She Dared To Dream, To Stand Up, And Now Non-traditional Student Rae Ells' Goal Is In Sight
Meet Rachel Ells ’24. And please, call her Rae.
She is a non-traditional student at Keene State College. A survivor. A fighter. A woman who has been thrown her share of life’s curve balls, some with unkind intentions … or so it feels.
But through it all, she has kept her hope intact and her dream in sight.
Now 29 years old, Rae is looking one way — forward, with chin up, a college degree and career in sight, and her past less an obstacle than a period of character-building and a source of motivation.
“For the past 10 years, I have worked to become a physical education teacher,” Rae says, exuberantly. “I’ll never give up. I will be that teacher!”
Rae walked with the Class of 2024 at Commencement in May but will earn her bachelor’s degree in physical education in the fall after completing her student-teaching requirement.
Setbacks that delayed her degree completion include estrangement from her biological family, search for community, financial struggles, and a work-life-education mix that seemed perpetually out of balance.
Toss in life’s normal anxieties, and … well, one can imagine.
I am determined to have a better life and share my love and care with those closest to me. I want to be a source of knowledge and support and help the students I will teach to shine.”
– Rae Ells
Keene State is among colleges and universities increasing their focus on helping nontraditional students like Rae, some of whom work, have children, served in the military, or have other priorities. They have little daylight in their busy schedules and need to catch up on basic courses.
Before Keene State, Rae studied at the College at Brockport SUNY and two community colleges, including River Valley, where she earned an associate’s degree in childhood education.
She made Dean’s List in the two semesters she spent at Brockport, but the cost proved prohibitive.
While enrolled at River Valley, Rae was an assistant preschool teacher in the local Head Start program. She began her time at Keene State as an elementary education major but quickly discovered that major was not stoking her true passion.
So, she shifted again to her first love, teaching physical education. She found support in the college’s Aspire program, which offers a suite of academic support services designed to assist students and help them flourish. Study nights, peer tutoring, time management, and study skills development are examples of Aspire programs.
It’s been full speed ahead since.
Resiliency is a trait that has served Rae well, says Adam Keese, an advisor in the college’s TRIO program, which funds Aspire.
“Rae is driven, ambitious, and creates opportunities wherever she goes. And now, as she finishes her time here, the fire to be successful is strong. Rae is a great example of a successful non-traditional student who pushed through and found success on her terms.”
TRIO is federally funded through a grant competition among institutions of higher education to increase retention and graduation rates of its participants, like Rae.
Rae said her journey would be far different Without the guidance and counsel of caring Aspire staff.
From Springfield, Vermont, Rae is president of Wise Owls, Keene State’s student-run club for non-traditional enrollees, of which there were 145 in the fall of 2023-24, and 91 in the spring. Keene State touts 54 active groups on campus that engage more than 900 students combined.
Wise Owl members shined in the classroom last year. Its members had a collective GPA of 3.6 for the fall semester and 3.61 for the spring semester. Nine students achieved a 4.0 GPA for both semesters.
Rae knocked it out of the park herself with GPAs of 3.83 and 4.0, respectively, while carrying an ambitious course load, earning nearly 200 credits.
Baking, hiking, working out, exploring state parks, and anything to do with being outdoors are among her favorite hobbies.
Life, she maintains, is about moving on. The split with her family, sad and at times still raw, was also liberating. “I lost my family that day and gained my freedom. I am around people who love me for who I am and want to see me evolve.”
She is a product of the circumstances and people in her life from whom she has drawn inspiration, including her grandfather, Raymond Ells, who worked for Pan American World Airways, better known as Pan Am when it was in business for much of the 20th century. He was a component inspector. He loved airplanes, and he loved his job.
“He never worked a day in his life, that’s how he felt,” Rae says. “That’s what I want, to love what I do so much it doesn’t feel like work. I watched my parents work every day and barely get by. I knew I wanted so much more and could be so much more.
“I am determined to have a better life and share my love and care with those closest to me. I want to be a source of knowledge and support and help the students I will teach to shine.”
Says Fitni Destani, a professor of human performance and movement science at Keene State: “Rae rolls up her sleeves, digs in, and challenges herself daily with a never-quit mindset visible to her peers and professors. Her greatest trait may not be her superior work ethic but her resilience built from her life experiences and incredible empathy. … As a non-traditional student, Rae notices and helps her peers. She will give them a pat on the back, a pep talk, or challenge them to take the opportunity in front of them seriously. We will miss her, but the school and community children she works for next will be better for having her.”
For those who may be in the shoes she once walked in, whose doubts or challenges cloud the possibility of imagining something more, Rae says this:
“Follow your dream no matter how long it takes. You don’t have to do it all in one shot, nor do you have to be on one path continuously. Listen to yourself: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Lean on others but never be afraid to stand on your feet because you are stronger than you believe.”
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