Keene State College (KSC) seniors earning their degree in studio art will be getting the chance to showcase their final work at the annual Emerging Art Exhibition.

The exhibition, which consists entirely of students’ art, opened at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery on April 15. However, the opening reception took place on Friday, April 21.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

The reception gave the numerous artists an opportunity to introduce the public to their work.

A requirement for students in the studio art program is to develop this final project over the span of the his or her senior year.

The final work is then shown as part of the annual Emerging Art Exhibition.

James Mayor IV is one of the 14 students whose work will be displayed as part of the exhibition for the remainder of the school year.

Mayor IV, who had three pieces of work as part of the exhibition, said all of his work is based around honoring a friend of his, Nicholas Scott Cook, who died in Afghanistan in 2010.

Mayor IV’s work on display consisted of two sets of drypoint pieces of work as well as four monotypes titled, ‘Sacrifice.’

“I’m here as an artist to bridge a gap for civilians so they can kind of feel empathy and see where soldiers are actually coming from,” Mayor IV said.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

“I’m trying to be a voice for Nick because he’s no longer with us.”

Another student whose work was on display was Marina Wootton.

Wootton had three sets of oil on canvas paintings, titled ‘Tiger,’ ‘Elephant,’ and ‘Rhino.’

“It has to do with endangered species, specifically some of the top ones that are used predominantly for their skins or their ivory,” Wootton said.

“I didn’t really want it to be too political, I wanted to leave it up to the viewer and just show beautiful animals and how I look at them and how they make me feel.”

Wootton said she has been working on the three pieces for one semester in total.

Regardless of how long it might have taken each artist to complete their work, both Mayor IV and Wootton agreed that this type of event was significantly rewarding and important.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

“It’s an opportunity to get your art out for the first time, this is your first big show before you graduate college,” Wootton said.

“A lot of the time, artists don’t get a second chance to do this, so just to even get the opportunity to have your own show is like one in a million for a lot of people.”

Mayor IV said the exhibition provided him with an opportunity to exchange stories with viewers, and that was rewarding in itself.

“It’s been positive for me in the way that viewers have been able to share their stories with me and that I’ve been able to share his [Cook’s] story with them. So if there wasn’t that transaction of stories and everything then I feel like this would be all for not and I would just be creating work for myself,” Mayor IV said.

Several of the viewers felt similarly regarding the opportunity to view the work of the emerging artists.

Colton McCracken / Equinox Staff

Mike Mohan, who was there in support of a couple of artists, said the work that he had seen was, “very impressive.”

Mohan was there with Karen Hall, who agreed that the art was impressive.

“It looks like a large, inner-city art gallery,” Hall said.

Brendan Campbell, who was in attendance to view the wide variety of art on display, said the event is an opportunity for viewers to think deeper about what goes into the work.

“Sometimes, especially in our culture, we see a picture and we like it, but we don’t understand what went into that,” Campbell said.

“I think sometimes people have this perception that art school isn’t what normal college is, like it’s a different entity or something, so I always find this stuff amazing.”

Another KSC student in attendance was Nolan Johnson, who acknowledged the hard work of the artists.

“It must feel good for the artists that have been working so hard on this, to showcase them and feel good about the general public and classmates coming in and seeing all of their work,” Johnson said.

The Emerging Art Exhibition will be at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery until May 6.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com

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The Keene State College men’s lacrosse team topped the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons by a score of 22-3 on Saturday, April 15 to extend their win streak to five games.

The Owls were led by Rob Hart and Hunter Arnold, who each tallied three goals in the rout of the Beacons. Hart and Arnold weren’t alone, however, as 13 other Owls found their way onto the scoreboard, including Tyler Reilly who started the scoring with just over ten minutes remaining in the first quarter. KSC would go on to put up eight unanswered goals before UMass Boston got on the board.

Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor

The first Beacons goal came from Kroy Arnold, who factored into every point that UMass Boston scored on the day.

Arnold added two assists later in the game. His teammate Calvin Lee also tallied a goal and an assist, but the Beacons’ effort was no match for the Owls’ offense.

Following Arnold’s goal, the Owls went on to score four more, pushing the score to 12-1.

Just a couple minutes before halftime, UMass Boston’s Eric Wollrath got onto the board after receiving a pass from Arnold. The teams entered the half with the Owls on top 12-2.

In the third quarter, the Owls added on three more goals, one each from Jake Genest, Charles Katz and Alex Faubert. Faubert, Bobby Carey and Bryan Rotatori all scored two goals along the way.

