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UAA welcomes new Kodiak College director Jacelyn Keys

By Mariah DeJesus-Remaklus for UAA 

This fall, Kodiak College is starting the school year with new director Jacelyn Keys. From Hermiston, Oregon, Jacelyn brings over 20 years of experience in higher education and has served in many roles, including as the Hermiston Center director at Blue Mountain Community College, Hermiston/Pendleton Center director at Eastern Oregon University and resident director at Oregon State University.

Keys says she discovered her passion for working with college students after doing things “opposite” of the way students typically finish their education.

“I had a professional career before I got my bachelor’s degree,” she said.

Growing up in Oregon, Keys first wanted to become an actress, but her plan throughout college changed to becoming a teacher instead. She had already been working at Central Oregon Community College in a professional position by the time she received her bachelor’s degree and was going to teach English to kindergarten students in Spain after graduation.

Unfortunately, the 2004 train bombings in Madrid resulted in Keys’ contract cancellation, leaving her without a job until a new offer came around.

“I was asked to come on board as an interim director of student life at that college,” she explained, “and from there, I had found my niche at that point in time. In a couple of months, I knew… I like working with college students, I love the energy and the environment.”

Kodiak College checked all the boxes when it came to job searching for Keys, one of which is the ability to be integrated and involved with the community.

“That was one of my six things—that I wanted to work in a college where it was the norm [to be involved],” she said. “Some colleges are so large that they get to, not isolate themselves from the community, but I don’t necessarily see administrators out and involved in the community. That’s not how I like to function.”

Keys says she enjoys academic assessment and outcomes, so she looks forward to developing a strategic plan for Kodiak College, but at the moment, responsiveness to the community is also very important in the current time of COVID-19 and economic distress.

This includes looking at how the college will grow in its role in the community and be flexible.

“How can we take the things that we already have and turn them into micro and macro programs and trainings that can help us recover?... We need to be looking forward to the role that we play in our communities,” Keys explained.

Having been born and raised in Oregon, she’s excited to be in Alaska for the first time, describing the move into the state as “jumping off a cliff” and pure adventure.

Learning to fish is an Alaskan pastime that’s on her list, though Keys is not new to hunting in rural Oregon.

“I like hiking,” she said. “I love the views, and I’m told Kodiak has some beautiful views, so I’m really looking forward to that and sea kayaking. Those are three things I have on my bucket list of adventures.”