MCC Lake Havasu student involved with community, student life

MOHAVE COUNTY – Mohave Community College is filled with talented students in and outside of the classroom. Kelly Malouin, Lake Havasu Campus student, is no different.
At MCC, she’s working towards earning her associate degree in Liberal Arts, while focusing on art and working on transferring to a four-year university to study public relations. Malouin decided to attend MCC because it’s local and wanted to complete her pre-requisite courses before transferring to a university.
“I was originally going to jump straight into a university but me and my family decided it would be better to go to a community college first and finish my pre-requisites,” she said.
After attending MCC, she plans to transfer to the University of Nevada-Reno to complete her bachelor’s degree. She decided to pursue public relations because she wants to make an impact through the nonprofits she hopes to work for one day.
Students at MCC are able to learn from experienced faculty throughout their educational journey. Malouin enjoys learning from faculty because they’re patient, provide her with assistance on assignments and make it known they want students to succeed. Starting her educational journey at MCC, she’s given more networking opportunities to connect with the Lake Havasu community.
Malouin is the first in her family to attend a college or university to obtain a higher education degree. With the support of her family, she’s able to navigate college as a first-generation student. When she first started college, her friends left to other colleges and universities, so she had to find her support system.
“All of my friends had left for college and I was on my own for a while. Thankfully, I was able to get involved with student activities and since then have formed my own small community. The best part of college life is the freedom. I get to go to events or just hang out in the student lounge,” said Malouin.
She’s also active with student life on campus by being the President of the Bighorn Nerd Herd, and the Culture Club. Before starting college, she told herself that she would be involved with student life as much as possible. Now, she enjoys planning events, and working with MCC employees and other organizations. After joining student clubs, she has grown her social networking, planning and organization skills.
Outside of the college, she’s involved with the Lake Havasu City Artist Guild and Havasu Public Art Association. In November, she was the featured artist during First Friday in Downtown Havasu.
“Knowing that someone thought of me specifically was amazing. It’s very motivating to know that your art made enough of an impact on people for you to get formally recognized,” Malouin said.
At MCC, part of the courses she’s taking is art. She fell in love with art at a young age when her aunt would babysit her and they’d take Disney Princess coloring books, and turn them into zombies. When Malouin started high school, she was able to expand her knowledge and skills, and discovered that creating art with charcoal holds “a special place in her heart.” The inspiration behind her work is human interaction and holds the message of even when life is crazy, people continue to live.
“There’s nothing as beautiful as the simplicity of people being people. I love to draw scenes of people living their lives day to day, it’s something many people overlook but when we look closer it can be quite profound,” said Malouin said.
She’s lived in Lake Havasu since she was seven years old and graduated from Lake Havasu High School in 2024. She stays busy with all of her extracurricular activities but when she has time to spare, she spends it with friends and family.
Registration for the 2025 spring and summer semesters is now open. Spring semester starts January 13 and the summer semester begins June 2. New and returning students are encouraged to get started by visiting Mohave.edu/Admission.
­—MCC Newsroom