In the fourth quarter, the Owls dominated the Beacons, scoring seven goals to UMass Boston’s one. The final goal of the game came from Carey, who was fed a pass from Curt Serafini to beat UMass Boston’s goalie, making the score 22-3.

On the back end for KSC, four players made their way into the game. Matt Howe, J.J. Tinney, Jeff Bernard and Cameron Eddy all played several minutes for the Owls, but Howe earned the win as he exited the game when the score was 8-3. He finished the day with  three shots against and one save.

Bernard and Eddy also made one save in the win.

KSC hosts Plymouth State University on Wednesday, April 19 in a Little East Conference matchup and will look to earn their sixth straight victory.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com

Keene State College (KSC) students got a chance to explore job and internship opportunities at the Your Future Fair on March 23, 2017.

The Academic and Career Advising Office put on the fair, which took place in the recreational gym of the Spaulding Gymnasium. The event hosted 110 representatives from a variety of nonprofit and for-profit companies.

Academic and Career Advisor Bev Behrmann said this was the biggest employer turnout at a fair of this kind at KSC.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

“In the fall, we do graduate schools and employers; that was bigger because we had about 40 graduate schools, but in terms of employers, this is the largest fair we’ve had,” Behrmann said.

The size of the fair seems to be growing at a fairly rapid rate, according to Behrmann. “I’ve been here five years, this is the 10th fair I’ve done and it’s grown from 47 to 112 [representatives] now,” Behrmann said.

While the number of employers represented at the event is important, perhaps more important is the number of students who attend.

Behrmann said the goal was to have over 10 percent of the student population attend, noting that it would be great to see 20 or 25 percent. Behrmann said that goal was not met.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

One of the students who attended was Matthew Liggett. Liggett, a junior, said he was there searching for a summer internship. Liggett also said that he had found a few different companies he was interested in working with and he had connected well with several of them.

There was also a variety of types of employers, which Behrmann said was a focal point and a reason the event seemed to be so successful. In regards to feedback from the students, Behrmann said it seemed to be mostly positive.

“From the students, they’re excited at the number and the variety of employers that are here for the most part,” Behrmann said. Behrmann also said that students were praising the great opportunity to interact with professionals.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

Kate Thomas, who was representing PC Connection, Inc., has worked at job fairs at KSC in the past, and said she can see the improvement in the event.  “I think a lot of the improvements that [KSC] has made as far as getting students here and traffic has been great,” Thomas said.

Jessica Weysham, who was also representing PC Connection, Inc., said the fair seemed to have more people looking for full-time positions as opposed to internships than other fairs. “

A lot of times, we get more people who are looking for internships in the fall, whereas we’re getting more people that are looking for actual positions because they’re going to graduate,” Weysham said.

While the members of PC Connection, Inc. said they’ve been experiencing having more students looking for jobs, not all companies saw it that way.

Eric Higgins, one of two representatives from Allstate Insurance, said it seemed to be a 50/50 split between students looking for jobs and those looking for internships.

Behrmann said the experience can be valuable for students either way. “What a great opportunity to go and talk to professionals, even if they’re not graduating and looking for a job, [but] just that experience of talking to employers,” Behrmann said.

Lucas Chaffee, another student attending the fair, said he understands the value of an event that gives you a chance to interact face-to-face.

“E-mails are great and everything and they help communicating with long-distance, but being in-person [and] talking directly to a person who works for the company I think is a lot better than just responding to e-mails or phone calls,” Chaffee said.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com 

Four years came and went, and Ryan Boraski has reason to be proud, according to his coach.

The senior swam in his last meet as a Keene State College (KSC) Owl over spring break, and earned All-American Honors for the seventh, eighth and ninth times in his career.

Boraski competed in the 2017 NCAA Division III National Championship meet in Shenandoah, Texas.

Boraski said he was trying to stay optimistic going into the meet, even though it was potentially one of the biggest of his career.

“I was feeling really good and really positive. A lot of confidence, so that definitely helped me out,” Boraski said.

Swimming and diving Head Coach Chris Woolridge said Boraski’s work ethic has played a huge factor in his success as an Owl. Woolridge said that when Boraski came in as a first-year, he wasn’t standing out, but he knew what he had to do.

“He made the commitment, he worked year-round, he made it a priority, sometimes at the cost of probably some friendship and some social inclusion,” Woolridge said.

