Growing up, Kelly Noll was convinced that she wanted to attend a college that had a large population of students, but later discovered that attending a small school was the best decision she could have ever made.
“I was raised in a large suburban town in Somerset County, New Jersey. With a graduating class of over 700 students, it was easy for me to just blend into the background in high school, and I wanted to go to a big university far away so I could do the same in college. However, my mom really encouraged me to look at smaller colleges closer to home, and I’m so glad that she did! TCNJ’s great academic reputation, small class sizes, and New Jersey location made it the best choice for me. It wasn’t what I originally had in mind, but now I wouldn’t wish for it to have turned out any other way!”
Her impact on TCNJ has been astounding, though she believes that the impact TCNJ has had on her is even greater. Kelly is an English major with minors in creative writing and marketing, she also has a liberal learning concentration in Classical and Early Modern British literary studies. On top of all of that, she is also extremely involved in on campus organizations.
“From my freshman year at TCNJ, I’ve tried to be involved in as many clubs as I thought I could handle. I’ve been loyal members of four different literary-based student organizations: ink, TCNJ’s creative writing organization; The Lion’s Eye, TCNJ’s literary magazine; The Order of the Nose-Biting Teacups, TCNJ’s Harry Potter club; and the Alpha Epsilon Alpha chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honors Society.”
Kelly credits her extracurricular involvement for expanding her horizons, and pushing her out of her comfort zone.
“In addition to allowing me to make friends with extremely kind and talented people, these clubs have provided me with amazing opportunities to celebrate and appreciate literature as well as to showcase my own creative work. As a freshman I never would’ve imagined myself as a leader, but these clubs and the wonderful people in them have pushed me to grow and encouraged me to face fears and challenges. This year I’m very excited to serve as the president of Ink, the executive editor of The Lion’s Eye, and secretary for The Order of the Nose-Biting Teacups!”
Because of her love of literature, Kelly hopes to work in trade publishing and sites her internship with Bedford, Freeman, and Worth High School Publishers as the stepping stone to a career in that field. Her admiration for books also led her to study abroad in London last year.
“Growing up, books were always extremely important to me, and after awhile I started to notice that my favorite stories always seemed to be written by British authors. Once I decided to study English in college, it just seemed to make sense to try to study in the place where all of these great authors came from. In my freshman year, I made a last-minute decision to join a faculty-led study abroad course during winter break, where I got to study Shakespeare and other British dramas in London and in Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon. It was an unforgettable experience and once I had a taste of it, I knew I needed to study abroad again. During the spring semester of my junior year, I went on an exchange to the University of Nottingham. Not only did I get to study British history and literature from a British perspective for an entire semester, but I also got the chance to travel all across Europe! I would encourage anyone to study abroad who has the chance!”
Kelly’s internship, study abroad trip to London, and overall college experience have only furthered her passion for storytelling.
“More than anything else, I’m passionate about stories and storytelling. Besides the obvious reading and writing – I’m an English major, after all, and these two things are a huge part of my life – I really love travel photography as an artistic form of storytelling. Travel photos in particular have so many interesting memories behind them, not only from the photographer’s personal trip but the history of the location as well. I inherited my interest in travel photography from my dad, and I’m currently working on a project that combines his photos with my poetry!”
As Kelly enters her senior year, she reflects on her experience at TCNJ. She is confident that TCNJ has given her too many wonderful memories to choose just one as her greatest experience. She is incredibly grateful for TCNJ and the people who have helped shape her into the person that she is today.
“I’ve had so many rewarding experiences at TCNJ that it’s impossible to pick just one. This school has given so much to me and I’m incredibly grateful. Because of TCNJ, I’ve had the opportunity to do things I never would’ve pictured myself doing in high school: I read my poetry to an audience of family, friends, and professors in the library auditorium; I celebrated winning the house cup with my fellow Ravenclaws in Harry Potter Club; I had a discussion on moral issues with prison inmates in my very first semester; I formatted an entire literary magazine of talented student submissions for The Lion’s Eye; I travelled to seven different European countries during my study abroad experiences; I got my very first internship opportunity in the publishing industry; I raised funds for the Harry Potter Alliance, Relay for Life, and other charities; I listened to established writers read their creative work on campus; and so, so much more!”
Most important to Kelly, however, is the people she has encountered during her time at TCNJ.
“During my time at TCNJ, I feel like I’ve grown a lot personally as well as academically. My values and judgments once hinged upon intelligence and professional experience, but my time at TCNJ has opened my eyes to so many new perspectives. Rather than having it as an afterthought, I now value kindness above everything else. The way I’ve been treated at TCNJ – by the professors, by my fellow students, by the secretaries, by the dining staff – has always been from a kindness-first approach, which has made a huge difference to me and greatly affected my college experience. The people at TCNJ are some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and I try to learn from their examples every day. While I’m still a proud Ravenclaw, TCNJ has taught me to appreciate the Hufflepuff side of life!”
It’s safe to say that Kelly has left her mark on TCNJ and will continue to do so in her last year on campus!