Each month, Texas State University President Dr. Kelly Damphousse sits down with faculty members, staff, students, alumni, and community members for a conversation about all things TXST — the past, the present, and the bright future of the university.
Part of the TXST Podcast Network: https://www.txst.edu/podcast-network.html
Kelly Damphousse (00:04):
Hey Bobcats. Kelly Damphousse here, president at Texas State University, and welcome to the next edition of the podcast called The Current, where we talk to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the university to learn more about Texas State University, what's going on here, what's been happening here, what's happening in their lives, and about how Texas State has changed the lives of the people that come through the doors here. And we've got a special guest today who is, I should say, needs no introduction, but I'm going to introduce you anyways, our head women's basketball coach, Coach Z. Thank you, Coach Z for being here. I'd love to hear more about your story about how you ended up here at Texas State. So where did it all start?
Zenarae Antoine (00:44):
Well, this is the story that I do enjoy sharing, so my story is unique, maybe not so different from yours in that my parents are immigrants to this country. So my father's from British Guyana and my mother was born in Canton, China, and so they met at university and they both were student-athletes. My mom was a thrower at a junior college, and then my dad was a Division III, which now I think is Division II, Colorado School of Mines.
(01:10):
He was a sprinter. And so my background in sports starts in the very beginning, and so I grew up watching a lot of track and field. They took us as little kids to Colorado Springs and I got to see Edwin Moses in Pretrials. And so sports always been a big piece of our lives. I really appreciate that having two parents from different sides of the country that met here in the U.S. and decided to raise their family. It's pretty neat that their thought process regarding sport and what it can do for young people is really important. So just as important as playing a musical instrument was to them, so was playing sports. So if you got in trouble, and I might've got in trouble a couple of times,
Kelly Damphousse (01:46):
No, I can't believe that.
Zenarae Antoine (01:48):
You had to still go be a part of your team, so you did not miss practice, if you will, where I know every parent's different in how they choose to parent their kids. And we've kept that philosophy in our family. If you made a commitment to a team, you keep that commitment to a team. I don't think necessarily as any parent would know that you are realizing you have a student-athlete in your house. But when that opportunity presented itself, I graduated from high school in Katy, Texas. Again, my father is a engineer, a petroleum engineer, and so that's how we landed in Texas. I had the opportunity to either go to Baylor or go to Colorado State. And so at the time, I enjoy sharing this story. It does date me, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians were on the tube.
Kelly Damphousse (02:27):
1993.
Zenarae Antoine (02:28):
And so I think that helped shape some of the thought process that maybe it's best that I go to Colorado State, experience something that my dad was able to enjoy as a student-athlete too, being in Colorado. And so I made the decision, and the coach at the time was from Texas, and so it made sense. He recruited a lot of women from Texas. And so that's where I decided to go to college.
Kelly Damphousse (02:48):
The recruiting process is pretty interesting because you probably meet, and you're doing it now, but when you were being recruited, how early did that process start for you in high school?
Zenarae Antoine (02:59):
It didn't start early. It started for me, so you're talking the ’90s, right around your junior senior year for the most part. The landscape is so different. There's not enough time to really talk about how many changes have occurred, social media being one of 'em, but just honestly, electronic media. I mean, I'm from a generation where there was no call waiting, right.
Kelly Damphousse (03:22):
That's right.
Zenarae Antoine (03:23):
And so it's different. I tell people I didn't have email in college, which it sounds strange to say that because it's early ’90s. I graduated in ’98, so I remember walking, I literally walked through the snow to write a note to leave from my professor at his door. And so it's hard to explain to our student-athletes sometimes. I just said, I don't want to date myself anyway. I sound too old, so I don't tell 'em those small stories.
Kelly Damphousse (03:48):
Did you go to Colorado first on a visit?
Zenarae Antoine (03:51):
I did. I had a chance to visit Colorado State and just really enjoyed it, fell in love with it. And that's actually where I met my husband.
Kelly Damphousse (03:56):
Yeah?
Zenarae Antoine (03:57):
On my official visit.
Kelly Damphousse (03:58):
Ronald?