“He did everything he could to make sure that this piece of what he was doing came out well.”

Woolridge also said, “He’s come a long way, due mainly to his dedication and his effort.”

Boraski’s work certainly shows in his results.

In the morning preliminary at the National Championship, Boraski broke a Keene State College record, held by him, swimming the 100 freestyle in 43.65 seconds.

Later on in the championship round, Boraski re-broke the same record from earlier in the day, swimming the event in 43.43 seconds. Boraski’s record-breaking swim earned him second place in the event, only trailing the winner by .15 seconds.

While Boraski may have been happy with the time, he wasn’t personally thrilled with his position.

“I’m definitely disappointed in getting second, you know, I didn’t come there for second,” Boraski said.

“I have an attitude of, either you win or you lose. So I’m a loser, I lost.”

Woolridge said that while Boraski’s placing may not have been what he was personally working for, there was no disappointment from a coach’s perspective.

“I don’t feel like he had let anybody down with his performance’s,” Woolridge said. “I don’t think you can look at the body of work and feel like you left much on the table.”

Woolridge also had high praise for Boraski, who knows that there won’t be a “next meet.”

“His career exemplifies everything that we’re looking for in somebody that comes in, whether they achieve the success at the level that he has or not,” Woolridge said.

While Boraski has competed in his final meet for KSC, he will still be swimming for his club team out of Medfield, Massachusetts, and he is excited for that.

“That was it, that was my last college meet, but there’s still more things to come, and that’s exciting,” Boraski said.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com

Keene State College swimmer Ryan Boraski competed at the NCAA Division III National Championship meet from March 15 to 18, 2017 in Shenandoah, Texas. Boraski, who was taking part in the final meet of his collegiate career, left quite a mark.

File Photo / Tim Smith

The senior broke a school record, previously held by himself, in the 100 freestyle. Originally, Boraski broke the record with a time of 43.65 in the preliminary round, only to break it once again in the finals with a time of 43..43. Boraski’s performance in the 100 freestyle earned him second place.

Boraski also earned third place in the 50 free as well as the 200 free, finishing the final rounds with a time of 20.01 and 1:37.10 respectively.

Boraski’s performance at the meet earned him All-American honors for the ninth time in his career.

For more about Boraski’s achievements and career, look for the March 29 edition of The Equinox.

The Keene State College Information Technology (IT) group recently announced the introduction of a new video and web conferencing tool called Zoom.

IT sent an email to the student body as well as faculty and staff on February 24, outlining the details of the new tool. The email describes Zoom as a tool that “allows video, audio, chat and screen-sharing capabilities.”

According to the email, Zoom can also be used in conjunction with Canvas in order to have online office hours, virtual class meetings or even guest speakers. Zoom also offers the ability to record sessions and post them at a later time.

Chief Information Officer of the IT group Laura Seraichick could not comment before The Equinox publication deadline.

There will be three training sessions, open to students, faculty and staff, to provide an overview of the ins and outs of the new program. The first session took place on Tuesday, March 7. The final two training sessions will take place on March 17 at 10 a.m. and March 22 at 2 p.m.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com 

With the stress of choosing a major combined with the worry of whether or not it’s the right major for you, many students turn to internships to get a better idea of what their future might look like.

On Wednesday, March 1, an Internship Showcase was held in the Putnam Science Center to give students a chance to see how internships may benefit them.

Service Learning and Internship Coordinator Karen Balnis, who is one of the people behind the Internship Showcase, said that internships can have numerous benefits to students, both toward their careers as well as their learning experiences.

Crae Messer / Managing Executive Editor

“When you’re thinking specifically about career, it gives straightforward experience, something to put on a résumé,” Balnis said.

According to Balnis, an internship that incorporates a faculty member, which requires frequent reflections, ties in your work experience with your learning experience.

The Internship Showcase, consisting of a panel as well as a poster showing and reception, lasted from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. and featured students who have completed internships in the past.

In the fall of 2016, 147 students participated in internships.

One of those students, Lexy Tiffany, worked as a Marketing Intern at The Colonial Theatre for a semester. Tiffany said her experience was one-of-a-kind.

“It was way better than taking a class,” Tiffany said. “I had so much fun.”

Tiffany said she would recommend that everyone complete an internship would even recommend multiple internships if it fits into your schedule because internships can provide so much more hands-on experience.

