One of the most rewarding parts of my job is getting to watch doctoral students finish their dissertation, graduate, then move on to faculty jobs. Dr. Kelsi Opat graduated in 2020, completed a post-doc here at Texas Tech, then started as an assistant professor at Missouri State University this fall. It has been so much fun to watch her post pictures of her new students as she grows the program into something great.

Kelsi was my advisee as an undergraduate, and lemme tell ya. She was so shy! She was one of the sweetest students I had, super smart, the other students liked her, and I really liked her, but I didn’t feel like I knew her all that well. That’s why when she sent me an email several years after her graduation, I was surprised when she asked if we had any classes that she could teach. She said she had completed her master’s degree in Kansas, and she and her husband would like to move back to Lubbock.

I responded that I was hiring a doctoral student and the position would have an opportunity to teach a class if she was interested. And I am so glad she was. We had so much fun working together, and I loved watching her grow as an instructor, a researcher, a mom, and as a friend.

Kelsi has this great way with students – she’s calm, gentle, and knowledgeable, but she’s in charge. She’s quiet compared to me (well, everyone is quiet compared to me), but the students listen to what she has to say. Her classroom command and demeanor are so unique – in a very good way.

As a researcher, Kelsi has several interests, and she really found her niche in the area of podcasts. Few, if any, are conducting research in the area of agricultural podcasts. For her dissertation, she created her own podcast, then designed an experiment to test two different styles of podcast storytelling. She found that the more you can connect a personal story to science, the better the audience will receive it. Her research is quite innovative, and I’m excited to see it published. Her dissertation is available in the Texas Tech Library at this link.

Getting to watch Kelsi and her husband Will start their little family was such a pleasure. I got to see Baby Leo when he was just a few hours old, and it has been so fun to watch him grow up. Their new home in Missouri is just perfect for them, and I’m glad to see that Leo has put a lot of miles through the Ozark hills in Jett’s old Case tractor.

The thing I don’t like about my job is when the good students leave. It was hard to see the Opats go. I miss my lunch buddy. I had someone to listen to my rambling stories about nerd things and t.v. shows. I had a fellow book lover. But the great thing is to see former students leave and flourish. Missouri State is lucky to have such a warm, hardworking, brilliant, and dedicated faculty member in Kelsi Opat. She’s already doing an amazing job as a teacher, researcher, grant writer, and adviser. She hosts her student organization at her house, and the students are responding to her enthusiasm and leadership.

Thank you, Kelsi for being my student, for keeping me motivated…and for introducing me to StitchFix.