As a high school student, Kiwanis taught Kiersta Marie Fairbrother ’28 what it truly means to be part of a community. She is bringing these same lessons to Merrimack College.
This past semester, Fairbrother launched a Kiwanis collegiate division, Circle K, at Merrimack.
“I was previously in Key Club, which is the high school equivalent,” she explained. “In my sophomore year of high school, I was the vice president of Key Club and by junior and senior year, I was lieutenant governor and treasurer for our district.”
Kiwanis is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading joy and positivity. To date, about 13,000 students are members of Circle K nationwide. The New England District currently has 11 chapters.
“It was pretty easy to start since Merrimack is a very service-oriented college,” Fairbrother said. “A lot of students were also in Key Club as high schoolers.”
Fairbrother estimates Circle K Merrimack has around 25 members. This semester, the group has painted kindness rocks to place around campus, held an origami class for students and decorated bags for Caitlin’s Smiles, a nonprofit organization that delivers care packages for children in local hospitals.
“I love the service projects and helping my community, but it’s the relationships I’ve made that keep me coming back (to Kiwanis),” Fairbrother said. “I met my best friend through Key Club, and we would have never met otherwise. I love everyone that I’ve met through Key Club and now through Circle K.”
Fairbrother, a chemistry major, said she knew Merrimack was her choice for college ever since she attended an accelerated course on campus for high school students.
“I went and looked at other schools and I didn’t feel any connection with any of them,” she recalled. “At the very end of my application process, I asked my parents, ‘Can we tour Merrimack again?’”
Although Merrimack doesn’t have the major she hoped to pursue, she still knew she was a Warrior at heart.
“I’d rather go to Merrimack, where I know I’d love it there and get a degree that’s similar to the field I’m interested in, rather than go to another school that has my exact major, knowing that I wouldn’t like it there,” Fairbrother reasoned. “Basically, I fell in love with Merrimack and I did anything I could to get here.”
