Shannon Patterson ’22 Thinks Keuka (College) Rocks

A new initiative has debuted this semester at Keuka College. It’s not a new major, or a new sport. But it rocks. Literally.                        

Shannon Patterson ’22 recently began a program she saw succeed in her hometown of Buffalo, known as #buffalorocks.

“I thought Keuka College could do the same,” says Shannon, an American Sign Language-English Interpreting major. “As a resident assistant in Ball Hall, I decided to start a program and encourage my residents and friends to paint some rocks and create a positive campus environment.” 

Once the rocks have been painted, they are placed in areas across campus. When people find the rocks, Shannon encourages them to snap and post a photo, using the hashtag #keukarocks on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. Then, they can either relocate the rock to a different on-campus location, or keep it themselves.

The rocks are painted to show a wide variety of scenes, including Norton Chapel, a sailboat on the lake, an ice cream cone, a cactus, and a watermelon. Shannon wants to encourage the entire campus community to find any rock, preferably smaller than a fist, to paint and place somewhere on campus.

“This program shows the community we have on campus, and the excitement of finding creativity and compassion at Keuka College,” says Shannon. “I have been collecting rocks and painting them with ‘#keukarocks’ written on the back.I’m excited for this movement to take off.”

In addition, Shannon has created an Instagram page, “Keuka_rocks,” where pictures of the rocks are collected.