Student Profile: Kaylee Dunkle

Written by: Elizabeth Patrick

I am excited and proud to introduce you to Kaylee Dunkle. Kaylee Dunkle is currently a senior here at Defiance College and is from Columbus, Ohio.

She is currently majoring in exercise science and will be graduating a semester early this December. Kaylee can graduate a semester early because she took 16-18 credits each semester and took prerequisites for grad school. As a result, with the help of her advisor, they were able to come up with a plan that allowed Kaylee to graduate early. After she graduates in December, she will be attending grad school starting in January at Wilmington College for Occupational Therapy.

Kaylee chose Defiance College because she wanted to be on a small, close-knit campus that felt like home. She also really liked the staff and all of the opportunities she had to become involved; she also continued her softball playing career.

Some organizations and activities that Kaylee has been involved in since she has been here include: softball, cheer, ambassador, orientation leader, admissions student worker, honors program, honors program executive board, service leadership, and a McMaster scholar.

Some things she likes to do for fun include painting, camping, boating, hiking, and dancing around.

Kaylee’s favorite memory from her time here at Defiance College was from her freshman year. The Service Leadership students and she threw a holiday party for children in foster care. As a result of doing this, they could get them gifts, wrap them, plan, decorate and throw them a huge Christmas party. Seeing how happy those children were made it the best memory, she has had yet.

Another one of her favorite memories was going to Florida with the softball team. Going to Florida was always so much fun, and she and her teammates made endless memories.

While she has been here, she has learned a lot about Defiance College and the unique opportunities it has. First, she was able to further her education. She also grew so much as a person. She is also way more open minded and looks at things from a different perspective. She learned how to work with people with many different backgrounds and found a passion for helping others. As a result of her time here at Defiance College, she feels very prepared to take on grad school and the world.

Some advice she has for students is to make a plan, use a planner and use all of the resources on campus you can. She also recommends if you know what you want to do, make it happen, and do not be afraid to ask for help.

To conclude, Kaylee has had a very successful career here at Defiance College. She cannot wait to graduate and attend grad school in January to pursue her goal of becoming an occupational therapist.