12岁的肯尼·安德杰斯基(Kenny Andejeski)说:“作为一个孩子，融入社会是个问题. “我很聪明，但很难集中注意力. 足球给了我归属感和使命感. That made Beloit an easy choice for college; I’d be able to play 足球 从我的第一学期开始.”

Kenny played 足球 from his first year at Beloit to his last, adding varsity 田径 和 玩 校内的 极限飞盘和篮球在旁边.

伯洛伊特的课程最初退居次要地位. 肯尼联系, “刚上大学时，我并没有特别大的野心, 除了知道我想踢足球. 我的计划是坚持熟悉的:学习历史, 成为一名教师, 当高中足球教练.”

然而，在他的第一学期，他发现了这一点 贝洛伊特的文科 give students opportunities to explore before settling on a major. Students can also tailor their studies to their personal interests.

肯尼尝试了历史和教育, 按照他最初的职业规划, 然后是心理学和哲学. 没有一个能激发他的想象力，无论多么有价值. 然后，在他大二的时候，社会学击中了他的要害.

“社会学 helps you underst和 how people work in groups 和, on a broader scale, society. That resonated with me because of my experience in team sports 和 my difficulties fitting in throughout childhood.”

在贝洛伊特的开球比赛中，没有. 23Equipped with an academic lens, Kenny sought to underst和 why sports meant so much to him. 团队如何形成一个共同的身份? 他们的成员如何为共同的目标而努力? Sports 和 belongingness would be the focus of many of his sociology papers. He added an environmental studies minor to explore belongingness in the context of the built 和 natural world.

今天, questions he learned to ask at Beloit drive Kenny’s work as he helps communities find common purpose 和 shared identity to address challenging societal issues. 他对美国的中心地带特别感兴趣, 常被外人忽视或误解的. 目前在查塔努加工作, 田纳西州, 肯尼的客户包括非营利组织, 初创企业, 基金会, 以及民间组织. One strategy is to create change through narrative using storytelling; a 在南本德进行的项目 作为一个例子. He also provides social impact mentoring to community leaders 和 young professionals.

Kenny Andejeski’12, far left, with Uplift Impact members at a How to Be an Ally Summit in MilwaukeeKenny解释道:“我创立了 为什么[这里]很重要 because I’d been helped 和 embraced at various points in my life by people 和 communities who scarcely knew me 和 lacked the privileges I carry, 无论是因为肤色, 性别, 教育, 国籍, 或者另一个标记. 归属感对个人和社会健康都至关重要. I’m thus deeply indebted to residents of Detroit who embraced me when I moved there to take a fellowship after a year spent teaching English in China. 我是个局外人，但这并不重要. Detroiters wanted to get to know me, 和 I wanted to get to know them.”

Kenny did not leave Beloit as an entrepreneur intent on founding a company. 相反，他想为一家非营利组织工作. 获得必要的经验, 2012年毕业后, he joined AmeriCorps VISTA as a volunteer to help the University of Massachusetts Boston develop campus-community-based partnerships. 生活在自愿贫困中, he also coached 田径 to continue to connect social purpose with sports.

肯尼的生活被颠覆了, 然而, when an arrest 和 felony charge made continuing with AmeriCorps impossible. Eventually exonerated, in the meantime he needed both an income 和 distance. 一份在中国教英语的工作吸引了他. 虽然他在伯洛伊特时没有出国留学, 既不懂中国也不懂汉语, 也从未教过英语, 他没有被吓倒. 毕竟, 在伯洛伊特大学期间, 他欣然接受尝试新事物的机会, 见一些看起来不像他的人, 让他的想法和先入之见受到挑战. 他还学会了接受多种形式的多样性.

A rewarding year in China did not erase the taint of his arrest, 然而. Employers did not want to risk hiring him when he returned to Boston. 他必须自己寻找出路. That proved liberating: Kenny’s next years would not only be formative, 而是导致了“为什么这里很重要”的建立.

首先，肯尼在破产的底特律待了两年多 挑战底特律 研究员，负责将当地非营利组织与居民联系起来. 这样做的目的? Empower both to work together to make positive change in the city. The lessons he learned about community connection 和 resilience guide him today.

肯尼的旅行把他带到了贝洛伊特, 美国铝业及其工业研究所, 这两家公司都是由伯洛伊特学院的毕业生. 查尔斯·柯蒂斯.下一个, 在2016年总统大选之后, 肯尼开始了一段为期三年的旅程，走遍了美国所有的城市.S. 50个州，以更好地了解美国的状态.S. 社会和支持当地社区领导人一路走来. 整整一年, he also led a community of similarly oriented travelers across 24 countries 和 six continents. 他在中国的经历使他有资格胜任这项工作, as had 十大菠菜台子’s focus on building capacity for life-long learning.

肯尼生性好奇, 对人感兴趣, 和爱交际, all of which contribute to the ambitions 和 promise of 为什么[这里]很重要. 但他说，伯洛伊特发挥了很大的作用. 就是在那里他获得了 职业准备技能 essential for his work: the confidence needed to invent a job for himself, 指导他工作的思想框架, 和 the listening 和 speaking 技能 essential to community building. Beloit also nurtured his creativity 和 entrepreneurship 和 offered multiple opportunities to leave his comfort zone. 如果没有这些，为什么事物就不会存在.

离开贝洛伊特的舒适区包括 女权主义课程 在他大三的时候推荐给他的. “Most of the other students were female-identifying first-years openly sharing their experiences. That 和 my ignorance of the topic made for some uncomfortable moments. 我学到了很多.”

He played 校内的 ultimate frisbee when he found time; if he wanted to know other students, 飞盘是一种很好的方法. Frisbee would also help him make connections when he taught in China.

Kenny had also joined 和 eventually co-captained Beloit’s track team despite his relative lack of speed. 教练Bliese encouraged him to try out 和 mentored him when he became captain.

贝洛伊特跑步者. 肯尼·安德杰斯基左数12秒.
来源:特雷弗·约翰逊

“布利泽教练会耐心地倾听我的想法, 让我试试, 然后和我一起找出哪些进展顺利，哪些不顺利. 随着时间的推移, 我不仅在领导团队方面变得更好了, but grew into other leadership roles as Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President 和 Board Co-Chair for the 中西部地区会议 SAAC.” Both representative bodies aim to give student-athletes a voice in their collegiate experiences.

虽然肯尼已经离开伯洛伊特学院十年了, 他的结论对现在和未来的学生都适用.

“伯洛伊特为学生提供了冒险所需的安全保障, 犯错并从错误中学习, 锻炼创造力. I also really benefited from the individualized attention given to students by its faculty 和 coaches. I was still very unfinished 和 incomplete when I graduated from Beloit. 但毕业一年后，我的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化, 我有决心, 技能, 我需要对自己有信心，勇往直前.”

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要了解更多关于肯尼的旅程，请查看 ted演讲 he gave at Beloit a year after the felony charge changed the course of his life.

Additionally, in the spirit of 为什么[这里]很重要, follow updates about 十大菠菜台子’s nascent 社区参与和外展中心, recipient of a $9 million grant to strengthen ties between the college 和 the residents of its namesake city.