Humans of IMSA: Dr. Kiely, History/Social Science Department

What’s the best part of teaching at IMSA?
“Definitely the students. IMSA students have a genuine curiosity for learning, a quality that keeps me from taking up offers at universities. I love how the students are kind enough to listen to my tangents and raves. I really appreciate it, I do. Also, the fact that they’re always trying new things is incredible. And it’s always great to walk into my office and find people simply lounging in there.”

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen an IMSA student do?
“Here I’ve got two:
1. I was at a club event and I remember seeing one student drink two two-liter Jolt Cola bottles. He then tested his blood sugar on his diabetic friend’s blood glucose meter. Everyone knows that this drink will spike up anyone’s blood sugar, but I guess this kid wanted to test it by experimenting on himself. His blood sugar reached an unhealthy level so I took him outside to the YARE yard and made him run laps for half an hour while I sat on the pavement watching him.

2. This one’s equally as crazy. We used to have these huge bonfires during Homecoming week at IMSA. They were like 10-feet long. One year, I remember seeing a student bring a fire resistant blanket to cover himself with as he sat really close to the fire. I think he wanted to see how close he could get to the fire and how long he could last there. He must have been like 5-feet to the fire”

If you had the opportunity to create a new IMSA course, what would be the field of study?
“History of Fashion – I really would like to teach this sometime and I think a lot of students would be interested. Maybe someday.”