by Jocelyn Visnov, Staff Writer
A beloved member of The Quadrangle staff and shining presence on campus, C. Garrett Keidel will be graduating at the conclusion of this semester. Originally from a small suburb outside Baltimore, Maryland, Keidel has cherished his time as a Manhattan College Jasper.
When beginning his college search, Keidel knew he had to be in New York City. It was while attending accepted students’ day that he fell in love with Manhattan College.
“I was never one of those people that wanted to be in a really big school,” Keidel said. “I didn’t want to be a number, I wanted to be myself.”
After being chosen to be a recipient of The Quadrangle Scholarship, Keidel knew he had found his place on campus. He’s been a devoted member since the start and stepped into leadership roles as early as his second semester. Since then, Keidel has been the head sports editor, a copy editor, and served as the social media editor for the past year.
Keidel is a communication major, with a concentration in public relations and a minor in English. In addition to being a devoted member of The Quad, Garrett has enjoyed being a staff member for the Conference Services here on campus. This has allowed him to work on campus during the summer months, and assist in planning and staffing various events here at the college. His favorite was a language immersion program, where he was able to spend two weeks of his summer as a team leader, teaching English to students from Italy. Keidel also highly recommends to all students to take advantage of the various travel opportunities available to them.
“I studied abroad for two weeks in London,” he said. “It was probably my favorite two weeks of my life. Beautiful, amazing country, amazing culture, cool people.”
Keidel has written for The Quad during his whole career at Manhattan. His favorite memory with The Quad took place about two years ago when he interviewed a member of Ru Paul’s Drag Race. He caught up with season nine contestant ATIA after she put on a brief performance for students.
“I never thought I would be able at 20-years-old to interview someone like that,” he said. “It was so fun and engaging.”
Throughout his last semester here, Keidel has enjoyed working as an intern for “The Dr. Oz Show.” Despite being an entirely online experience, he has learned a lot from it.
“It’s really fun,” he said. “I work on their PR and publicity team, it’s following what people are talking about in terms of the Dr. Oz show.”
Keidel has enjoyed his time working with The Quad and loves living in New York City. He advises all students to venture out into the city as often as possible.
“I can’t say I’ve always been the best student, but I can say that I’ve had the best time while I was in college,” he said. “Make the experience yours. And please, please, please, go out and experience the city by yourself. Go figure out what you enjoy on your own. Just get on the one train.”
Though he’s unsure of what the future holds, Keidel is looking forward to pursuing his career beyond college.
“Ideally, I would want to be working in PR or publicity,” he said. “I’ve been increasingly getting involved in political communication.”
For those who may be feeling weary of the college student lifestyle, listen to Keidel’s sage advice.
“You’re going to be fine.” He said. “Have no anxiety, breathe, enjoy your life.”