SEN Intern: What year did you graduate?
Kylie Kuhns: 2019
SEN: What was your major?
K: Labor and Employment Relations
SEN: Can you tell us a bit about your experience founding Kelsey’s Dream and running it while at Penn State? How has that impacted your current role? Are there any skills or interests you found in that experience that lead you to your current role?
K: I founded Kelsey’s Dream in memory of my older sister Kelsey who passed away from Leukemia in order to keep her spirit alive and help children with cancer. Since this organization was started when I was so young, the experiences I have had from it helped shape me into the person that I am today. As I grew, so did the organization. It was a little more challenging to play the same role once I went to Penn State and took on other extracurricular activities but I quickly learned you can do a lot when you are fueled by passion. I did have to take a step back a little but at the same time we also started to have unpaid interns from local universities so they helped us out a lot with me being away. With my experience with cancer and running a nonprofit I of course got involved with THON when coming to Penn State and was able to use things I have learned working with Kelsey’s Dream in my roles as a Captain. I give both of these organization’s a lot of credit for making me into the person I am for my current role both professionally and personally.
SEN: At the Student Engagement Network, we focus on five growth areas when discussing experiences. The five growth areas are: Multicultural Awareness, Civic Responsibility, Professional Development, Ethical Reasoning, and Systems Thinking. During your time at Penn State in this involvement do you see any of the growth areas being applicable to you? If so, which stand out to you in your experience and why?
K: Kelsey’s Dream definitely taught me about civic responsibilities, helped me grow in my professional development, experience ethical reasoning, and utilize systems thinking. Being viewed as a leader in my small community I had to quickly understand the responsibilities that came along with taking on such a role while running a nonprofit. A large part of my role outside of the organization’s main goal of helping children with cancer was getting youth in my area to understand the importance of volunteering. With limited organizations in my area kids did not have the opportunity to volunteer their time to something that was bigger than themselves. This value is something that I took pride in instilling in others as it helps a person develop and understand the world around them a little better.
SEN: What advice would you give to a Penn State student looking to find their why?
K: If you are going to find your “why” anywhere it is going to be at Penn State. This university has so much to offer and so many different things to get involved in that with enough experiences you will figure it out. Just do not hesitate to try new things, join new organizations, or meet new people, these years are going to fly by and the longer you wait to fully dive in the less time you will have to enjoy the moments to come.
Kylie speaking about her sister at a Kelsey’s Dream event
Kylie and her mom pose with the Kelsey’s Dream mascot, Hopper!