Junior Kiely Thompson grew up in Fountain, Colorado, just outside of Colorado Springs. Her cousin attended Knox, graduating in 2012, and her mom attended Grinnell College, a liberal arts college in Iowa. She chose Knox for the size, the campus energy, and the experience.

“I’d spent a lot of my younger years going [to Grinnell] for reunions and visiting and stuff, and so I knew that the small campus liberal arts education was my vibe,” Thompson said. “Knox checked all of my boxes.”

Thompson graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School, located in Colorado Springs, in 2021. After taking several AP STEM courses in high school, she knew that she wanted to major in a STEM-related field. At Knox, she declared a major in chemistry and minors in biology and health studies.

“I’m on the pre-nursing track because I want to be a nurse practitioner,” Thompson said.

Thompson is also a teaching assistant for the general chemistry labs. The experiential learning opportunities available are one of her favorite things at Knox.

“We’re building you to do whatever you want to do in the future. That could be part of your major, could be not part of your major. It could be just like things that you’re interested in, like professors have connected me to advisors who connected me to being in these leadership positions,” Thompson said.

Outside of her major, Thompson works in the Admissions Office as Admissions Ambassador and as the Executive Training Chair, and in the Campus Life Office as a Resident Assistant and a Duty RA. She also lifeguarded when the pool was open.

“I could probably have that at a different school, right? But I don’t think I would have the support that I do from my friends and my classmates and then also my professors and the college in general,” Thompson said.

Overall, Thompson most enjoys the community of people at Knox—and she’s involved in a lot of organizations. She holds executive positions in these organizations as the Vice President of Internal Affairs and Standards of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Book Club Public Relations Chair. She also participates in string arts squad and is a member of flute choir.

“Knox and the sense of who we are is like, I can talk to anybody about anything that I’m doing,” Thompson said. “ I meet so many different people and so many different activities and clubs and majors like that, people I wouldn’t really talk to otherwise. We’re open to trying new things, open to new opportunities.”

For Thompson, tending to the community at Knox is one of her top priorities. As an Admissions Ambassador, she works to help prospective students figure out where they want to spend the next four years of their lives.

“I really like being like, ‘these are the ways that Knox can fit into your life and you can fit into ours’. I just like helping people through that journey because for me it was a little stressful,” Thompson said.

As a Resident Assistant, she works to curate a welcoming environment for her residents.

“I really enjoyed making sure that everyone felt welcomed, like going to activities that maybe I would not participate in because I don’t play Smash. But I will go to Smash Club if I had residents who were like, ‘I want to go, but I don’t really want to go alone’,” Thompson said.

Knox at times is not a perfect space, Thompson says, in terms of accessibility and diversity. But the resources and opportunities available, as well as the passion of the students, makes Knox a good space to her.

“[Knox students are] so willing to fight for what we believe in,” Thompson said. “I like bringing people together and I like making sure that everyone feels like they have a part in this space.”