Rosemary Kent ’21
“With a major like English, you don’t really know what’s going to happen after graduation. It’s not quite a planned-out track, like the BSP or HSP, but I think it’s really important to do what you like. My goal is not to make as much money as possible, just to be happy.”
-Rosemary Kent, Humans of Hanover in 2018
Now a double major in English and philosophy, Rosemary Kent ’21 still agrees with her former self that it’s way more important to do what you like than to be motivated by money. From Oldham County, Ky., she was hesitant to attend Hanover and follow in her parents’ footsteps. However, after a visit to Hanover, Kent had the right feeling. She loves the small class sizes, the friendly people, the hiking trails, and the overall atmosphere of the campus.
On a typical day, you can find her “surrounded by the people I love, challenging myself, laughing and smiling just because, practicing mindfulness, and learning. A lot of times, my happiest moments occur in my day-to-day life.” Kent also loves to read, hang out with her housemates (animal and human alike), listen to music and take walks and bike rides around campus.
“What keeps me at Hanover is the people and the sense of belonging I feel here. The faculty members I have met and taken classes with have been so accommodating and supportive, and I have learned so much from them that I will carry on into the rest of my life. I love the liberal arts tradition because it pushes people out of their comfort zones and gives students opportunities to learn about things they never even knew they would be interested in. In his famous poem “Song of Myself,” Walt Whitman says, ‘I am large, I contain multitudes.’ This is the case for everyone, but so often we try to reduce ourselves to one specialized thing,” Kent says.
“At Hanover, I never felt the pressure to limit my interests, but rather the encouragement to embrace all sorts of different experiences, ideas, and perspectives. I love the eclectic groups of people I see when I walk around campus on a beautiful day and thinking about the tangled web of relations that unites us all within the community.”
Kent has taken on many opportunities while a student at Hanover. She has worked a variety of different jobs: in the Withrow Activities Center (WAC), as a Student Ambassador with the Office of Admission, briefly as a photographer for the Office of Communications and Marketing (OCM), as a Peer Mentor and Peer Advisor, and as a Gladish Learning Center tutor and lead tutor. In terms of campus involvement, she has been active with the Green Panthers, the Campus Activities Board (CAB), the Red Cross Panthers, and the Philosophy Club. As a first-year student, she volunteered as the campus Blood Drive Coordinator for the Red Cross after the staff member holding the title relocated to a different job. Kent has also been enrolled in the Concert Choir and the Private Voice Program for the past four years. She also won the 2021 Distinguished Award in Philosophy and the 2021 Senior Royalty title. Her experiences have kept her heart tied to Hanover.
“There are so many people on campus who inspire and motivate me. I could provide a list several pages long of professors, students, and staff, but the person who I strive to emulate the most is my philosophy advisor, Dr. Kate Johnson. Aside from being hilarious, compassionate, strong, and uplifting, Dr. Johnson is one of the most amazing professors I have ever had the privilege of taking classes from. The structure of her classes holds students accountable for their reading and participation, but not in a frightening or high-stakes way. She is incredibly gifted at guiding discussion in the direction of the reading while still allowing for a natural divergence. I left every single class having learned and retained something and having at least one laugh in the process. The things I learned from her are things that I will continue to think about for the rest of my life.”
After graduation, Kent will be venturing to North Carolina, where she will be working as part of the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program. WWOOF is a work exchange program, where individuals work and live on an organic farm and learn about farming practices and sustainability.
Kent will then return to Louisville where she would like to find a sustainable farm to work on in the area. She says, “I am also interested in community gardening and community-supported agriculture (CSA). I will then be applying to several environmental Ph.D. and master’s programs in Michigan, Colorado and Oregon, [but] I am very happy to start my independent life and explore my interests without the pressure of school for a little bit.”