Zenarae Antoine (03:59):
Yeah, Ronald. Yeah. I met Ronald and he likes to tell the story how I definitely gave him the cold shoulder on my official visit, but much like student-athletes do.
Kelly Damphousse (04:07):
Oh, you met him on your visit?
Zenarae Antoine (04:08):
Yeah, I met him on my official visit. Yeah. So when I went, so I was still in high school.
Kelly Damphousse (04:12):
Was that part of the plan was that they said—
Zenarae Antoine (04:13):
You know—
Kelly Damphousse (04:13):
Hey, meet this young guy?
Zenarae Antoine (04:14):
Yeah, ’cause he's from Texas, right? That's how student-athletes think. So they're like, "Hey, I know somebody from Texas. I want you to meet him." So I met him. And so his story is that I gave him the cold shoulder. He's first off, he's shorter than me, so I'm sure I did, especially at that time, the immaturity level I had. And then second off, I was just like, OK, I'm not here to meet guys. I'm here to learn about Colorado State and what it had to offer. And so you fast forward to me choosing Colorado State over Baylor, and I meet him, they had a Black student dance, and I met him in September of my freshman year, and we've been together ever since.
Kelly Damphousse (04:50):
So you brushed him off, but then he warmed up to you or you warmed up to him?
Zenarae Antoine (04:54):
Well, he asked for my number because back then you could do that. Yeah, you could do that.
Kelly Damphousse (04:58):
A real landline, right?
Zenarae Antoine (04:59):
Yeah, exactly right. So he, as they say back then got the digits and I gave him my number. And then from there we just started hanging out, studying, going out to eat. And so that's where we both met. We actually both met at Colorado State, even though he's from Texas.
Kelly Damphousse (05:12):
OK. So what was it like being a student-athlete back then compared to now?
Zenarae Antoine (05:17):
I can tell you what the similarities are, what they call the grind is very similar. The training—
Kelly Damphousse (05:22):
You're up early, you're working out. People don't see that part of it.
Zenarae Antoine (05:25):
Correct.
Kelly Damphousse (05:25):
They show up, they watch a game, they think that's the end of it.
Zenarae Antoine (05:28):
Correct.
Kelly Damphousse (05:28):
They don't know about the travel, they don't know about the working out, the injuries and the pain, anxiety and
Zenarae Antoine (05:33):
A lot of what our athletes go through.
Kelly Damphousse (05:34):
Right?
Zenarae Antoine (05:35):
Correct. And then in working with your professors.
Kelly Damphousse (05:38):
Oh yeah.
Zenarae Antoine (05:39):
Right. Not all professors are the same. And I'm very fortunate as a student-athlete to have an experience where I had a great advisor.
(05:47):
I think having those academic advisors that are separate from sport but that can appreciate sport are amazing. Dr. Siller was mine, and I truly appreciate Dr. Siller. He was in the College of Civil Engineering and when I switched my degree to natural sciences, he was still there for me all the way through. And he's been a big piece of my life. And I think from there, I always end up being kind of the bridge for athletics with him in that particular college. But having them, him before they truly had that FAR position, that faculty athletic rep, he took on that role for me. And it was hard being a woman of color in the maths and sciences away from home. He was just a phenomenal person, him and his family. We connected on a lot of different levels. And so I really appreciated that. It really made me feel at home and have that sense of, OK, I'm going to make it. Because you're right, it's difficult as a student-athlete. You have the hours at the NCAA, write a lots, but then the academic piece of it, the outside training, if you're truly going to compete another level and then just taking care of your body adds a lot of hours in a day to day.
Kelly Damphousse (06:48):
Yeah. I know a lot of student-athletes now are thinking about a life in professional sports. Was that a thing then, or was it not something you were thinking about? You're getting a degree and going off and do something outside of sports?
Zenarae Antoine (07:03):
That's a good question. So I was at the brink of the ABL and the WNBA and coming from an academic family, academics really was driving me.
