Something to Hang Your Hat On
Twenty-four baseball caps from various U.S. universities hang from nails along the top of a wall in David Kleist鈥檚 office, and there鈥檚 an empty nail on the wall waiting for another hat to come.
鈥淚t is a timeline of memories of my students,鈥� said Kleist, professor and chair of the Department of Counseling. 鈥淓veryone one of these hats is a person and brings back memories of my time working with these doctoral students.鈥�
When Kleist earned his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, the chair of his doctoral committee made a deal with Kleist, who was his first doctoral student.
鈥淗e said when you get a job, you have to buy me a beer mug from wherever you go,鈥� Kleist said. 鈥淗e was starting a ritual or tradition with his doctoral advisees, I imagine, so when I moved here I went down to the ISU Bookstore and got him some beer mugs.鈥�
Kleist and his advisor exchanged beer mugs from their respective institutions.
鈥淲hen I had a chance to work with my first doc student at ISU, I thought I want to do something like that, a ritual or tradition, but not steal the same idea,鈥� Kleist said. 鈥淚 enjoy wearing baseball caps and I thought that鈥檚 what I鈥檇 do.鈥�
Kleist started in 1995 at ISU and since that time about 90 percent of his doctoral students have followed through with the hat ritual, for the others, he buys the hats on his own. He鈥檚 had 21 students on doctoral committees and some have sent him more than one hat when they鈥檝e found new jobs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 require them to buy a hat,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit more playful like 鈥業鈥檒l agree to chair your doctoral committee, but you agree to buy me a hat at the institution that employs you upon graduation.鈥欌��
The hats are testimony to the influence ISU鈥檚 counseling program has had nationwide.
鈥淏y sending me the hats, the graduates are promoting their beneficial, excellent education at ISU,鈥� said Kleist, then listing the names of states and universities identified on the hats, 鈥渋n North Carolina, Oklahoma, 糖心传媒, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Washington, Pennsylvania, Texas, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Georgia, Montana again, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico and now Oregon State.鈥�
There鈥檚 also a nail that waits for a hat from Brooklyn College in New York.
The hats don鈥檛 go unnoticed.
鈥淚t has a great impact on students and for me there is a sense of pride to think that these are all different universities and all the different students that are being impacted by folks that went here,鈥� Kleist said. 鈥淪o to look at the network of influence of ISU, this is one cool way to see it represented.鈥�
The tradition is catching on among at least one of his colleagues. Steven Moody, associate professor of counseling, has begun collecting fishing lures from his doctoral advisees when they graduate. Moody graduated from ISU鈥檚 counseling department and began working at ISU five years ago after working at Northern Illinois University a couple of years. So far, he鈥檚 collected five fishing lures, each engraved with the student鈥檚 initials and the year they graduated.
鈥淚t is fun for sure,鈥� Moody said. 鈥淵ou work with your students for a good solid three years in the doc program so you really get to know them. It is just nice to exchange gifts at the end and we don鈥檛 want to be too elaborate or too expensive or anything like that, so it is kind of a fun way to have good memories.鈥�
Andy Taylor