Finding a Niche at Keene State

You never know when that moment will come – the time you go from the sidelines into the game and find you not only have what it takes to do the job, but the ability to take a leadership role. For William Holden, that moment came the fall semester of his sophomore year at Keene State, while he was walking down Appian Way during the Student Involvement Fair.

“Someone with the Alternative Break Program asked me if I wanted to go on a trip to Panama,” Holden recalled. Interested in traveling, he not only went on the culturally eye-opening trip, but retuned to campus ready to explore the vast opportunities that are available at the College. “The trip inspired me to get involved at Keene State,” he said. “When I came back, I just jumped right in.”

Instead of a sophomore slump, Holden, an environmental studies major from Lunenburg, MA, embarked on an amazing sophomore sojourn that’s continued into his senior year at Keene State—a trip that has taken him from the campus athletics fields to the Dominican Republic.

Holden began videotaping varsity games for the College’s Sports Information Office and soon thereafter proposed and created a club soccer program, enabling former high school players like him to continue playing the sport. The best part of the program? “Just seeing students happy to be a part of something,” he said. “Building something from the ground up has been an amazing experience.”

But Holden was just getting started. That same year, he helped start the Keene State chapter of the Sigma Pi fraternity, which has an international service program. Holden, who serves as the fraternity’s community service coordinator, says he’s proud not only of the fraternity’s work in the area, but of the high academic standing of its members.

As a junior, Holden was one of just two students who were selected to serve on Keene State’s Strategic Planning Council, charged with coordinating the formation of a plan to steer the College for the next 10 years. Holden said he learned about the complexity that goes into running a school and the need to keep different stakeholders in mind. “It was awesome to play a role in the future of the College,” he said.

Holden is also a member of STAT—Students Today/ Alumni Tomorrow—a club that focuses on building school pride and preparing students for the professional workplace while connecting with alumni. Last semester, Holden helped to host a 6–26 workshop that brought six alumni under the age of 26 back to campus. The panelists covered many relevant topics, including their experience transitioning out of college and dealing with school debt.

Holden, an avid outdoorsman, has also continued his passion for travel at Keene State. Last winter, he led an Alternative Break trip to the Dominican Republic, where he and a group of students helped mold sustainable water filters and distribute them to local communities and families. This year, in conjunction with his major, he will lead a spring break environmental justice trip to Kentucky to help replant mountains whose terrain has been eroded due to the removal of coal.

Holden said he grew into his leadership role. “I’ve always been more on the quiet side and I figured a good way to get away from that is to just confront it and become a leader by putting myself in the position,” he said. “I never thought I’d be a leader entering college, but now I feel good and happy about it.”

Jessica Gagne Cloutier, coordinator of community service at Keene State, says that Holden is a quiet but effective leader. “Will is real subtle on how he does things,” she said. “We jokingly say that, every time Will opens his mouth to say something, your eyes get big and your jaw drops open because he’ll say something you never thought of. He’s very perceptive, and when he shares he does so in a really meaningful and thoughtful way. It’s been fun to see him grow from someone who didn’t talk to someone who has found all these outlets to speak and make a difference and an impact at KSC.”

“I had a narrow mindset at first. I just figured I’d go through college the normal way. But then I realized there is so much more to take advantage of,” added Holden, who would like to join AmeriCorps when he graduates as well as travel and work on environmental projects. “I realized that time is valuable. These are four very important years, so I want to do as much as possible during that time.”