Meet the Bloomfield College "Campus Queen"

By Brianna James, Bloomfield College student

Ashley Keels is not your average campus queen. The new Miss Bloomfield College doesn’t wear sparkly makeup, prissy designer clothing or super high heels.

Instead, you’re more likely to find Keels wearing her trademark dress shirt and bow tie -- that is, if she’s not dressed in sweats or in her basketball uniform. Defying expectations is what Keels is all about.

“One of the reasons I ran for BC Queen is because I wanted to overcome the typical stereotype of what a queen should look like,”  she said.

On October 13, Keels beat four other girls to be crowned Campus Queen.  Keels said she thinks being different helped her win, but she also said she made an effort to let people see her softer side.

“People on campus perceive me to be very aggressive.  I had to show them a different aspect of me, by being nice, outgoing, feminine, sarcastic, and funny, so that they understand that I am a queen,” Keels said. “Just because I wear sweats and don’t wear heels or things of that nature doesn’t mean that I am not a queen.” 

So who is this new member of royalty on the BC campus?

Keels, a senior Sociology major with a minor in Psychology, is a Dean’s List student who is captain of the BC Women’s Basketball Team. She is also Treasurer of the college’s women’s organization First Ladies, a peer mentor, and has been a Resident Advisor for three years.

It’s not just Keels’ personal style that’s different from the usual. Even her campaign for queen was different.

While other candidates campaigned by giving out candy, cookies and cupcakes, Keels used social networking to her advantage, sending out information on Twitter and Facebook. She also handed out buttons showing her photo with her running mate.

Keels compared her successful campaign to that of President  Barack Obama.

“When people vote for someone, no matter what they are running for, they try to relate to the candidate," she said.  "A lot of people voted for Obama because they wanted change just as well as he did.”

Keels’ running mate, Josh Jones added, “Ashley was a great running mate and I believe that she should have won because she was well (organized) and just a nice person in general.”

Elyse Smith, a senior at BC, said she voted for Keels because she liked the basketball captain's attitude.

"She's really one sparkling girl and she brings a lot of diversity on campus," Smith said. "She's different. People like her.  They think she's down to earth and easy to talk to.  She stands out because of her free spirit."

As Campus Queen, Keels is expected to attend at least half of all athletic games besides her own sport.  She is also is expected to appear at several community service events.

Keels said her life has not changed much since she was crowned, except that she now tops her outfits with the maroon and white Queen sash at some events. And, she said, her fans may see the sash turn up in some unexpected places.

Said Keels with a smile, “At the first home game, I’m going to run out with my sash on while doing my lay-ups!”