Don’t let him fool you with his shock of curly hair and his effervescent smile. Jameson Hyde is not just another nice guy. As a head lifeguard, racquetball enthusiast, lab monitor and dedicated member of Konosioni, the Wind Ensemble and a plethora of community service organizations, it is no surprise that Hyde hasn’t slept since Sunday.

Hyde hails from a small town in upstate New York with “more snow and less people” than Colgate offers. With a small-town earnestness, he enjoys the beauty of pristine, unpolluted nature. He volunteers with the Hamilton Outdoor Group (HOG) in order to interest sixth-grade students in the outdoors and environmentalism.

You can also catch Hyde washing puppies for Pet Pals, or perhaps lining cages with newspaper. Additionally, he volunteers for Colgate’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, filing tax returns for low-income families in Madison County. When asked why he is so invested in so many community-minded services, Hyde shrugged.

“I guess it’s just fun to help people,” he said.

A friendly guy with a tendency to “jibber jabber” from time to time, Hyde must be a wonderful tour guide for the Admissions Office. In the student-run Wind Ensemble, and previously in a jazz band, he’s been known to play a mean saxophone.

Going abroad to London during his sophomore year is something Hyde considers “the best decision I ever made.” Having never traveled outside the United States before – except to Canada – Hyde ended up visiting over 11 different countries throughout the course of the semester. He had also never lived in a city before, and the busy streets of London were a real “eye-opener,” where Hyde gained access to a “world outside the one I knew.”

Fluent in French, Hyde has applied for a Fulbright grant in France. He hopes to eventually become a professor at a university “much like Colgate.” Besides that he seeks a simple life and a crossword puzzle.

“No matter what I do,” he said, “I believe I will come back to a small town, where my kids can have a backyard.”

Hyde is not an over-achiever in the typical sense of the word, for though he does accomplish a great many things, it is through the joy in experience that Hyde receives his boon.