Another student presenting their experience, Rodney Jean-Marie, ended up traveling a bit further for his internship, but the benefits were all the same. Jean-Marie worked as a Safety Coordinator at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Crae Messer / Managing Executive Editor

“I learned a lot more during an internship than I did in the classroom, which is key,” Jean-Marie said. “I came back [to Keene State College] and was able to apply everything that I learned in that internship in the classroom.”

Jean-Marie also said the benefits of his internship weren’t just about the work he was doing.

“It was a good experience to get away from home; I had never been down south,” Jean-Marie said. “It was interesting to see the type of culture down there as well.”

Students weren’t the only ones explaining the perks of internships during the showcase, as there were professors there as well.

Associate Professor of Management at Keene State College (KSC) Linda Hadden said in her experience, most feedback she receives regarding her students in internships has been very good.

“Most of the interns that I’ve placed, it’s been a really good fit,” Hadden said.

Hadden also said that internships can have both short and long-term impacts on the students partaking in them.

“From the short term, it might help them get the first job. It can certainly help them in terms of identifying what they like and don’t like,” Hadden said. “In terms of long term, I think, once again, helping them fine tune what they want to do. And a lot of times, it gives them that experience because companies are looking for experience.”

According to Hadden, an internship can also provide students with a chance to really get a feel for the work that their potential job consists of, as opposed to reading about the responsibilities in a job description.

While gaining experience is one of the perks of completing an internship, it’s also a common concern among students, according to Balnis, but that there’s no need to worry.

“Many employers are looking to train students themselves,” Balnis said. When asked what kind of advice she would give to a student who was concerned about getting involved with an internship, Balnis said she would tell them not to worry and to dive right in and “do their best.”

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com

The Student Assembly meeting that took place on Tuesday, March 7 was headlined by a motion that will have a serious impact on student clubs and organizations.

Members of the meeting moved to freeze the creation of new student organizations for the remainder of the 2017 calendar year.

In the Student Assembly minutes, Student Assembly Secretary Kenadee Cadieux stated there are a large number of clubs that either have constitutions, don’t have updated constitutions or don’t have advisors.

The goal in freezing the creation of new clubs or organizations is to give those in charge time to collect accurate data regarding the current clubs and organizations.

This would mean that new organizations could not begin forming until January 2018, and requesting a budget soon after that.

Also discussed at the meeting was the possibility of letting graduating seniors decorate their graduation caps. This would be done in order for students to be able to express their individuality in a day where all students are dressed virtually the same.

“Since we’ve been at Keene we have been encouraged to express ourselves and find ourselves and now we can’t decorate our caps at commencement because everything needs to be the same,” said Student Body Vice President Danielle Cobleigh

In a four-day span from February 16-19, 2017, the Keene State College men’s and women’s swim and dive teams had numerous notable performances at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving (NEISDA) Championship meet. One of those performers, Ryan Boraski, even earned himself a spot in the NCAA Championship meet in Shenandoah, Texas, which begins on March 15.

Overall, the women’s team placed third and the men’s team fourth. According to collegeswimming.com, Hope Walsh held KSC’s top swim on the women’s side with a time of 5:03.06 in the 500 free. Walsh’s performance broke the Keene State College record, according to Assistant Coach Diana Pimer. Walsh also won the 1,650 with a time of 17:24.48.

Tim Smith/ Photo Editor

Walsh said her performance was the icing on the cake for her season.

“I’ve been working hard all year long,” Walsh said. “It’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

Other members of the team with notable performances included Katie Brandeberry and Sydney McGough, who both swam their way into the record book in the 50 free. Brandeberry’s time of 28.65 and McGough’s time of 28.84 were the sixth and eighth fastest times in Keene State history, respectively, according to keeneowls.com. First-year swimmer Sophie Hayes won the 200 fly with a time of 2:12.49, beating out Kylie Herman from Brandeis University by .18 seconds.

For the men, first-year swimmer Kyle Shadeck locked up the eighth best swim in the meet among men, according to collegeswimming.com, swimming the 400 IM in 4:01.76 and earning an NCAA ‘B’ cut. Shadeck, along with Ryan Boraski, Graham Lott and Eric King, earned the top spot in the 400 free relay, finishing in a time of 3:08.32.

On the men’s side, Boraski held four of the top five swims at the meet, according to collegeswimming.com. Boraski’s two best performances occurred in the 100 free (44.10) and the 200 free (1:40.89). Boraski broke KSC, facility and competition records throughout the meet.

Boraski was contacted for comment, but did not answer before The Equinox’s publication deadline.