(07:11):
And so I made the decision to go to Ohio University to get my master's degree because my now husband was also there getting his master's degree. And there was a position open and I said, well, I got to beat my dad at some level. One day I'm going to get a Ph.D. So I went there thinking, I really enjoy coaching, and I also still had that bug. And so I did send out my film and found an agent who said, if you want to play, I have a place for you to play. If you want to continue in the coaching realm, you can, but you need to make a decision. So I called a lot of my coaches and they were pretty honest with me, and they said, you're probably at least two or three years away from making a squad. And I said, you know what?
(07:48):
Having parents who are both internationals, being overseas didn't have the same draw for me that it did for other kids. And so I said, no, I really want to start my degree. I'm in a really good place. But there were opportunities for sure. They've just grown exponentially now. It's wonderful to see. We currently have Da'Nasia Hood who's playing internationally for us in our current team. And we've had a lot of women from Texas State University, women's basketball players that have gone on and played professionally and able to take advantage of being in Germany, Israel, Belgium, I mean even our graduate assistant right now, she's over in Croatia playing.
Kelly Damphousse (08:21):
Yeah, it's unbelievable to see them coming from anywhere in Texas around the country, coming here to Texas State and then leaving and actually being able to make a living as a ballplayer for a while. I mean, it doesn't last forever, but women's sports in general, but women's basketball in particular has changed dramatically just in the past couple years in the options that are available for folks.
Zenarae Antoine (08:44):
Isn't it wonderful to have these opportunities? I think the drive that comes from a lot of our allies, which is men in sport, has been really important for these young women. I also think I shared this with someone recently that because right, we're in a Title IX, a very Title IX driven society. You have a lot of men who played, who now have young daughters who they recognize have talent and opportunity. And so a lot of those dads and fathers now really want those same opportunities for their children and in some cases now grandchildren. And so it's really fun to see. And as much as women's basketball is being celebrated, I mean, women's soccer really kind of pushed that piece as well at the same time. So I think there's a little bit of something for every young girl who's out there. And now recently I noticed we have potentially a professional volleyball team, semi-pro volleyball team within our region as well. So yeah, it's special to see.
Kelly Damphousse (09:36):
There was a time when in America there wasn't opportunity for women to play until Title IX came about and required schools to do what they probably should have done on their own. That kind of opened the doors. But even then it was slow played, right? There were scholarships and there was opportunities, but it didn't seem like the playing field literally was level for women and men's sports. But there seemed to be a real shift because of social media around the women's basketball tournament just a couple of years ago where a student-athlete said, look at what our weight room looks like here at the tournament versus what the guys have. And that kind of changed a lot of people's perspectives, right?
Zenarae Antoine (10:17):
Oh, for sure. And actually, we're playing that young woman, I think, yeah. Yeah. She's now at TCU.
Kelly Damphousse (10:21):
She's coaching?
Zenarae Antoine (10:22):
No, she's at TCU. Yes. Her name is Sedona Prince.
(10:25):
She went viral for that moment when she was at Oregon. And so because of that, and then some other things as well as far as backing, I think there's been a positive spotlight as far as understanding that as student-athletes, they're going through a lot of the same experiences, men's players and women's players and then giving them opportunity. And so I do appreciate that. And now you do see right behind the scenes on some of the NCAA committees I've been on, it's very important that we're able not just to match funds, but give a quality experience to the women as well.
Kelly Damphousse (10:54):
You could certainly talk a lot about what it's like to be a student-athlete, but what's it like to be a coach? This is something that people probably don't know as much about, especially one who is a mom. You got three boys all with names that start with Z as well, just like you. And so you got to be a wife and you got to be a mom and a coach. And when you're coaching a bunch of young people, you're almost like a mom to them too, right? I mean, I had you over at our house a couple weeks ago and the students were like, "Hey, let's go jump in the pool." And they didn't want to at first, and you said, I'm going to jump in, but only if you jump in with me. And I remember standing back and watching. I said, she's got a special relationship with these young people. And I bet a lot of them look up to you almost as a mother figure, right?
Zenarae Antoine (11:37):
In some ways, for sure. There's a lot of marrying between coaching and parenting. That's your coaching style. And so I would say yes, you find as a coach, as the years pass, you become an expert in the age of 16 to 22.
