Skye Stewart ’17
Staff Writer
There is no one better to fit the role of professor and friend than Kevin Salemme. As he rings in 30 years at Merrimack College, he is inspiring, successful, and humble as ever.
Salemme has been around at Merrimack College longer than most can say when he first walked onto campus as a student in 1979. Salemme already had a strong background in photography and helped open the first media center on campus. Being only 18 years old, he was happy to help out and do what he loved (and still loves today.) Later on, he transferred to better pursue photography, and upon wrapping up with school, he was welcomed back to Merrimack to take the place of the media center director while the previous director was on leave. The rest is history.
Salemme has always seen Merrimack as an exciting and diverse institution. “I like being in an environment of learning and I really felt supported by the community here. It was a home away from home. I’m always so happy to meet students and mentor them and be their friend. Being in a place where there is a diverse faculty, like philosophers and chemists, is exciting.”
Always the friendliest guy around, Kevin seems happy to say that he “pretty much lives here.” He’s had so many opportunities at Merrimack unlike anyone else and it’s hard for him to narrow his “favorite moments at Merrimack” list down to only just a few. Salemme has taken a couple of helicopter rides on behalf of Merrimack and gets credit for all the beautiful photos of the 220-acre campus at a bird’s eye view.
He was also proud to mention his friendship with Merrimack’s very own Charlie Day, who stars in the hit TV show, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Day graduated from Merrimack in 1998, and spent a lot of his time in college with Salemme. The two were reunited at Merrimack’s 2014 commencement and Salemme described them as being “old buddies like we used to be.” Since Day spent a lot of time in the media center as a student, Salemme was able to help him with editing, video production, and more. “I never thought I would have a student that would be that nationally known. I’m only a part-time teacher that teaches one class per semester and was lucky enough to have someone that I inspired.” How many professors at Merrimack can say that? Day even shot and edited his own episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and it’s apparent that he deserves a lot of credit for helping Charlie Day follow his dreams.
Each day at Merrimack is different for Kevin, and that never ceases to change. “Regardless of what is in my ‘G’ calendar, anything can happen, from video to helping with a project. The campus has a life of its own.” Regardless of video production, photography, and knowledge of special software, Kevin Salemme is everyone’s friend and deserves not just one, but many rounds of applause for his outstanding and successful career at Merrimack College for 30 years and counting.