Frank Poulin / Contributing Photo

Diver Jake Driscoll also earned a win in the three-meter-dive with a score of 368.70. Driscoll, a sophomore from Marblehead, Massachusetts, is the only diver on the men’s team. Head Dive Coach Patrick Pyrch said he has high hopes for Driscoll moving forward.

“He is capable of a lot more. He did qualify once for the NCAA qualifying meet. I think that’s probably a goal well-set right off the bat for next year for him to qualify,” Pyrch said. Divers need to qualify twice for them make it to the NCAA championship meet. In order to qualify for the three-meter-dive, a diver would need to receive a score of 440 or more in 11 dives. Driscoll received 368.70 points, just shy of the required score.

The members of the KSC swim and dive team who did qualify for the NCAA championship meet, will compete in Shenandoah, Texas beginning on March 15. In an e-mail, Pimer described the meet in Texas as, “the biggest meet of the year.”

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com

Alyssa Salerno can be contacted at asalerno@kscequinox.com

If you thought ten was the end for the Keene State College women’s swim and dive team, guess again.

For the eleventh year in a row, the Owls took home the Little East Conference (LEC) championship on Saturday, February 4.

The team racked up 557 points, the sixth highest total by a champion in the history of the LEC championship meet. The Owls were led by dominant performances all around and a record-breaking day from junior captain Hope Walsh.

Adam Sopris/ LEC contributing photo

Walsh said that the eleventh straight championship was just as exciting as any of the others.

“It’s a huge accomplishment. Really it’s kind of ridiculous that we’ve held this for eleven years straight,” Walsh said.

When asked how it felt to finish her senior year as a winner, senior captain Gabrielle Brzozowski said, “I started on the top, I wanted to go out on top.“

Brzozowski was spreading the praise all around, giving credit to her teammates for their work ethic and energy going into the meet.

“The girls really stepped up their game and proved to the other teams that we’re number one,” Brzozowski said.

Head Coach Chris Woolridge said he wasn’t surprised his team came away with the victory.

“I think the way the program’s been built, that we’re always going to have a good chance to win that meet,” Woolridge said. Woolridge also added that the entire team put in the effort required, including first-year’s.

“We had a couple of [first-year’s] step up and win events, which was huge. They had a fair amount of pressure on them, they weren’t seeded first and for them to come through and take those events is really good,” Woolridge said. Among the first-years who won events were Olivia Pechulis and Sydney McGough.

Walsh had a record-breaking performance at the championship meet, shattering three LEC records as well as one KSC record.

“I wasn’t that nervous, surprisingly, I’ve been to LEC’s before so I knew what to expect.” Walsh said. “My whole team was there supporting me and the coaches were freaking out…I felt on top of the world.”

Brzozowski expressed her amazement of Walsh’s performance, saying “she’s a monster. That’s what she is.”

Woolridge added how essential it was for Walsh to perform the way she did.

Tim Smith/ Photo Editor

“Hope did unbelievable and she’s been killing it and working her butt off, so I wasn’t surprised to see it, but I was very happy to see it come together like that, because that doesn’t always happen,” Woolridge said.

When asked about the team’s future, Brzozowski expressed her confidence in the program.

“Everybody’s individual preference for how they stay in shape in the offseason is different,” Brzozowski said, “but once you get back in that pool in August, my expectations are you get in there, you work hard and you swim like Keene State does.”

Walsh also added that, with one year left, she’s anticipating another successful year for her team.

“I know that the twelfth is going to go just as well,” Walsh said, adding that she has no doubt in her mind that the Owls will get the twelfth championship.

Both Walsh and Brzozowski agreed that the incoming swimmers will play a big role in the team’s future success. Walsh said that the incoming swimmers are, “going to learn quickly what this team does and how we work and that we expect to be the best.”

Woolridge also said that it’s a little early to tell, but that he thinks the team has, “definite potential to pull in a very good class this year.”

Brzozowski said that the pressure will be growing as the years go on.

“Next year, there will be pressure. I think as you get higher up (winning more consecutive championships), the pressure’s actually going to build, because people are going to be like, ‘When do you fall?’ Hopefully never,” Brzozowski said.

Brzozowski said that this year starts a whole new trend for the team and that, moving forward, she’s hopeful that the dominance will continue.

“Coming into the eleventh year, we’re starting the trek to 20…and we had to go in with that mindset that we’re now paving the way to create another decade of this dominance over the LEC because we don’t plan on stopping,” Brzozowski said.

Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com