(11:49):
So although the landscape changes, there's certain things that don't change. And if you've got a passion for young people as working in university settings, it just makes it a lot of fun. So that that's the easy part of it. Watching the growth, being a part of that journey. As a parent of young people, as you're also a coach, the difficult times happen early. So I find that I've mentored some other women that are coaches, what to expect with the kids, right? They're definitely hard moments where they're trying to understand why are they more important than me?
(12:22):
And trying to help 'em work through, well, that's not necessarily the case. And explaining that to them that it's important to have opportunities. And then having a spouse who really celebrates women in sport, I think is important when you have sons, and our boys just absolutely appreciate they're going to watch Coach Ricci in softball in a heartbeat. They love watching volleyball games. They now watch their high school volleyball games. And so just weaving them into what that looks like helps them have a better understanding of this career path to me as a lifestyle. And them understanding a piece of that. And then as a parent also talking to other people who've gone through the experience of being a coach's kid.
(12:58):
So I love talking to coach's kids, whether they're adults or whether they're young. I'm constantly listening to them to see, OK, what were those difficulties for 'em so I can make sure that Ronald and I spearhead some of those immediately to make sure we give him a good experience? Because the last thing you want, you do hear the stories of coaches who said, you know what? I've neglected my family. It's time to step away. Or I missed a wedding, I missed a big opportunity to go listen to recital. And it really hurts my heart to hear those stories. And so we're doing the best that we can to try to balance 'em. And you're still going to miss, right? That's just a piece of it.
Kelly Damphousse (13:30):
You got to travel, right? We don't charter. So you got to travel commercially. And so you go to App State, then you go to JMU and then you come back, you've been gone for four days and you're going to miss something when you're gone, right?
Zenarae Antoine (13:41):
Correct. And so we do a lot of FaceTime, a lot of videos, and they don't care if you won or lost. Well actually, take back, the twins now are 15, so they do care.
(13:49):
The twins care, they're in a different place. But the little guy, he's just excited period, just to see you. And he does not matter if you won or lost, he just wants to tell you about something really fun that he did. Exactly, exactly. And I think that's just a piece of it that you also need to appreciate.
Kelly Damphousse (14:03):
Let's talk about your team right now. Things have changed so much in recruiting. It was a time when you were recruiting high school kids to come here and then maybe transfer students periodically. Now you're recruiting your own players to keep them over time. And so that's a new challenge for coaches at the collegiate level. Now, how has that worked with you here with the new era of the transfer portal and NIL and all the rights that students are getting that they didn't used to have before, but it creates some complications. So how's that working for you and your teams?
Zenarae Antoine (14:36):
I think one thing I always say is we need to put everything in perspective, and it's constantly changing for everyone.
(14:43):
So we have 10 new women, we have five returners. So that in itself can create, and four of those young women are freshmen, they all are coming with some level of expectation, but it's a little bit of stress, right? Or change that forced them in a situation where they wanted to leave. And so working through that, there are difficulties, but like you said, in the same thought process is if she has struggles or he has struggles, they have the option to look somewhere else. And so working through that, it's a constant. Creating a safe environment, a fun environment, but one where they need to learn and you need to learn quickly. Now I think that's what I found. So one of the things that we've been working on right now is making sure that whatever we install, it's not overly complicated. It needs to be simple. So you can pick it up and you can learn. So we've changed a little bit of what we do on both ends of the floor and we will see what that looks like. We've played two close scrimmages against two other universities and one was at a P4 level. And that was a tough game for our team. It was a tough game. But as I think through what this landscape looks like, the grass is always greener where you grow it.
(15:52):
And so these are the young women that we have and I'm really excited about who they are. And we might start out rocky, but it's going to get smooth. We just have to stick to the plan. And the plan this year is truly going to be start with love, then make sure we're really detailed in our training. And then honesty and not all of them like honesty. So what does that mean? That means these are your statistics and this is what you have to trust as far as moving forward. This is what it looks like. And I think part of that comes having a great staff too. So if you've won championships as student-athletes and you've won 'em here at Texas State, that should give you some of the street cred. And you have professional athletes as far as this is the path. And then the other part of that is just still loving on 'em when it's going to be really difficult. For us here at Texas State, we found our goal is to win a championship here, get our second championship here in our program in recent years. And that's really going to come through just hard work and discipline and finding the right young women.
