Name: Dominique Kelly
Year: Junior
Major: Criminology and Psychology with a minor in Sociology
Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Her Campus (HC): What are your career aspirations?
Dominique Kelly (DK): I want to go to law school. Princeton, hopefully. I might take a year off and try out for the Olympics though. We’ll see how that goes.
HC: The Olympics? Wow, so I’m assuming you played sports in high school then?
DK: Yes. I played basketball and ran cross country, as well as track and field.
HC: Can you talk about your involvement on campus?
DK: Freshman year, the very first organization I became involved with was Spirit Force, which is geared toward planning homecoming. We got to do some behind the scenes stuff, and basically help out wherever we could. That led me to joining Lady Spirithunters, which was really fun, and a great opportunity to meet a lot of different women. That’s where I realized that everyone knew everyone; we all had a lot of the same friends. Sophomore year, I was involved with The Big Event and yet again everyone knew everyone! It’s amazing how your social circles start to overlap when you get involved, which automatically makes the campus seem a lot smaller. After that, I was recruited into Alpha Omicron Pi, and got the chance to live with more than 200 or so girls on campus.
Last spring, I interviewed for Relay for Life. I originally didn’t get the position I wanted, but I was contacted by someone on the executive committee and was told there was an opening for Advocacy Chair. At the time, I didn’t even know what that was! I did some research and found out the position involved lobbying for the American Cancer Society, so after a week of thinking about it, I decided to take the offer. It actually turned out to be a great position because of my aspirations of wanting to attend law school. I interact with legislators and politicians, but I also get to raise awareness for different types of cancer during the months to which they’re attributed. For example, this month is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, so I’m in charge of educating people on how to be aware about lung cancer and the things they can do to help. This semester, I interviewed for Dance Marathon. I will be a marathon captain in the spring for the event. They are sort of the “guest services” for DM. I also just interviewed to be a recruiter for Panhellenic Intake in the spring, so I am excited for that possibility as well.
HC: Wow, you are definitely busy! How do you find the time to balance everything? What is your secret?
DK: Well there really is no secret, but my calendar is always full. When people see it they’re always scared, but it’s color-coded! I make a lot of to-do lists for each day or week to make sure I remember everything, and I never make any plans when I don’t have my agenda. If I don’t write it down, it’s not happening! After interviews, everyone always asks, “How do you have the time?” but honestly, I wouldn’t be interviewing or researching these positions if I thought I wouldn’t be able to commit to them. And then I do have time for myself, to recuperate and relax. To some it may seem like I’m overworking myself, but I’m really not.
HC: You definitely have time management down pat, which is great in college! What has been your biggest takeaway from having a chance to be involved in so many aspects of campus?
DK: Absolutely being able to make the friends that I have, and the networking. One thing leads to another, and we can all help each other out and share our experiences. When I arrived at FSU, I got involved immediately, and that’s what made me love FSU so much. I’ve met so many people, and I just try to lend a helping hand wherever I can. Community service is my thing. When I leave college, I’ll have a lot of leadership experience that I probably wouldn’t have if I didn’t join so many organizations. I can also speak in front of tons of people, which I couldn’t do in high school. It sounds cliché, leaving my legacy and upholding the Garnet and Gold and everything, but that’s really it! I want to be able to say that after four years, I made a difference on this campus.
HC: What is your advice for Collegiettes who may be afraid of branching out on campus at FSU, or don’t know where to start to find their niche?
DK: Honestly, I checked my FSU email and saw something about homecoming, Googled it, and filled out the application, because I’d done homecoming in high school. If you’ve ever done something in high school, chances are it’s here at FSU, just on a bigger scale. Also, the Peer Involvement Mentors are a big part of finding out what to do on campus. They helped me out freshman year. I was literally given a list of places and things to do on campus. I even got involved with Garnet and Gold goes Green for a little bit during freshman year, because of Peer Involvement Mentors. So, I would definitely encourage utilizing that resource. The people there are great about matching you up with something you have a passion for. Also, talk to the person next to you in class. Chances are, they’re probably involved in something. Panhellenic recruitment is another great way to get involved, if you want to try to go through that process. Outside of Greek life, the involvement fair happens once each semester, I believe. That’s another great way to see all of the different organizations Florida State offers.
HC: Okay last question, you spoke a little bit about leaving your legacy at FSU. What do you want your legacy to be at Florida State, and what do you hope people say about you after you leave?
DK: I don’t know. They’ll probably say I’m crazy for doing all of these things! Hopefully people will say, “She was cool. She encouraged me to do this, so you should try it out too!” I really try to encourage people to get involved whenever I have the chance. I want to pass the torch, and of course, uphold the garnet and gold.