Rockingham Community College presented its highest award, the Outstanding Student Award, to Kylee Rieger during the college’s May 12 graduation ceremony.
Each year, faculty nominate students for the award who have achieved a grade point average of at least 3.25. A committee of faculty then selects and interviews finalists, with the recipient chosen after careful consideration.
Kylee’s nominations, including my own, highlighted her ability to maintain a 4.0 grade point average all the while taking on a host of leadership roles on campus including serving as president of RCC’s Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society chapter, vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), and president of RCC’s Book Club.
When I asked Kylee about her initial reactions surrounding the award she said, “It was disbelief almost…I tried not to get my hopes up too much, but when I found out, I was beyond excited!”
People are also reading…
Those who have been fortunate enough to meet Kylee at RCC share in her excitement. Before coming to RCC, a life in academia was not one she had planned to pursue.
From the age of 3 to 17, Kylee trained to be a professional ballet dancer, spending her last two years of study at the prestigious Joffrey Ballet School in New York City.
After COVID-19 swept through 2020, her dance career ended. In her words, “The magic of dance was gone, having danced on Zoom for a year. I tried so many things – even skateboarding! I thought I was better at the physical things.”
As it turns out, Kylee is good at many things. Kylee’s mom suggested trying courses at RCC. As a Greensboro resident, Kylee had access to several schools but RCC seemed like the best fit.
“I often wonder what would have happened if I had not gone to RCC,’’ Kylee said. “I think that I wouldn’t be as confident in my studies as I am, for sure.”
Having taught Kylee in two literature courses at RCC, it’s hard for me to believe she would ever struggle with confidence and self-doubt. I first met Kylee in Spring of 2022 at the start of her internship in Technology Support Services – an internship she earned after winning first place in the 2021 RCC Student Essay Competition. She had come to my office to connect my computer to the network printer. Right away, she introduced herself and said that she looked forward to studying literature with me during her tenure at RCC.
A year later in my classes she excelled, conducting graduate-level research and literary analyses through complex critical lenses. When we discussed her experiences in American, English, and Spanish Literature, Kylee said, “Once I started taking literature I learned how to approach texts – how to examine imagery and social and cultural contexts. Everyone is made up of experiences – the people they meet and the things they have done. All the lessons I have learned in my literature classes I will use forever.”
I truly admire Kylee’s approach to learning and her drive to succeed, and I am not alone. She is well-respected around campus.
Asked to reflect on any challenges she faced at RCC, she said, “I went to office hours, I asked lots of questions. I had to get over the imposter syndrome – that I was just a dancer. Getting over that and fighting off the voices in my head telling me to doubt myself was the biggest challenge – but there’s so much encouragement here and support that it’s really hard to listen to it.”
For all the encouragement Kylee has received at RCC, she has given back tenfold. Apart from internship and leadership roles on campus she also worked as a writing tutor, helping others to find joy in the writing process.
For Kylee, tutoring a student over eight weeks during RCC’s summer semester was what really solidified her future plans to pursue English Literature in higher education: “After I helped her on her final paper, I really wanted to know how it went—I was so curious. I just happened to run into her on campus in Fall and she told me that she got an ‘A.’ That was a special moment and I felt like it was a win for both of us.”
The impact Kylee has had on the campus community will endure – she leaves a legacy that will continue to inspire others.
“When I got to RCC I learned to accept hope,’’ Kylee said. “One of my dance teachers used to tell us that ‘hope is the most dangerous and powerful tool to give a person because once they have it they think they can do anything.’ I think it is true – without the hope that RCC gave me and without me being willing to accept that hope, I wouldn’t have the confidence I have now to go on to bigger things.”
For Kylee, the first of many “bigger things” to come is attending Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and studying English Literature this fall. Smith College’s motto is “Knowledge. Generosity. Community.” I think this is incredibly fitting for Kylee—she embodies these characteristics in any role she assumes.
