired of the rumors and decided to go right to the source and find out what the deal was.
The article from the Huffington Post basically collected the list of colleges from the website “Inside Colleges,” which is a college search/research tool online.
The list included 46 colleges total, and ended up being quite the opposite of what I had been hearing the list was. The list was in fact, not about which schools had the most socially awkward students, but was instead about which colleges were the most open and welcoming to all different kinds of students, including the “socially awkward.”
Upon reading that, the article seemed to make a lot more sense. Keene is one of the most welcoming and accepting communities I have ever been a part of in my entire life so far.
There are people here with all types of interests, skills, abilities, and aspirations.
No matter where you go on campus, there is someone who is willing to stop and talk, about anything and everything.
I literally mean everything by that. In just a day of walking around and listening to conversations around campus I heard people talking about skateboarding, musicals, the upcoming play, and friends from home with whom two people were mutually friends.
This is just a small slice of what one can experience by going around and talking to people that you see every day, or that you have never seen before.
Another reason Keene is so good for people who aren’t as outwardly social is the sheer amount of opportunities to get involved, even as a first semester freshman. No matter where your interests lie, if you look hard enough on campus there is likely a club, team, or organization that could be perfect for you.
Most everything on campus is open to people with no experience in an area, which can also set you up for great opportunities in the future.
From a personal example, I had never seriously written for a newspaper before joining The Equinox staff, nor did I have any clue about anything regarding radio broadcasting before I started doing a show on WKNH, the college’s radio station.
Dave Padrazo can be contacted at
dpadrazo@ksc.mailcrusier.com