01. Have you ever had a nickname? What was it?

Most people call me Kels, but when I ran cross country and track in school everyone called me Southwick (which is my last name).

 

02. Story behind your name

Kelsey was a pretty popular name in the 90s, but after I was born my mom was watching “Cheers” and saw Kelsey Grammer, the actor’s name, and so I was named after Kelsey Grammer.

 

03. What do you like to do in your free time?

I am a runner and have been most of my life. I’m usually training for some race! I also love to travel, and lately as a new homeowner: yard work, gardening, and home projects have taken up my free time. My boyfriend and I have had a blast though! Who doesn’t love planting a vegetable garden in a raised garden bed!?

 

04. One word that describes you

Passionate.

 

05. If you could meet any historical figure, who would you choose and why?

This is a tough one, so I am going to pick two! With my love of musicals and history, I of course have to choose Alexander Hamilton, the ten dollar, founding father without a father. Not throwing away my shot to meet him!  My second choice would be Queen Elizabeth I, her reign is known as the golden age of England and in such a dangerous time in the world to be a woman in power, she’s the literal QUEEN. 

 

06. If you awoke one day as a flower, what flower would you choose to be?

A ranunculus.

 

07. How many countries or states have you visited?

Travel is one of my passions. I’ve been to 17 states and 23 countries. Bucket list would be to go to every country in the world. Only 172 to go!

 

08. Fave place to visit?

Scotland was my favorite place so far, but England and London hold a special place in my heart. While in college, I studied abroad in London and got to live there for six months. 

 

09. What’s on your most played playlist?

It’s my “Let’s Run” playlist. I add songs to it constantly and it has everything from the Jurassic Park theme song, ABBA, Lizzo, Queen, and so much more! Basically, if it pumps me up and gets me motivated, it’s on this list!

 

10. Funny travel story?

My most recent travel adventure was three weeks in Australia. The first week I was a solo traveler, I flew into Brisbane, made my way up to Cairns, and met a group who was taking us from Darwin through the Outback to Melbourne. Now, the website had said there would be five nights that we would ‘swag camp.’ As any traveler would, I Googled ‘swag camping’ and pictures of individual tents popped up. To me that made sense, you don’t want to share a tent with strangers. Well, we get to the first night of camping and our guide says “Alright come get your bedrolls and we’ll get the swag camp set up.” Guess what? There were no tents. There was no shelter, we slept out in the open, under the stars on a bedroll! While this was definitely a once in a lifetime experience, it REALLY pushed me out of my comfort zone. Plus, we woke up that night surrounded by wild wallabies! Totally cute, but absolutely overwhelming!