Know an alum who has given incredible amounts of time and talent to support KSC? Or a recent grad who deserves recognition for their career or civic accomplishments? The KSC Alumni Association is proud to honor our amazing graduates and is now accepting applications for the following awards:
Check the awards pages for more information and a nomination form, and submit your nomination by February 15. The Alumni Association will present its awards at its Annual Luncheon, June 5, 2010.
If you’ve got a favorite professor – you know, the one who helped shape your life – nominate him or her for the 2010 Distinguished Teacher Award. The deadline for Distinguished Teacher nominations is April 17.
You’re always welcome on campus, and never more so than during Reunion, when we really roll out the red carpet and do our best to host a great party. Reunion this year is June 4, 5, and 6, so mark your calendar and start making plans!
Is your class celebrating its 10th, 25th, or 50th reunion? Your classmates are likely planning special gatherings and dinners to celebrate. Relive the good old days by booking a room in one of our classic dorms like Huntress or Fiske, or experience a couple of nights in our new dorms by booking a spot in one of the Pondside III suites.
Keep checking the Reunion webpage for updated info and online registration. And be sure to block the first weekend in June 2010 as “Save for Keene”!
From the time she was in grade school, Harriet Richardson Ames knew she wanted to teach. Through the grace and generosity of the local women’s club, the Barnstead Parade, N.H., native got the money to attend her first year at Keene Normal School. She earned her two-year teaching certificate in 1931 and went off to pursue her dream, eventually landing a position she loved as a teaching principal at the Memorial School in Pittsfield, NH. She taught first grade there for over 20 years until she began to lose her eyesight to cataracts, which forced her to retire in 1971.
Throughout her teaching career, Harriet continued to take classes at UNH, Plymouth State College, and Keene State College to improve herself professionally. She always wanted a B.Ed., and asked during one of her last classes at KSC what she would need to do to complete her degree. The College told her that she just needed to take one course in public speaking. “I was already going around talking to panels; the ladies’ circles had me come, the Rotary had me come – I was already doing public speaking,” Harriet recalled in a interview Film Professor Larry Benaquist recorded when she was 98. Though she wanted to complete that last course, her eyesight was already failing, and she realized she’d have to retire, so she never took that last step.
“She was such a lovely person,” Dr. Benaquist said, “and a beloved teacher. She had a bureau full of letters and testimonies from her former students.”
When Harried celebrated her 100th birthday on January 2, 2010, Norma Walker ’51 visited her to deliver a certificate from KSC President Helen Giles-Gee honoring Harriet’s centenarian status. Harriet’s health was failing, and she was under Hospice care. Norma mentioned that the KSC Advancement Office had recently come across Harriet’s course records and was working to see if the College could award her a B.Ed. “Harriet was so moved that she started to cry,” Norma said. “She asked me if I would read the diploma at her funeral if she didn’t live long enough to accept it herself.”
However, the wheels were turning. Word of Harriet’s dying wish reached President Giles-Gee, who requested that the offices of the provost and registrar act quickly to see if Harriet had done the work to earn the degree. After a flurry of calls to the institutions where she had taken courses to verify her credits and professional experience, Keene State determined that, yes, Harriet Richardson Ames had indeed completed the requirements for a Bachelor of Education, and the degree was granted. This was not an honorary degree; Harriet was reviewed through the same process every KSC student goes through – the College made no special exceptions for her, save speeding up the verification process. Norma; Sean Gillery ’89, from the Development Office; and Kay MacLean, from the Alumni & Parent Relations Office, drove the document to Harriet’s bedside on Friday, January 22. Harriet died the next day.
Norma recalled that, during one of her earlier visits, “Harriet said she was perturbed with God because he wouldn’t take her when she wanted to go.” Fortunately, Harriet held on long enough to learn that she’d been granted her dying wish.
Her memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday Feb. 9, at Havenwood in Concord, N.H. (33 Christian Ave., phone: 603-224-5363).
If you remember Harriet, please leave us a comment about her.
In this video, recorded by Larry Benaquist and edited by Kevin Sweet, Harriet explains why she never took the last step to finish her degree.
The dust has settled, the votes have been counted, and the 2003–04 Owl men’s basketball team has been selected as KSC’s Team of the Decade. This team, which captured the program’s first Little East Conference championship and advanced to the “Elite Eight” of the NCAA tournament, received 207 first-place votes in the Athletic Department’s online poll.
The 2008–09 men’s swim team, which placed third in the ECAC Division III championship and won a first-ever NEISDA title, took second place in the poll, and the NEISDA and LEC champion 2008–09 women’s swim team came in third.
Were you an athlete on one of these outstanding teams? Were you a fan? Use the “comments” link below to give us your opinion.
The New Hampshire Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (NEAHPERD), has named Andy Bohannon ’94 Outstanding Recreational Professional of the Year for his efforts in promoting healthy living and reducing childhood obesity in the Monadnock Region. Andy is the director of Parks, Recreation, and Cemeteries for the City of Keene; a member of Advocates for Healthy Youth; and an organizer of the CATCH Kids’ Club, an after-school program at the Keene Recreation Center that encourages kids to exercise and eat healthy foods. Due to Andy’s success with the CATCH Club, the program is being implemented in 57 other New Hampshire locations.
Keene State College will be commemorating its 40th year of sponsoring women’s basketball on Saturday, January 23, at Spaulding Gym, when the Owls host the Beacons of UMass-Boston.
If you were a former women’s player or coach, or if you contributed to the program’s growth in any way, KSC extends you a special invitation to attend. Players and coaches will be introduced at halftime of the women’s game and are invited to a post-game social at the Night Owl Café.
Saturday, January 23, 2010 Women: Keene State vs. UMass-Boston, 1 p.m.
(Former players and coaches will be recognized at halftime. )
Men: Keene State vs. UMass-Boston, 3 p.m.
(Players- and coaches-only reception at halftime. )
Post-Game Reception from 5–7 p.m. in the Night Owl Café (Young Student Center)
Brent Elwell , Keene native and huge KSC sports fan, died Tuesday morning, January 5, from heart failure after a life-long battle with cancer. He was 33.
Diagnosed with leukemia and heart problems when he was 3 years old, Brent stopped growing at 4’9″, due to the radiation treatments he received. But that sure never stopped his growing involvement with KSC sports. That was his passion, and any fan who attended any Owl athletic event was likely to see Brent, helping out somewhere on the sidelines.
Besides working and volunteering regularly over the years at KSC sporting events, Brent worked in various positions on campus, from helping in the mailroom 15 years ago to his most recent job in the bookstore.
Calling hours will be from 4–7 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, at the Fletcher Funeral Home (33 Marlboro St.), and the funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the United Church of Christ (23 Central Square), followed by a reception in the church parlor.
If you knew Brent, please use the “comments” link below to tell us about your experience.
As a leader of the new wave of contemporary klezmer, David Krakauer and his Acoustic Klezmer Project will hit the Redfern stage on Wednesday, January 27. The New York Times notes that the band “hurls the tradition of klezmer music into the rock era,” forging a unique new sound from the genres of world music and jazz, rock, funk, and hip-hop. The music is firmly rooted in traditional klezmer, while at the same time appealing to today’s rock and world music enthusiasts. Krakauer will also conduct a lecture demonstration on the history of klezmer and its influences on American music at 2 p.m. at the Redfern.
Tickets for the evening performance are available at the Redfern box office, 603-358-2168, where you can also view video clips from the season’s Visiting Artists repertoire.
Brent Elwell , Keene native and huge KSC sports fan, died Tuesday morning, January 5, from heart failure after a life-long battle with cancer. He was 33.
