Fuller is from a suburban town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Fuller is fun and giggly yet she is serious about the work she does for the community.
TODD STONE: Why did you choose to come to Wesleyan?
KRISTIN FULLER: I was looking for a change of atmosphere. I looked at schools all over, many in New England, and I decided that in the end I wanted to be in New England because it was such an extreme from where I come from.
TS: Like socially?
KF: Well, yeah, because there aren’t what I would term, a lot of liberal people in my town, or just others I met growing up. Some of them say they’re liberal, but they’re not really. With abortion, for example, they say, “I’m very liberal, but, oh no, I don’t believe in abortion.”
TS: Tell me about your involvement in community service.
KF: I guess I’ve become known as the queen of community service. But I think there are a lot of people who do community service who aren’t particularly recognized for it. I think that what I try to do is incorporate more people into community service and also try to find things that people are actually interested in doing.
TS: You won a special prize for your community service work last year, tell me a bit about that.
KF: Well, I won the student employee award at Wesleyan, and then I won it for the state of Connecticut as well. You see, last year was really a transitioning time for the community service office. It was a transitioning time because we had an interim director in the office. I think it was difficult for everybody because no one really had any idea of what we were going to do because Frank Kuan, the director before, really did so much—and we really realized it when he was gone. So it was just a matter of everyone stepping up to make sure the office was running as it should be. I think the office became very important to me, it became a priority for me because I did want to ensure that the community service programs were still going on and that everything was running as it should be. But I think I’m also particularly interested in the…
TS: Acheww!!!!!!!!!!!
KF: (laughing) the other aspects that…Are you okay?
TS: Yes, thank you. Go on.
KF: I really put in a lot of time in the office and in planning other activities in terms of Community Service.
TS: As Community Service Programs Coordinator, do you get a chance to work directly with the people that you help?
KF: With everything that I send volunteers to, I’m not necessarily personally involved, but I do volunteer with two of the projects I’m involved in; the Women and Children’s Center in Middletown and the Hartford Street Youth Project.
At the Children’s Center, I basically baby-sit for the children while the mothers are in their workshops. The center is a transitional living and rehabilitation center for women who have abused drugs and/or alcohol. What they emphasize for the women there is how to take care of their kids. Each night at the center someone cooks and someone cleans. The idea is to try and teach the mothers like not to go out and get TV dinner for your child every night. You cook and spend time with your child.
TS: Are you a Senior Interviewer?
KF: Yes. Last spring I started working at the admissions office as a WesFest intern and then I was hired for the summer to interview.
TS: I think that’s really cool. Like, what if I were an applicant and I showed up and my hair was all disheveled and I had mucus dripping from my nose, what would you do?
KF: Well, most kids that we interview, particularly during the summer, are of a certain economic standing. I think I saw only about three or four students of color come into the office this summer. So a lot of times it’s suburban white kids and they come in with their parents and they’re usually well dressed. So, especially during the summer, we generally wouldn’t encounter the type of kid who is like, “Yeah, rock n’ roll!” For the most part, of the kids I’ve interviewed, many of them seem the same to me.
TS: I understand. But even among these students, some of them must stand out.
KF: Sure, some do. But they pretty much all give the same answers. I usually preface the interviews by telling them a little about myself and what I do on campus, and then they try and feed off that and say, “Oh, yeah, I do that too!” or they’ll be like, “I really, really want to go to this school where there’s a lot of diversity. I really like diversity.” And I ask, well, what does diversity mean? I think it’s more than just differences in race.
TS: So, what do you think of New England, of “the North,” now that you’ve been here for four years?
KF: People say that in the south there’s a lot of racism and there is, but I found that it also really exists here. Here at Wesleyan, I think racism sits on a level where people say, “well, I’m not racist, no, I’m not racist,” but a lot of times it’s disguised in the questions people ask or the way people talk to people. What really struck me here is the racism that people have, but aren’t willing to admit.
TS: Are you a big athlete?
KF: I actually played soccer for three years here but I think that being here has really shown me that there’s so much other stuff to do outside of soccer. So I’m not really an athlete [She laughs].
TS: So as a senior, you must have a great house.
KF: I’m in 43A and 43B Home. There are actually squirrels infesting our house, and that’s not an overstatement of the situation.
TS: Are you fearful of the squirrels at night?
KF: I am and they’re BIG [she laughs]. I really am afraid of them. The other night I went to the trash can and I saw one eating away and it sounded like a dog.
TS: Do you get raccoons?
KF: No… Oh no. I don’t know what I would do if I saw a raccoon.
TS: So what types of animals are there in Tennessee to be feared, or like nuisances?
KF: Well one sad story is that the first time I got a puppy that was all mine, I left it outside for about five minutes and then it started to rain so I went to go check on it – and a coyote had come and killed my poor puppy.
TS: So, as graduation nears, what are you planning to do after Wesleyan?
KF: I know that whatever I do it will in some way involve working with the community. Right now, I’m looking at moving to Atlanta. I think there are a lot of opportunities there to work in the community on a larger scale. But my goal for way, way in the future is to have my own law firm, and focus on providing legal aid to underprivileged children and families.
TS: Have you enjoyed your experience at Wesleyan?
KF: I’ve definitely enjoyed Wesleyan a lot. But I think I’ve sort of lifted up and now it’s time to go. I think I’ve put the time and effort in that I needed to, I think I’ve made the contributions that I needed to and now it’s time to go. I have Senioritis like nothing else. So people are like, Kristin, come do this and I’ll say: “No, it’s your time. You do it. And I’ll just stay right here.”
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