Kelsey Reynolds, Event Organizer
By Shelby Harrell
When I first met Kelsey Reynolds, we were celebrating for
the homecoming game with our sorority sisters. Kelsey is a
favorite alumna of Delta Zeta, which is the sorority I belong
to as well. I did not know at the time that she had a degree
in English. All I knew was that she was from Raleigh and that
she was my “grand-big sister” of my sorority family.
My “grand-big” graduated in 2006 with a B.A.
in English with a concentration in journalism and a minor
in criminal justice. I did not know at the time that we shared
the same great passion of English, a passion that we would
both pursue as a career.
Family history
Kelsey Reynolds comes from a family of writers. Her grandfather
was respected for his weekly letter-to-the-editor submissions
to the town’s local newspaper. “He wasn’t
afraid to express his opinion,” says Kelsey. “He
chose writing as his form of expression.” From her literary
influences at home, it is easy to see why Kelsey decided to
major in English while she attended Western Carolina University.
Her family always encouraged her to read from an early age,
instilling in her an everlasting passion for English.
Her current job…
Now Reynolds works at Fidelity Investments in Raleigh, North
Carolina. I was suprised to learn that an English major could
find work at an investment company; however, Reynolds informs
me that many of her co-workers have English degrees as well.
“It’s a very versatile area of study,” she
says.
Reynolds finds her work as organizer of her company’s
training events to be very fulfilling. She is in charge of
booking resources for training or for setting up training
events from scratch. She routinely goes through the process
of booking a room, setting it up, and scheduling people to
attend the event. Even though most of the work is “behind
the scenes,” she does her job well, and she enjoys contributing
to a successful company.
An extra inspiration
It was more than family influence that gave Reynolds the
confidence to pursue her English career. Aside from being
an active sister of Delta Zeta, Reynolds was an officer in
the Panhellenic Council for two years as well as a member
of Sigma Tau Delta, the honor society for English majors.
Her experience with Panhellenic Council gave her a lot of
experience organizing events, and being an active member of
Greek life gave her experience working with people and being
professional.
"Greek life requires an element of professionalism,
which people wouldn’t generally realize because of the
stigma that surrounds Greek life," Reynolds explains.
"I am constantly finding parallels between my business
life and my college days.”
Reynolds encourages aspiring writers to learn as much as
possible and to always acknowledge their surroundings. “You
never know where inspiration will come from,” she says.
Reynolds will always appreciate English and what its practice
means to her. “I always end a book completely inspired…and
when I write I feel a little lighter every time. That’s
why I love English.”
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