Kelly Damphousse (16:45):
Talk a little bit about what the season looks like for you with this team that you put together
Zenarae Antoine (16:50):
You know, day-to-day practice, you're going to see a lot of laughing and having fun.
Kelly Damphousse (16:53):
They were so fun. This was the best group of students that came to my house, and Beth and I talked about after you guys left, about how much laughter there was and how they loved that you jumped in the pool with them and they wanted to get in there. A couple of 'em, kind of like tippy toed in, but it's a different team.
Zenarae Antoine (17:09):
It's a very different team. It's the first time I've coached a team that was so happy, interesting enough, we got to kind of reel it in, not even kind of, we need to reel it in because there's times where there needs to be focus.
(17:19):
And so that's been a challenge for us to figure out you don't want to kill the joy. You want 'em to continuously have fun, but at some level too, we're trying to figure out the good balance with them. Like, hey, now it's time to get serious. And so we looked for young women like Sierra Dickson to be able to help us with that balance. But they make every day so much fun. It makes you want to coach for the rest of your life, to be honest with you. So I'm looking forward to that. Especially when you know, have 10 newcomers coming to Texas State University, it's really important that they feel welcome in different ways and empowered as well.
Kelly Damphousse (17:49):
Yeah. How do you take those 10 newcomers and make them Bobcats?
Zenarae Antoine (17:53):
You've got to spend a lot of time with them. That's the truth. And individual time as well as time in small groups as well as times together. As a matter of fact, Blake said we loved it when you jumped in the pool coach, you need to do more things like that. Cause they were doing a yoga or Pilates session and she was like, you can get down here and do this with us. I was like, no.
Kelly Damphousse (18:10):
I'm not doing that.
Zenarae Antoine (18:10):
She's like, you jumped in the pool. I was like, yeah, that's different. There's certain things I'm just not going to do. Yeah, I'll get competitive and make a fool of myself. Yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (18:17):
In the end, what is your goal at Texas State before you, by the time you leave here, what are you hoping to accomplish?
Zenarae Antoine (18:26):
I think the most important to me is to create a legacy for young women that have been a part of Texas State University. And so it's really special to be able to bring them back and have them talk to the team, be able to go up to your suite in a football game, being able to reconnect with other student-athletes. I think that's part of the legacy that I'd like to leave here at Texas State before I leave, which does include winning for sure.
Kelly Damphousse (18:48):
Yeah, sure. You got to win, right?
Zenarae Antoine (18:49):
Yeah, yeah, winning and then just them taking their degrees to a whole nother level and then seeing them come back and give back and knowing that that was a special experience. And it's really neat. I think a lot of times as coaches, and I think this happens as parents too, it's always around five to 10 years before you get that text message or that letter of lessons learned. And I've learned now as an older coach, when I was younger it was a little bit different, that to appreciate those moments. They don't happen right away, but when they do happen, there was something special that happened at Texas State University, that's a piece of their life and that's what I hope to leave a legacy of love, but an appreciation for being a part of this Texas State fabric. And I was able to truly enjoy and see that a couple of weeks ago when we had a former student-athlete come through and she just really just shared a lot that I really never knew about her progress and her process when she made the decision to come to Texas State and now it's had an impact on her, that's pretty awesome.
Kelly Damphousse (19:43):
You never do know. You might think you know what's going on in people's lives, but you don't. And I do see how you are impacting these young people's lives. I get a chance to help you recruit students that come here, thank you for letting me do that. It's one of the funnest things I do is get to meet with those students when they're coming to check the place out. But I'm oftentimes recruiting the parents because I don't know x's and o's, and I never played basketball. I can't tell them any more than what I tell their parents. And that's that I trust our staff and our coaches and their best interests in heart and that they'll do everything they can to help them be safe, which is really important that they'll help them get their degree, which is ultimately what they're here for. But they'll also have a chance to be successful on the court as well, and to play ball for as long as they want to play ball, but then prepare them for life after ball that there's a time when everyone has to hang it up, either get into coaching or get into business world or whatever it is.
