Valley Stream, N.Y. native Kerri Kelty was a key member of the New Paltz women’s basketball team from 2003-2007 and the women’s soccer team from 2004-2006. Today, she is a fourth-grade teacher at a charter school in Brooklyn, working in an integrated co-teaching classroom which consists of one general education teacher and one special education teacher. She is recently engaged to be married to her boyfriend of eight years.
After graduating from New Paltz, her experiences as a student-athlete helped Kelty excel in her future.
“Being a New Paltz student-athlete has helped me tremendously since graduation,” said Kelty. “Being a student-athlete for both soccer and basketball at New Paltz has helped me with my time management, preparation and teamwork skills. These are all essential qualities needed in the teaching field.”
In Kelty’s four seasons on the women’s basketball team, the Hawks went 45-59, appearing in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament three times, as well as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament in 2007.
Kelty’s four years on the basketball court helped her land on many different New Paltz women’s basketball record lists. She is tied for sixth in single-game assists with 10, and is tied for eighth with eight steals in a single game. She also stands 10th in single-season assists with 97 in 2004-05. She is eighth overall in career points with 826, third in assists with 357 and seventh on the steals list with 183 in over her four seasons.
In her time on the soccer field, the women’s soccer team went 23-25-8 and qualified for the 2005 ECAC Tournament. She was an All-SUNYAC Third-Team honoree in 2006.
Kelty's name pops up under many different statistical categories in the New Paltz women’s soccer record book. Kelty is tied for the most points by a Hawk in a single game with six, which she accomplished in 2006 against SUNY Oswego. Her seven goals in 2006 place her tied for ninth on the program single-season record board. She tallied five assists in 2005, tying her for fourth on the list. She is also tied for ninth on the single-season points list with 18.
Up until the 2012 season, Kelty held the program record for career assists with 13. Senior forward Samantha Abravanel (Islip, N.Y./Islip) surpassed this mark by picking up her 14th assist late in her senior season. Kelty is also tied for fourth with 17 goals in her three years in the Blue and Orange, and sits alone in fourth on the points list with 47.
“As a teacher, the students are always fascinated to learn that I played basketball and soccer at New Paltz,” said Kelty. “I feel that it is important to share with my students my experiences as a two-sport athlete so that they can see that women can play sports at a competitive level, but also that it is imperative to learn the importance of teamwork.”
Some of Kelty’s closest friends today are some of her former teammates at New Paltz. She explained that the friendships she made while donning the Blue and Orange are what made her experience whole.
“Reflecting back on my time in New Paltz, the experience that I treasured the most was the sense of family that is established with playing on a team,” she said. “It is these friendships that were created that are the real reason why I am very grateful to have been a New Paltz Hawk.”
