Clasen is in Session – The HutchCC Alumna Becomes the Teacher

By Torie Price
Opinion Page Editor
IG: torielprice

Kelly Clasen did not expect to be teaching English in the very college that she attended from the years 1996 to 1998 when she started higher education at Hutchinson Community College. She held aspirations of going into the world of psychology, but those dreams would soon shift when she discovered her love for journalism and subsequently teaching others to appreciate literature. 

During her time at HutchCC, Clausen served as a co-editor of the Collegian and served on the homecoming court as a queen candidate.

 Clasen was a staff member on her high school newspaper but had no intention of continuing with journalism until receiving a book scholarship that would change the course of her life. 

“I loved working with the faculty adviser at the time… Janet Hallford,” Clasen said. “She was just very influential to me as a student… I mean, I just had all good memories of that time when I was studying here.” 

After earning her associate degree in journalism from HutchCC, Clasen would go on to attend the University of Kansas and attributes her accomplishments there to HutchCC for “setting (her) up for success.”

Clasen had the opportunity to participate in admirable internships, such as those at the Portland Oregonian and the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Her career truly began when she landed her first job as a copy editor at the Dallas Morning News, but this would not end up being all it was cracked up to be. During this time “newspapers were really making the transition online, and the papers were getting smaller and smaller.”

Clasen describes the “strange kind of realism” that accompanied being in the newspaper industry at this time. She soon decided to go back to school to earn another degree, one that would once again change the course of her life. 

As she was living in Dallas, she chose to attend the University of North Texas. Here is where Clasen would discover her love for teaching and sharing her passion for literature with others. Unlike the monotony of her former copy editor position, as a teacher, Clasen described being excited and eager to see what each day would bring. 

Journalistic writing and comp style writing are very different and Clasen speaks about the contrasting skill sets that they require. 

“When I was in graduate school the women authors got me really excited about teaching,” Clasen said when speaking about the switch she made from journalism to the broader English. 

“It was really when I would read authors like Willa Cather was when I was really inspired… Tony Morrison’s Beloved, I think, was one of the first books that made me really want to be a teacher.’ 

In 2006 she earned her master’s in English and went on to also earn her doctorate in the same field. 

Once again, Clasen was encouraged by an advisor to “just do it now” because she would “want to come back and do it later, and it’s going to be harder.” 

As she was living in Dallas, Clasen began reacquainting herself with HutchCC as she began teaching online.

She bounced around a few places until she would eventually find herself back in the place where it all started, the Hutch campus. 

Clasen is a popular figure on the HutchCC campus. Ryan Diehl, another English professor at HutchCC, is one who is not shy about singing the praises of Dr. Clasen. 

Their friendship is based in mutual respect and love for literature. They also “both (share) a great love for nature,” which has caused them to be able to create a deeper friendship. 

“When (Diehl) returned to teaching in 2021, Dr. Clasen was (his) go-to person. (He) would run ideas by her, and she shared so many great assignments and readings that she used in her classes. Simply put, she is a phenomenal teacher, and she has been a great friend too.” Diehl says. 

Kelli Christ, a former student of Clasen, also sings her praises, saying “When I took her Honors American Literature II class last spring, I really enjoyed how the class was engaging and the discussions were very thought-provoking” 

As a part of the honors program, Christ researched and taught about an author of her choosing, saying, “I greatly appreciated the opportunity to do research and a presentation about a confessional poet I was personally interested in.”

Clasen has been a valuable part of the HutchCC English program for the last xxxx years. Students and Professors alike have sung her praise for the clear dedication and love for her job that Clasen displays throughout her actions on the HutchCC campus.

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