Kelsey Walsh ‘17 | Communication and Politics major, Gender Studies minor
Pinch-me moments happen more frequently now, but the strongest one of my career happened when I returned to the Hilltop in 2020. I have enormous gratitude for a place I call home, Saint Anselm College.
When she was seven, Kelsey Walsh ’17 knew she wanted to be a reporter. When it came time to look at colleges, Saint Anselm College was high on her list. She visited campus and learned that if reporting on politics was what she wanted to do, Saint Anselm would help get her there.
Walsh is a White House reporter and producer for ABC News, a role she stepped into after working as an associate producer for ABC News Special Events, the team responsible for all breaking news events—everything from Alec Baldwin's charges to the Uvalde Shooting and major weather events to election night. She returned to the Hilltop in January 2020 for ABC News’ Presidential Debate. She’s flown to London to cover the funeral for Queen Elizabeth ll and on Air Force One.
“I wouldn’t be [where I am today] without the students, faculty, staff, and mentors on campus who inspired me,” Walsh says.
As a student, Walsh took advantage of everything that Saint Anselm had to offer. She was an admissions ambassador, a Kevin B. Harrington Student Ambassador with the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, and an orientation leader at New Student Orientation. She volunteered through the Meelia Center for Community Engagement, and worked on campus within the English and Communication Department.
Walsh, like many students on the Hilltop, liked hanging out with her friends at the C-Shop, as they studied and enjoyed an “Egg St. A’s”, and always made sure Sunday evenings were free so she could attend Mass at the Abbey Church.
While at Saint Anselm, Walsh participated in a number of internships that built her experience in journalism and politics, including at the communications firm Montagne Powers and in N.H. Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s office. When Saint Anselm hosted the presidential debates in 2016, she interned for ABC news, working in the production van during the events.
“As a student, my favorite part of working with ABC News was being exposed to some of the best journalists in the business that I’d admired for so long,” says Walsh. “One of the most memorable moments was talking with ABC’s campaign reporters and realizing that as a student, I too had the opportunity to interact personally with the candidates running for the highest office in America.”
Additionally, Walsh interned at the White House as a member of the Presidential Correspondence Team. She read mail people sent to the White House and helped to select the ten letters President Barack Obama requested to read each day. She loved the human connection that came from reading and sharing those letters. After graduation, Walsh moved to Washington, D.C. to take a job with ABC News. She then moved to New York City to take a job with the ABC’s Election 2020 team and today, she’s back in Washington D.C. reporting from Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Pinch-me moments happen more frequently now, but the strongest one of my career happened when I returned to the Hilltop in 2020. I have enormous gratitude for a place I call home, Saint Anselm College.”