A New Beginning And The Right College Allowed Fiona Acton To 'Reset,' Shape A Brighter Future
Fiona Acton’s story is as much about what she overcame as it is about success.
Education was never easy for the first dozen years she attended school.
Doors felt closed, doubt and insecurity clouded self-belief, and the notion of going to college was never entertained.
“In high school, I was a good person, but academically I had a lot of faults,” the Keene State senior and senior class vice president says. “I was very unmotivated. I didn’t have an adviser; I felt like I was on my own, and school was stigmatizing for other reasons.
“When I got here, it felt from the beginning like starting my life over and resetting with a clean slate.”
As an Owl, Fiona sees every door as open, offering a new opportunity, and every opportunity a chance to seize the bright future she now imagines. It includes the possibility of graduate studies, beginning a career in social services, or enlisting in the Coast Guard, which she has long contemplated and considers a “real option.”
I was very unmotivated (in high school). I didn’t have an adviser; I felt like I was on my own, and school was stigmatizing for other reasons. When I got here, it felt from the beginning like starting my life over and resetting with a clean slate.”
– Fiona Acton
Her new circumstances and disposition are less a twist of fate than products of place, connection, and that “reset,” which she’s using to write her script.
The Mahopac, New York, native is speeding toward a degree in sociology with a specialization in social work and minoring in psychology, addictions, and criminal justice studies.
What does a semester courseload for a sociology major with three minors look like? Her courses this semester are Addiction and Behavior Change; Counseling and Education Skills; Critical Issues in Addiction; Fundamentals of Alcohol and Other Drugs; and Women, Gender, and Society.
Her favorite course of the dozens she has taken at Keene State?
That would be ceramics.
“It gave me a chance to try something outside of my usual academics, and it was a great way to alleviate stress. It was also just a very calming environment.”
Fiona also volunteers as a grant assistant for the college’s Sexual Violence Prevention Team, part of the Title IX Office.
Fiona will forever recall, and lean on, her “incredible” internship this summer at the Putnam County Mental Health, Social Services, and Youth Bureau in her home state. The real-life, hands-on experience included engaging in patient outreach, visiting shelters, collecting and collating data, helping to organize events, and supporting other initiatives “to make Putnam County welcoming and supportive for individuals facing mental health challenges.”
Her work hit squarely at the intersection of her fields of study. One frontline moment was a chance to shadow an attorney during a family court case. The experience changed her life perspective.
“In the case, there was a baby in the courtroom … a baby. It was really sad,” Fiona said. “Helping families and children at that kind of critical time … that’s something I want to do, and I know now more than ever that’s a population I want to help.”
Fiona found Keene State, N.H.’s public liberal arts college, on a whim. Her father, Peter, a lifelong firefighter from the Bronx, N.Y., settled in New Hampshire after retiring. She gained the same appreciation for the “state’s “natural beauty” as her father during visits to see him.
“Then,” she said, “I began Googling schools in the state. In the end, Keene State checked all the boxes. The connection to campus and the city was obvious and the relationships and connections I made with professors and everyone who supported me were immediate.”
She’s been a Dean’s List student since her first semester, despite her multiple areas of study, ambitious course load, and student involvement. As vice president for the Class of 2025, she has helped effect meaningful change on campus over the past three years. Fiona describes herself as “authentic and good-spirited,” and attributes much of her student growth to the college’s inclusive and supportive environment, academic and otherwise.
College has been a 360-degree flip from high school for Fiona, who is grateful to have found her second chance.
“I don’t want to live every day the same,” Fiona said. “I enjoy staying active — physically and intellectually — and I want to have options. I brought a sense of curiosity to Keene State,” Fiona said, “and I will leave confident and feeling accomplished.”
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