Name: Jane Kenney
Year: Junior
Hometown: Southington, CT
Major: English
Campus Involvements: SHU Love Choir Social Events Chair, SHU Choir Council Co-Recruitment Chair, To Write Love On Her Arms Treasurer, Relay for Life
How do you balance all of your leadership roles and extracurricular activities on top of already having to complete all of your academic work?
I make a lot of to-do lists and try to be as organized as possible. I plan to complete certain assignments on certain days, so then I can balance my other priorities for E-Boards and still have some free time for myself/friends!
What is your favorite part of being a Pioneer?
My favorite part about being a Pioneer is the fact that there are endless amounts of opportunities available. While it all looks good on a resume, it is even more rewarding to me to be involved in organizations that mean so much to me.
What exactly is your role in the choir program here at SHU?
On the big Choir Council Executive Board, I am the Co-Recruitment Chair and in SHU Love, one of the select choirs, I am the Social Events Chair. As the Co-Recruitment Chair, it is my job (alongside other co-chair, Matthew Sigler) to recruit potential new students to sign up to audition/be apart of the Choir Program when they arrive as freshmen. As the Social Events Chair in SHU Love, it is my job to create fun social events and gatherings for the ladies of SHU Love. The Choir Program at SHU has become a home for me, so it is extremely fulfilling for me to be able to give back to the program.
What is your favorite part about being involved in To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA)?
To Write Love on Her Arms is an incredible organization dedicated to finding help for those struggling with mental illness. Being someone who has struggled with mental illness, it makes me happy to be able to come together with the club members every other Tuesday night and be able to connect in a happy, safe place. It is not every day you can come across a group of loving, accepting individuals and, through this club, I have found some of my lifelong friends.
Jane, second from left, and the TWLOHA Executive Board.
What made you want to join Relay for Life?
I actually didn’t join a Relay for Life team until sophomore year, but cancer has affected my life since I was young. I haven’t struggled with it personally, but I have lost some close friends and family members to the disease. As I grew older, I realized how widespread cancer is and how easily it can take someone’s life away, and that made me want to be part of the organization to fight back.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I plan on continuing on to graduate school for my master’s in journalism. I aspire to be an editor/writer for the news, while still doing singing on the side, of course.