Joe Kelly: A Heart of Gold

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Senior Joseph Kelly reflects on his time at Pace and his joy for leading his fraternity.

Nigeria Belizario, Contributing Writer

“Freshman, the mistakes you make in college are all apart of the experience,” said Joseph Kelly, a senior Criminal Justice major at Pace.

The Irish-American rock music lover and self-taught guitarist is very passionate as he expressed this piece of advice for future freshman. Kelly is far too familiar with making mistakes throughout his life, specifically during his college journey, but taking those lows and turning them into lessons has been his key to remaining level-headed.

With Pace being one of his first choices due to the wonderful feedback he received from his peers and alumni, it was a no-brainer for Kelly to follow suit. The added bonus of the various mentors he found in professors not only heightened his love for Pace, but it also added the “warm environment” he is accustomed to because of the dynamic of his tight-knit family back home.

All of these factors played a role in helping Kelly when he came across a bump in the road, whether it was a failed test or a time he just needed reassurance. The family he has developed here pushed him to not only come out of his shell and live life with no regrets but helped mold him into the man he is becoming today: the president of the fraternity, Alpha Chi Rho (AXP).

Due to his strong leadership and genuine personality, he has made his way to presidency and runs what he calls a “brotherhood.” Playing into the common dynamic, he tends to gravitate towards family. Kelly humbly shared his gratitude for the brotherhood he’s come to truly love and appreciate.

“I am incredibly thankful for this fraternity, they have helped me out in more ways than they really know,” he said.

His brothers appreciate his dedication to the fraternity and keeping the organization on track.

“Joe always looks out for the entire organization, he sees things from a bigger picture and always steps up when it’s needed,” Jordan Benavides, a senior applied psychology major and AXP member, said. “He’s never biased and literally cares about all of us as a whole.”

In a unique way, Kelly has authority in his presence but it is so subtle it seems as if he is just one of the boys, which is a clear reason of why he has been the president of Alpha Chi Rho for two consecutive years. This is an organization he led to their victory down in Florida during a conference of all 24 chapters.

“To know that I was able to help bring my fraternity to beat out the rest of the chapters meant a lot to me because it goes to show that I am doing something right.” Kelly stated.

Moving forward, Kelly plans to join the National Guard in order to keep a flexible schedule so he can pursue a masters degree in Homeland Security. His ultimate goal is to branch out and protect others because of his helpful nature, and being able to serve the country will definitely overflow his heart of gold.