Photo by Haley Winstead '23.
KJ Reese was hired as Mount Holyoke's student-athlete development and promotions coordinator.
By Kate Vavra ’26
Staff Writer
KJ Reese is the newest member of the Mount Holyoke College Athletics Department.
Hired in August 2023, Reese received a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Ethnic Minorities and Women’s Internship Grant, giving him the new position of student-athlete development and promotions coordinator at the College. Through his position, Reese works directly with student-athletes to improve their capabilities within and outside their sport. He is responsible for leading various workshops and aiding with the development of leadership initiatives.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Reese is strongly connected to his southern roots. He was heavily involved in sports growing up, running cross country, playing basketball and even dabbling in football and tennis. After high school, Reese spent four years serving in the United States Air Force. Reese credits his military experience with giving him the proper mindset to accomplish his goals. He left Georgia for western Massachusetts after graduating from Valdosta State University in 2021 with a degree in exercise physiology. He received his master’s degrees in sports and fitness administration and management from Springfield College last spring.
In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, Reese reflected on what he hopes to achieve through his work.
“I want to give the student-athletes a lot more presence and voice on campus … They've had some really good things to say, and it's just a matter of giving them the platform to be heard,” he said.
One of Reese’s first major tasks has been working with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, including Chair Emily Mock ’24, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Representative Marley Berano ’25, with the 2023 NCAA Diversity and Inclusion Campaign, to show the importance of diversity in athletics. Reese helped compile a series of student interviews to be edited into videos and posted on the Lyons Athletics Instagram page. These videos were created to give student-athletes the opportunity to express why they belong and why inclusion matters.
“I want athletes to feel comfortable being here. And I'm hoping that the video[s], whether you're an ally or you're a part of the group that we're hoping to include and be diverse with, that you feel that this gave you a sense of belonging here on campus, especially if you're a student-athlete,” Reese said.
Reese expressed that even before he arrived on Mount Holyoke’s campus, he felt a sense of belonging there as soon as his job interview.
“I didn't feel like I was just an employee. I felt like I was a part of something bigger. I was a family member, and that was before I even got … the position,” Reese said. “I had other options … but there was something in the back of my mind telling me that I should go to Mount Holyoke and that this was the place that I needed to be at, not only for myself but for the school as well.”