This note from Joe Bannon ’87, who lives now in Davenport, Iowa, is another great illustration of the connections KSC folks feel towards their alma mater and their fellow alums:
“The other morning I got up and started my daily routine, which includes reading the paper before coming to work. On the front page of the Quad City Times was an article about an AmeriCorps group helping with a local nature preserve. I know the fellow who runs the preserve, Brian Ritter, because he sits on the advisory board for a preserve my company owns and that I oversee.
“As I read the article, I nearly jumped out of my chair when it noted that one volunteer, Kristina Hawes ’10, is a KSC grad! I called Brian and heard him call out, ‘Hey Kristina, wanna talk to another KSC grad?’ I offered to meet her and /or the group over lunch, but yesterday was their last day and they were heading home. Ms. Hawes and I talked for a bit and shared how much KSC meant to us. Living in Iowa it can be hard to feel connected as an alum, but this brief conversation re-energized my feelings about KSC.”
I love stories like this! It is always those small connections that make a huge difference and create a great network for Keene State.
A quick sidebar to this….I ran into Brian at a meeting and he mentioned he spent a few days in Keene this fall investigating a PhD program at Antioch. He thought the town was beautiful and I told him, if everything else was equal, Keene was worth serious consideration.