Vice President for Student Affairs Kemal Atkins stated in a July 10, 2014 announcement that KSC student Molly McNeil Dowd had died in a swimming accident.
Dowd, 24, was an education major at KSC. Dowd commuted to Keene State from her home in Brattleboro, Verm. KSC sophomore Jessica Boushie, met Dowd in an astronomy class they both attended. Boushie remembered Dowd as an outgoing and adventurous person.
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“She was always the first to try something. She was really big on adventures,” Boushie said. Boushie recalled, “We went to a concert performance at the end of the Spring semester. While we were waiting we stopped and went on hike to collect rocks.” Dowd was naturally curious, according to Boushie. “Sometimes we would stay after with our astronomy professor. She was really into it, she would always ask questions,” Boushie said.
Boushie also stated that Dowd aspired to open an outdoor learning center. Boushie explained, “It was not going to be a big school. It was going to be a place for children to learn about the outdoors.” According to Boushie, Dowd was an avid gardener. Boushie stated, “There was an elderly center she would garden at.”
Dowd worked in Brattleboro, Verm. as the Garden Coordinator at the Green Street School, a kindergarten through sixth grade school. The accident occurred July 6 in the Deerfield River, according to Bob Audette of the Brattleboro Reformer.
David Walsh can be contacted at dwalsh@keene-equinox.com
