Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter
Sitting in the clubs and organizations resource room, Kevin Kallaway, 23, goes in on his lunch of a soggy hamburger and pale fries from the student center food court. After eating his food in two minutes flat, we sit down to talk.
Leaning over the resource room couch, Kevin begins to tell me his SCSU story, from beginning to end.
“This is my last year at Southern. I am a commuter now…I guess you could say I am an ex-resident. I mean, I used to live on campus, but now I am a commuter,” said Kallaway.
Kallaway is a senior at Southern. He is a business major with a concentration in accounting.
“I love Southern. I think we have a really awesome community here. I mean that.” said Kallaway. “Everyone is really chill to be around. There are no real [sic] if you know what I mean, just really cool people. I am a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. I am inactive right now, but I am a member. I also do intramural sports here. I am pretty involved in campus life.”
Kallaway did not come to college on the path that the average college student would have.
“I was not originally planning to come to school. I used to work in the entertainment business. I did lights for shows and sports events and stuff. I think for that reason, I bring a unique side of life to Southern’s campus.” he said.
However, Kallaway knew there were flaws in his choice of career.
Kallaway said, “When I started in the industry, I really did love it. But, the field got extremely competitive and I really just wanted a little bit more job security in my life, for peace of mind.”
So, to achieve this job security, Kallaway decided to come to Southern and get a degree in business to have a leg up in the job market. Once here, he fell in love with accounting and decided to make that his concentration.
Kallaway said, “It is honestly crazy to think that I went from working in the entertainment industry with no job security, to being able to say that I am graduating from college with a degree in business. It is really something else.”
Kallaway is keeping his opinions for future career paths open.
“I might go back into the industry one day, but knowing what I know, it is all up in the air at this point. My opinions are completely open right now.” said Kallaway.
When asked about his favorite part of being a Southern Owl, Kallaway very fittingly said homecoming was his favorite time of year at SCSU.
Kallaway said, “Homecoming is great. It is the one time of year that everyone actually cares about football. I try to participate every year. I just like that it is the one time of the year that all of the organizations get to together, not to mention we get to see alumni. Yeah, homecoming is great.”
Kallaway is an example of a non-conventional student on Southern’s campus.
Photo Credit: Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter