Alyssa Mckee

Favorite Aspect of Westmont: Westmont is my home away from home. I have never felt so loved and accepted as I do on Westmont’s campus. I walk around every day in the midst of all the staff, faculty, and students, and I feel like they are my “Southern California” family. I have had teachers from random General Education courses that still know my name and are genuinely interested in what I have been up to since graduation. President Beebe will pass me in Kerrwood Hall and he will stop to ask how I am doing. Yes, Westmont cares very much about how a student develops academically, but Wesmont is not just about cultivating a student’s education. Westmont is about cultivating a meaningful life.

Favorite Westmont memory: I have too many awesome and random memories to pick just one, so I am going to cheat and list them all! Running on East Mountain Road up behind Westmont as the sun was setting. Discovering the most delicious combination of ice cream and Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the Dining Commons. Making a fort in the Library with my roommate during finals week at 2:00 am. Going to lunch with my Art Professor and hearing about how he met his wife. Doing cartwheels on the track’s field late at night under the stars. Receiving a gold “Professor Nelson’s Favorite Student” pencil when answering a question in Philosophical Perspectives rather sarcastically. I still have the pencil in my drawer. Okay I take everything back-- the pencil memory is my favorite. 

Favorite Place on Campus: I would tell you, but then it wouldn’t be my favorite secret spot anymore. 

Why do you work at Westmont? This might sound dramatic, but Westmont truly changed my life. Westmont’s community helped me develop and grow in a way that I desperately needed. I transferred to Westmont my Junior year right when I was going through a very difficult time in my life. Westmont provided a safe place for me to dig deeper into life and wrestle with patterns of thinking that I had been too scared to question before. I was pushed and challenged, but at the same time, loved. I would not be the person I am today if not for the students, professors and coaches who took time to walk through life with me. And two years wasn’t enough, so a year after graduation I came back to work for Westmont. I only hope that I can show other students how they can be a part of the same life-giving community I experienced.

Hobbies: Eating is my passion. I’d like to pretend that I am a well-cultured foodie, but the reality is not as glamorous. Sour gummy worms are the best candy ever created. Pop Tarts are a regular meal for me. Giordano’s pizza is the greatest pizza in all of Chicago (boo to Lou Malnatis). And last but not least, my favorite vegetable, potatoes. I don’t think there is a way to ruin a potato. I like them in every form. Especially fries. I know you might be worried about my health right about now, but I also am very active, so I like to pretend that it evens out. If I go to the beach, which is often, I can’t not jump in. I love to swim out to the buoys, bodysurf, or even just float and let the waves bob me up and down.