Killing Zombies: Jaynelle Bellemore

Meticulous.

This is one way to describe Student Trustee Jaynelle Bellemore.

Long, brown hair kept off her shoulders by a neat ponytail, light makeup highlighting the features of her circular face, peach blouse, pearl earrings and a matching necklace, and denim shorts revealing a tan from a recent spring break trip to Las Vegas.

But after speaking with her, one realizes there’s another word that best describes the 21-year-old workaholic: genuine.

“I like to be comfortable…if I’m not comfortable with what I’m wearing or what I’m doing, then I’m not myself,” Bellemore said.

Bellemore has nothing to hide, openly admitting to her nervous ticks and playing off remarks that she’s socially awkward with a laugh and a shrug as if nothing in the world could get under her skin.

“I say what’s on my mind,” she explained. “That’s who I am, and I’m rocking it.”

The business major’s schedule is packed to the brim. She’s enrolled in seven classes, and works for the Advancement office as a secretary. She holds the positions of Entrepreneurial Club secretary and Student Trustee, as well as a spot on the Library Advisory Group.

“It’s crazy, [and] it’s definitely keeping me busy,” she said. “The SGA office comes in handy. It’s open until midnight, so I can just lock myself in and crank out my homework.”

Her busy schedule has a structure, but is anything but routine. Her longest day, Tuesday, begins at 9:30 a.m. and, due to classes and meetings, doesn’t end until 9:15 p.m. Her day may begin one way but has the potential to shift at any given moment.

“I’m also the type of person who gets bored easily,” she said, “so it’s nice to have something to shake up the monotony.”

She admits that her schedule prevents her from being as physically active as she would like, but with the onset of warm weather she takes every opportunity to walk into downtown North Adams.

“It’s a beautiful little town,” she said.

The graduating senior’s weekend doesn’t even usually give her a reprieve. As a server at Freight Yard Pub in North Adams, her weekend nights are spent working as well. On slow nights she’ll be home early enough to go out with her friends. But other nights keep her bustling around the restaurant until one in the morning. And when she gets home she’s in no mood to party.

“After work you just want to shower, put on your sweatpants and watch Netflix. So that’s what I usually do,” she said with a laugh. “I believe taking care of yourself is the most important thing.”

She paints a picture of relaxing on the roof outside of her bedroom on a warm day, reading to calm down. Or on a cool night, just sits admiring the constellations.

“I’m a pretty positive person, but everyone has a breaking point,” she said.

After a pause, she added that there was one other activity that helped her come down from a stressful day.
“Killing zombies.” Bellemore’s unabashed love of video games, Xbox 360 being her console of choice, helps her relax and let off steam. To her, nothing melts away stress like unloading on a group of mindless undead.

“Definitely stress-relieving, killing some zombies,” she said with a wry grin.

Bellemore hopes that all of this stress will help her achieve her hopes and dreams. While her current plan is to stick around North Adams and work after graduation, she’s hoping for an internship with Oceana to help protect sea turtles.

“I have a great love for sea turtles,” she said.

But her dream is to be the marketing director for Victoria’s Secret.

Bellemore wanted to thank two people in her life for helping her get to where she is today. In a brief moment of hesitation she tried to pick one over the other, but ultimately needed to thank them both equally: SGA Office Manager Diane Collins and SGA President Todd Foy.

“They’re both crucial [to me]. They’ve both helped me in very different ways,” she said. “Diane helped me feel comfortable with myself. [And] Todd and I have a very different relationship. He definitely helped me realize what I wanted to do. He’s always by my side…but I couldn’t have done anything without either of them.”

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