Meet Kalie Hoover, a senior at IUP. Kalie chose IUP because it was close to where she grew up and they have one of the best safety science programs in the country. She also loved the Oak Grove and the atmosphere on campus the very first time she visited.
When Kalie isn’t in class, she’s staying busy with her extracurricular activities. She is one of the editors for Her Campus, as well as the Secretary, IUP’s National Residence Hall Honorary’s (NRHH) Chapter Representative, and is involved in Ladies of Safety, Diversity Peer Educators, and works for the Haven Project.
As for her view on these organizations, Kalie says, “All of these organizations are very important to me and are all organizations that I’d highly recommend joining. NRHH is a service and recognition-based leadership organization that only accepts the top 1% of leaders from campus, and it’s special because not many organizations focus on recognition as well as leadership. It’s a chance to grow and develop your leadership skills while also helping others around you. Ladies of Safety is an organization within my department that’s incredibly important for women in our field. Our field is very male-dominated, and it can be really hard socially and academically succeeding. Our organization does service projects and helps the women in our department know each other better, as well as provide education for women going into the workforce. Diversity Peer Educators is an organization that I have just recently become a part of, but I am confident that I will learn more about the injustices of the world and how to address them. The Haven Project is a department on campus that I volunteered for last year and I was hired this year. We educate our students on topics such as sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, healthy relationships, and consent. It’s very important that we educate the students of our campus about these topics, especially in this political climate.”
Even though Kalie only has one semester left, she still has plans for her time remaining at IUP. She is looking forward to getting an internship offer, participating in Take Back the Night, and getting to walk across the stage at graduation.
Kalie’s favorite memory at IUP was during the spring semester of 2018. “The weather was incredibly beautiful and was really the first warm day we had after winter. The Oak Grove was packed, there were chalk drawings all over the sidewalks, and the organization I was a part of were giving out ice-pops. It was such a good day, and it’s always the first thing I think of when I think about the days I’ll miss when I graduate.”
Kalie believes she has grown as an individual from her time at IUP. She used to be very shy when she was in high school, but now she is the complete opposite. She said, “I have truly come into my own, and college has definitely done that for me.”
One thing that gets Kalie through tough days is knowing that it has to get better at some point. She also finds that talking to people who love and support her is very helpful.
Kalie’s favorite quote is, “You can’t skip chapters, that’s not how life works. You have to read every line, meet every character. You will read things you don’t want to read and things you never want to stop reading. Stories keep the world revolving. Live yours, don’t miss out” (Courtney Peppernell).
(All photos via Kalie Hoover)