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¡Hola! Me llamo Kristen Kessell, y me gradué de ACHS en el año 2003.
Alright, that’s enough Spanish for now. . .
For those of you who do not understand a word of Spanish, I’m Kristen Kessell and I graduated from ACHS in 2003. I was involved in Color Guard during all four of my years in high school. I am so grateful for the opportunities and experiences that I was exposed to during my years in the ACHS color guard, and I have carried my guard memories with me for the past two and a half years. The friends that I made during color guard continue to be some of my closest friends – Shout out to the Selected Seven! Noreen and Darlene were able to provide me with the guidance and leadership that I continue to value to this day. I was not the easiest person to deal with for a while, but they remained in my life and refused to give up on me. When others talk about the extra curricular activities that they participated in during high school, they refer to the skills and friends that resulted. In my case, I am not only grateful for the skills that I gained and the friends that I made, but I am also grateful for the leadership skills that I developed, the responsibility that I earned, the feeling of accomplishment, and the amazing “family” in which I took part.
Currently, I am a third year student at Illinois State University. I have maintained a high GPA in order to keep the four year scholarship that I earned at the beginning of my college experience. Even though I did not have the slightest clue of what I wanted to major in for the first few years, I am now decided upon a double major in business and Spanish. I am looking forward to finishing college and entering into the restaurant business in management or ownership. For all of you that are starting to think about college, I have a few pieces of advice.
1. Don’t stress out about choosing a major right away. Believe me, I know. As you take your general education classes, you’ll begin to realize what is important to you. And . . . you’ll probably change your mind a few times more anyway.
2. Have fun, but don’t forget why you are in college—to learn! Take the experience for all that it’s worth, but learn to balance a social life with school.
3. Meet new people, while remembering the important people that are already in your life.
4. Remember past mistakes, and learn from them. Alright, well that is enough for now. Feel free to e-mail me if you would like to ask any questions, or just would like to talk. knkesse@ilstu.edu
A little side note—I was a part of the Big Red Marching Machine—the ISU Marching Band and Color Guard—for one year. It was amazing, but time consuming. I loved being involved in color guard, but I decided to focus on other activities last year. If anyone is looking at applying to Illinois State and possibly trying out for the color guard here, I can share some first hand experience with you.
Good luck with the Beatles show this year! Love every minute of it! And don’t forget to SMILE! (or Noreen will not hesitate to put Vaseline on your teeth!)
Peace out A-town!
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