Diamond in the rough:

"I am a strong black woman, I don't take crap, I admit when I am wrong, and I know when I am right!" said this issue's diamond in the rough, Nicole Kedaroe. Standing at only 5' 1", Kedaroe is a senior getting ready to graduate with a bright future planned out for her; but we'll get to that later. Kedaroe doesn't just sit around her Lakeview townhouse all day, but is busy all day, every day, with various clubs she is involved in around campus. When asked to list everything she does on campus, Kedaroe laughed and said "oookay...let's see," and out came her laundry list of activities. She is the President of SISTUHS, a senior area Community Assistant, an active member of the diversity committee for Residential Life and the campus unity committee, as well as an active member of the theater and dance department, a member of Alpha Chi National Honor Society and Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society, she is a note taker, and works at the information desk. "If I have free time, I wonder if I am supposed to be somewhere and I have forgotten," laughs Kedaroe. Everyone has some sort of planner to keep track of their activities, right? Well, Kedaroe has a different way of making sure she is on track. "I do not even rely on my date book anymore; I set reminders and alarms in my cell phone. I usually have a set schedule for most of my priorities because they tend to stay the same," she said. Waking up at 8 a.m. almost every day, Kedaroe said that on a good day, she is able to get to sleep by 2 a.m. One of Kedaroe's activities is SISTUHS. Being the President, she delegates, plans events with other executive board members, and takes the blame for a lot of things she said. SISTUHS is a club that serves as a support group for the women of Franklin Pierce, and it is a representation of all women of different backgrounds. "It defined most of my social life here. I met so many people and I have a lot of friends from the club. It teaches you how to work on a team as well," said Kedaroe. Being a Community Assistant has always been an interest to Kedaroe. Ever since her freshman year, she has been close with her Resident Assistant, and has been influenced by her leadership skills. Kedaroe became a CA spring semester of her junior year. "I wanted to do it because I think I am great at listening, and I think I am a good role model for students. I also love planning events and socials for students, and I like being involved. I just wanted my residents to feel the same way," Kedaroe said. She wants to try and help her residents get to where she knows she wants to be, which is graduated, employed, and educated. Along with being a Community Assistant, she was required to be involved in some sort of committee, whether it be room lottery, Dr. Seuss day, diversity committee, you name it. "I chose to be a part of diversity because I feel as a minority, it is tremendously important to me." Along with the diversity committee, she is involved in campus unity. "Unity is a group that sprung from diversity committee; it is made up of students, faculty, and staff that are interested in supporting diversity on campus and want to act on it," she said. If you know, or have at least heard of Nicole Kedaroe, you all know she is a phenomenal dancer. Dancing since age 11, she knew at 11-years-old that she was in love with it, and decided to actually pursue it at age 16. Kedaroe enrolled at Boston Arts Academy, which is a high school for performing and visual arts. Turns out, she didn't really have an inspirational experience there, and the school told her that she could never dance professionally. They didn't help her apply for colleges with dance programs, so she chose a liberal arts education not knowing what she wanted to pursue in college. "So here I am! I could never really leave dance behind because it is my passion, so I have stayed with it," she said. When she came to Franklin Pierce, she decided to major in Arts Management with a Concentration in Dance. Here, she takes classes in ballet, modern, jazz, and improvisation. But her passion is for modern dance. "Dance is definitely the reason why I live I guess," she laughed. Along with dance, she is actively involved in the theater department. It happened later on in her Franklin Pierce years, where she started doing it just for fun. "Bob Lawson is the professor I studied abroad with in Vienna, so he has had a lot of influence on my theatre choices here. He's really great to work with." Kedaroe has performed in Pippin, 451, and The Death of Don Juan. After graduation, Kedaroe doesn't have to wait around to find something to do. She has a plan, and a very good plan for that matter. She is heading to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts for two years where she will go for a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance. Every weekend in February was occupied by dance auditions for Kedaroe, and since she applied to seven schools, there was a lot on her plate. She applied to Smith, Sarah Lawrence College, State University of New York (SUNY) at Brockport, SUNY Purchase, New York University (NYU), Boston University, and Temple University. Of those seven schools, she got into Smith, Sarah Lawrence, SUNY Brockport, NYU, but waitlisted for the dance program, and she is still waiting to hear back from Temple and Boston University. The only school she got rejected from was SUNY Purchase. However, she has already made her decision to head to Smith at the end of August. "Smith is offering me a teaching fellowship where I teach at the undergraduate school in exchange for free tuition to attend Smith Graduate School," said Kedaroe. While there, she will be teaching two courses in ballet and jazz, and hopes to gain skills in choreography, which is one of her weaker qualities in dance she said. Networking skills are another hope for her so she can become known out in the dance world. After Smith, Kedaroe really wants to move to New York City to pursue dance as a professional career, and hopes Smith will help her get there. When asked if she's nervous, Kedaroe said, "Oh yes!!!! And excited too!!" At Franklin Pierce, Kedaroe thinks that she is separate from campus because she believes in herself and is constantly building her self-esteem. "I guess I'm just me, and I guess you have to be yourself to be special. I also think what really kept me going all these years in college is knowing I was capable of accomplishing all that I have, and I have a lot of people who support me," she said. As a dancer, she believes she has grown. "I have really showed everyone who told me I would fail as a dancer, that they're wrong!" One of her fondest memories at Franklin Pierce would have to be the first time she performed her solo that Sally Bomer, a professor in the Performing Arts department, choreographed for her. She told her no one can do this piece like she can. "It made me feel like I was finally worth it in the dance world, and I finally had the confidence to pursue my dream," said Kedaroe. After talking with Kedaroe for over an hour, I really saw the type of person she is: dedicated, genuine, and full of energy! Sad to leave Franklin Pierce, but ready to move on, she had some final words for the underclassmen. "Join a club, don't be shy, and try to make a lot of friends. There are friendly people here; you just have to look in the right places. Also, be a student leader and always think one step ahead. Set goals for yourself, and although they might change, so might you."