Jen Underwood, Class of 2005, has made her mark on the Kenyon community in many ways. But it is likely as founder and president of Kenyon College's Friends of Hospice that she would like to be remembered. Her own father died while she was in high school and she has devoted herself to local teens facing similar challenges. "We're creating a network for teens who have lost a parent. My best friends at Kenyon, who may have joined the program as a favor to me, are now totally committed to it. We're closer than ever with each other, and we're all crazy about the kids." Underwood also serves as president of the College's Hotmeals program, which brings meals to those in need. All of her good work was acknowledged with the College's 2003 Humanitarian Award.

An English major with a concentration in creative writing, Underwood has made time for schoolwork, too. She has won both the English department's Propper Prize for poetry as well as a departmental prize scholarship for her academic work. In addition to kudos from the English department, she has won the Baker Prize for submission of the best European history essay.

Underwood spent the 2003-04 academic year with the College's Exeter program in England. Kenyon's ballroom dance team, the Knox County Symphony (where she plays violin), and the Kenyon Kazoochestra missed her during her year abroad. Underwood also sings in the community choir and is active in the campus's Church of the Holy Spirit. "I loved Kenyon from my first campus visit. Then I spent two weeks in Gambier as part of the Young Writers summer program in high school. They were two of the best weeks of my life. I could have gone to an Ivy-League school, but I knew that Kenyon offered a great education and a great community. I haven't been disappointed."