Keene State College students are resilient.
Keene State College Director of admissions, Peggy Richmond, talked about how proud of the student body she was, returning with strength and resilience.
“We bragged about our students all summer,” Richmond said.
Richmond talked about how enrollment declined lower than projected, even with the pandemic being a factor. Richmond said many students could not meet the financial requirements, had underlying health issues, or they were scared to attend college. However, Richmond holds out hope for the spring of 2021 and the fall of 2021.
“We are working with students very closely for spring admission. Our goal is to see a higher enrollment in spring and our numbers for fall 2021 are fantastic,” said Richmond.
Richmond’s biggest comment was directed toward the community to discuss the positive impacts the students have had like wearing masks, even in small groups, being extra careful and respectful in large crowds, as well as working hard to do what we can to stay here.
“I think that every choice our students make has value. You are persevering and it shows that our community is safe and everyone notices our students. Students don’t see or understand the positive impact they have on the community,” Richmond said.
Keene State College first-year Mallory Warner said that she still chose to attend college because she fell in love with the community.
“I came to Keene State because it felt like home. It was the first place I never felt judged. I didn’t even apply anywhere else,” Warner said.
Warner also talks about how happy and fun the campus is and how it still feels like home, even though she is not getting the full college experience. She said she is happy to be on campus.
“What I like most is the people! I’m a huge extrovert and love talking to people and everyone here is so nice! Even with social distancing rules, everyone is trying so hard to make friends and I really really love the community,” Warner said.
When Warner was asked to comment on staff calling students ‘resilient’, she agreed.
“I do think we’re resilient, I just don’t think it’s only students. Everybody during this time is struggling, it’s not just the students. I honestly think everybody deserves credit for doing and making this community function during this time,” said Warner.
Keene State College Alumni Charles Richwine echoed Warner’s sentiments and stated, “I visited KSC on a fifth-grade field trip and thought it was the coolest place. From that day on, I only wanted to go to KSC. As a student at KSC from 1996 to 2000, I loved that the class body was never too big and still wasn’t too small. You could get personal attention from professors that you couldn’t get from a major university.”
When asked how he thinks students’ on-campus experiences might differ from his, especially with the current pandemic, Richwine said that COVID-19 is taking away from the full college experience.
“I think every student is faced with a double-edged sword. If you are only doing classes remotely, there are so many things everyone will be missing out on. Even having everyone back on campus, they are still not having the full experience that college provides,” said Richwine.
Abigail Lashway can be contacted at
alashway@kscequinox.com
