KSC students elect the new voices of the student body
Julie Conlon
Equinox Staff
Keene State College Student Body President Colin Daly will pass the torch to current Vice President Katelyn Williams for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year. With confidence, Daly anticipates that student government’s executive boards under Williams’ leadership will thrive under the new administration.
“I look forward to see how student government really takes a new role next year,” Daly said. “Some of the leadership is the same as it’s been in the past, and I think that’s good to have some of that carry over, but at the same time, we have people coming in that are new.”
Katelyn Williams
Student Body President
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“She’s a very solid, very strong, hard worker,” Daly said of rising Student Body President Katelyn Williams.
Williams, a psychology major, who served as a sophomore class representative and most recently as student body vice president, is currently a Resident Assistant in Carle Hall. Originally from Windham, N.H., Williams spends her free time running, reading, and staying involved on and off campus. Of her time served on Student Government, Williams said her greatest memories have come from the daily interactions she has with students, faculty, and administration. Williams credited her Executive Board and other members for previous accomplishments and said, “I don’t think of myself as an independent in making an accomplishment, it’s more of a team.”
She continued, “I think this organization has grown a lot in advocating for the students’ wants and needs.” The vice president spoke with confidence regarding her interaction with KSC’s changing administration in the upcoming academic year when, as a senior, Williams will serve as student body president.
Williams stated, “I think because we’re going to be in a transition phase they’re going to be looking for the student voice. They’re very supportive of the student voice. I hope to be able to represent the students and the students’ wants and needs.”
Williams will be working alongside newly-elected Vice President sophomore Kelly Welch—a partnership Daly showed great optimism towards.
Daly said, “I think that they’ll work well as a team. They really take the students’ perspectives into account. They want to be able to voice the opinions of the students.” Looking ahead, Williams concluded, “I’m really interested in what members of the general student body want. I’m just one person– what do other people want to see improved on this campus? I want members of this student body to know it is possible to make a difference.”
Kelly Welch
Vice President
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Kelly Welch, a KSC freshman and current vice president of the 2015 class, loves swimming in Lake Winnipesauke, eating chicken parmesan, and most of all, her cat Marty. “I miss him,” the rising Vice President said. “I love spending time with him.” The freshman from Gilford, N.H. stays involved on campus with SAC, Circle K, the KSC Math Club, and the Honors Program. “I definitely knew I wanted to be involved coming here,” the freshman said. “I want to be the voice of the student body, I want to bring everyone closer together. I love being involved and helping others.”
Katelyn Williams, KSC’s newly elected student body president, said she knew Welch would be her vice president just weeks after she met her.
Williams said, “I think I pushed it for her–it’s a step she needs to take. What I don’t have she has. She brings the bubbly life, she brings happiness and positivity. We see eye to eye on a lot of things.” Welch commented, “I’m up for the challenge. This is what I want to do. I know when I show passion towards something, I definitely put a lot of energy into it.”
Daly said he remains confident Welch has enough experience for the position, although she is an underclassman. “She’s very interested in the work that she does, and you can see that she always puts her best foot forward,” Daly said.
“Even though she is young, I think that she has what it takes to really bring the position forward, especially in the next couple years. I look forward to see where she brings the college especially student government.”
Ali Hammell
Senior Class President
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Rising Keene State College Senior Class President Ali Hammell is a self-described free spirit.
“I just kind of do what’s on my mind even if it’s not socially acceptable,” Hammell said of herself. In addition to her quirky traits, Hammell said she is allergic to a wide variety of things, including bees, the sun, and toothpaste. “I guess I’m a unique person!” she said.
Hammell has been the 2013 class president since her first year at KSC. Originally from Killingworth, Conn., Hammell studies elementary and special education at KSC, with an individualized major in movement expression and mental health.
Though Hammell successfully won each class presidential race she’s entered, Hammell approached this year’s race with some trepidation. “I heard there was a basketball player running against me,” she said.
“I went all out for people to realize that I do have experience. Especially for senior year, people should pick someone with experience, not based on popularity.”
Hammell showed enthusiasm looking into her senior year as class president. “I am so excited to be president to make it my fourth year being president of the class. Senior year we will go out with a bang.”
Daly expressed confidence in Hammell’s ability to lead the senior class to a memorable senior year.
“She’s a lot of fun—she has a lot of enthusiasm. She’s very happy and she’s great with the students. She’s very friendly, very social, very outgoing . She likes to put on a lot of fun programs, and I think that going into senior year she has the experience.”
Daly continued, “Everybody wants to have a good senior year, and I think she’ll do a good job.”
Jackie Efraimson
Junior Class President
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“She has a lot of energy–She’s very charismatic and she cares about the students and she’s very social,” Daly said of 2014 Class President Jackie Efraimson.
“I’ve known her for two years, and I know that she’s very excited to take on the role as president for second year,” Daly said.
Currently a sophomore, Efraimson serves as the sophomore class president while she studies secondary education and Spanish at Keene State College.
Of her time in KSC’s Student Government, Efraimson said, “Being a part of an organization like this makes me proud. I can hopefully make a difference in the lives of the students here as a whole.”
Efraimson shared plans she already has brewing for her class in the next year like new class trips and LAX pennies. She’s even started fundraising for senior year events.
Efraimson, from Plaistow, N.H., said she has participated in student government organizations since she can remember.
“I’ve been involved since elementary school, probably,” she said. In addition to her student government responsibilities, Efraimson, a self-described lover of Taylor Swift, said she enjoys hanging out with friends and working in the Night Owl Café.
Efraimson also plays on KSC’s volleyball and basketball intramural sports teams, and has also been known to play games of hide-and-seek in Wal-Mart.
More seriously, Efraimson shared plans she has for her junior class in the upcoming year.
“I like focusing on doing things for our class and making sure we’re having a good time each year,” she said.
“I wanted to win because I love doing this. (Student Government) means a lot to me–I needed to show people that it’s important to me—that I keep representing our class.”
Chelsea Harris
Sophomore Class President
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Incoming Sophomore Class President Chelsea Harris is a self-professed lover of bugs, dance parties, and her two “extremely fat cats.”
Originally from San Diego, Calif., Harris studies health science and chemical dependency at Keene State College and spent her first year at KSC as secretary of the class of 2015.
Harris, a write-in winner, said she hesitated before taking the campaign plunge.
“At first I wasn’t going to run at all again. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this past year. Coming up to it I wasn’t sure if it was time well spent for me,” the freshman said.
She added, “But I decided I wanted to make an impact on campus, so I decided to go for it.”
Harris said she plans to host a trip for her class each semester, as well as plan more on-campus events and giveaways.
Daly noted Harris’s enthusiasm for her role as sophomore class president and mentioned that with the addition of Harris, each president role will be filled by a female student.“I know that she, like the other presidents, is very excited.”
As Harris looks ahead to the next academic year, she said she continues to keep in mind the changes in administration.
She said, “I think we’re going to have a lot of voices and options coming at us. Taking those with a grain of salt and figure out how we can improve and help from there–It’s going to be a good year.”
Daly said of the group as a whole, “All of them are very outgoing. I find it interesting that it’s all females in the president roles, which is great,” the student body president concluded, “It’s good. It will be very interesting.”
Julie Conlon can be contacted at
jconlon@keene-equinox.com