William Klaasmeyer, a senior majoring in political science, has spent his life crossing continents and communities. Whether analyzing global policy in Washington, D.C., or revamping a high school poem in the reading room, Klaasmeyer brings curiosity, creativity and care to every space he inhabits. At Colgate University, he has discovered the value of not only academic rigor, but memories he has made along the way.
Born in the U.K., Klaasmeyer lived in London for the first decade of his life before moving to Houston, Texas, for middle school and high school. If asked to rank his favorite cities, he’ll tell you that London undoubtedly comes first — hometown loyalty — followed by Washington, D.C., and then Houston. Hamilton, though, occupies a different category altogether: not necessarily competing on size or pace, but unmatched in the community he’s found here. One of those communities is the Lampert Scholars cohort.
The Lampert Scholars Program selects a competitive group of rising seniors with strong academic records and interest in the Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs’ two areas of inquiry: the Changing World Order Initiative and the Science, Technology and Public Policy Initiative. After selection, scholars participate in three elements of the program: a summer internship or research project during the summer before their senior year, and during the fall, the Institute’s speaker series and a senior seminar alongside members of their cohort.
Klaasmeyer was originally drawn to the program due to these three dimensions. He saw this as an opportunity to apply his already strong writing skills to a new environment while developing his ability to engage in discussion in the seminar.
He spent his summer in Washington, D.C., at Atlas Network — a non-governmental organization (NGO) committed to promoting individual freedom and removing barriers to human flourishing. Atlas Network partners with other NGOs across the world to advance their policy goals, such as responding to human rights and limited government concerns. Klaasmeyer wrote impact stories and blog posts about the successes of Atlas’ partners across the world to prove to their donors that their funding was being used for something effective.
During their senior seminar, Lampert Scholars write a research paper shaped by their summer experience.
“I wrote a research paper about how governments that are trying to consolidate power, that are trying to gain power at the expense of citizens, are shutting down civil society networks. Civil society is voluntary organizations that are independent of the state,” Klaasmeyer said.
Civil society networks have the ability to hold the government accountable and represent citizens’ interests.
“Governments that are authoritarian-leaning, or governments that are trying to consolidate power, have passed legislation to restrict those spaces,” Klaasmeyer said. “That was a problem that my think tank had faced while I was working there. A lot of their partners had been shut down by these governments. I drew from that experience to then write my research paper.”
One of Klaasmeyer’s favorite memories from the Lampert Scholars program was when his cohort returned to Washington, D.C. during fall break.
“Over break, we spent two full days in D.C. and stayed in Dupont Circle, which is a beautiful area. During the day, we went and talked to two members of the Brookings and Cato institute[s],” Klaasmeyer said. “We also got to talk to a politician who was working on the Hill at the same time that the government had been shut down. So, we got a tour of Capitol Hill when it was completely empty, which I feel is a pretty unique experience.”
This trip not only bolstered the academic and career aspects of the cohort but also allowed the Lampert Scholars to form a close bond with one another.
Outside of the Lampert Institute, Klaasmeyer has been a consultant at the Writing and Speaking Center for three years. He took creative writing as an elective for all four years of high school, where he had the opportunity to attend workshops to discuss pieces with his classmates. In those classes, Klaasmeyer got to explore fiction, nonfiction, poetry and screenwriting.
“I felt like I really wanted a writing-oriented community on campus and that’s exactly what I found there. It is a bunch of people who are really passionate about writing and discussing how to best communicate their ideas,” Klaasmeyer said. “I’m happy to have been part of that community, and then also to have helped the broader Colgate community better voice their ideas.”
Klaasmeyer, now a veteran writing consultant, has helped new consultants in the Writing and Speaking Center become acclimated to their system. His interest in writing stems beyond academic work — Klaasmeyer has adopted a creative method of stress-management related to his passion for writing that started during the second semester of his first year on campus.
“If I was feeling a bit stressed out and needed a bit of time to myself — and not just, you know, sit in my dorm room — I would sit in the Reading Room and find a poem that I’d written during my freshman year of high school and then revamp it, give it a more mature spin,” Klaasmeyer said. “Every now and again, I’ll go back and work on a project like that.”
As a graduating senior, Klaasmeyer has prioritized spending time with friends he plans to stay connected with post graduation. From ice skating to trivia night at Lower Lake to sledding during our first big snow, he has truly embraced the best ways to make memories during his final semester. These moments and having his close friends nearby will be the aspects of campus life that Klaasmeyer will miss most.
As far as a beloved senior tradition — jumping in Taylor Lake at sunrise on the final day of Springfest Weekend — Klaasmeyer shared that he had already experienced a colder version of this jump a few years ago. This spring, he will definitely receive bonus points for making the return. He shared his approach for embracing his final semester at Colgate.
“It’s really been about maximizing the time with people around me in fun ways that I haven’t experienced before,” Klaasmeyer said.
As Klaasmeyer prepares to graduate, the most striking part of his Colgate experience isn’t just research papers or internships — it’s the care he shows for the people around him. Whether mentoring peers at the Writing and Speaking Center or sharing laughs during trivia night, his generosity and consideration have been evident in creating moments that others will remember long after graduation. For Klaasmeyer, achievement and thoughtfulness go hand in hand, leaving a legacy defined as much by passion as by scholarship.