(20:40):
And I tell the parents that our coach and her staff are just sold out in that area, that that's what they're passionate about is helping young people get from here to there. And I love being able to tell that with a straight face. I'm not faking it. I can really tell how you care about that.
Zenarae Antoine (20:57):
I appreciate you saying that. I've evolved because now I'm the age of the young women's, the student-athletes that are coming. As a matter of fact, there are a couple parents even younger than me now. And so because of that though, it's made it very genuine when I talk to them as well as our own young men that we have in our family, potentially being student-athletes, it makes it a lot easier and more comfortable for me to be honest. But at the same time, them understand that this is coming from a place of love and that if there are ever any issues or complications or questions, they have to feel comfortable coming to me because I have a pretty good understanding of what they're going through. And so in this stage of my life, it's been a lot easier from that standpoint recruiting. But then also right when they become Bobcats, there's that open communication that they know that they have if they need to. When it comes to anything outside of x's and o's.
Kelly Damphousse (21:44):
You just made me think of something about this being in your stage of life. Do you remember what you were like as a young coach and you look back now and go, ugh, I wish I wasn't like that?
Zenarae Antoine (21:55):
Yes, a hundred percent.
Kelly Damphousse (21:56):
Like what?
Zenarae Antoine (21:57):
It wasn't at this institution, it was when I was a young assistant coach. When you're young, you want them to just love it the way you did. And you've got your fire, you've got energy. And this young woman right now has got a Ph.D. in sports psychology. And so I've always said, if I ever get to see her face to face, I'm going to give her a big hug, take her out, eat a great meal. Because she struggled in a particular drill and I was just so hyper-focused on her getting it right that when she didn't, we had some extracurricular after practice and it really broke her down. And so I said, geez, what was the point of that exercise? If it was to prove a point that you can get it done, maybe she was just fatigued and tired and we need to revisit it. It really wasn't to keep pushing and pushing. And if I could take that particular moment back in my career, I definitely would. I can tell you now, a lot of my players told me I've gone soft.
Kelly Damphousse (22:53):
Yeah, that's funny.
Zenarae Antoine (22:53):
In some ways. But I've said at some point you want that person to perform, you want them to understand. And so it doesn't make sense with some of the corrections that we do at times, even with our own kids, with one kid, we could use corporal punishment with. The other one is like, is that all you got?
Kelly Damphousse (23:11):
Is that right? That doesn't hurt at all.
Zenarae Antoine (23:13):
Yeah, no. Literally that's what he said. And so it's like, oh, well you got to switch it up, then you got to find another way to get your point across. And so that's definitely a lesson learned for me and I'm really proud of her as a young woman and I would for sure take that moment back.
Kelly Damphousse (23:26):
It's interesting. I think it's too easy to fall in the trap of thinking that there's only one way of doing this job, and there's a lot of ways to be a coach. And even within your own team, there's a lot of ways of being coached there. Not every player is going to respond the same way. Some people thrive when they're getting yelled at. Other people cower under that. I don't respond well, there's people yelling and being mad at me and so on. I'm more of a carrot than a stick person. But there's some people who love that, they thrive under that.
Zenarae Antoine (23:54):
I was that person.
Kelly Damphousse (23:55):
You can figure that out. Yeah, you love the stick.
Zenarae Antoine (23:57):
Yeah, but you're right, you do. And then being able to balance that because gosh, you don't get after her that way. Well sometimes there's another way to get the point across. And so that can be difficult at times from just coaching period. But you're right. That's the fun part though, is right, is figuring that out, putting together puzzle pieces and really just trying to crack that code. And with what we do here at Texas State, like you said, families are a big piece of that.
(24:20):
So there's times where we do involve families to be able to help raise their daughter at this level.
Kelly Damphousse (24:25):
Yeah. Well thanks so much. Thank you so much for being here today. But even more, thank you for doing what you're doing because I do take great pride in talking about how you lead our team and how invested you are in the future of the young ladies who come here. I think that there's no higher calling than being a coach or a teacher because those people look up to their parents, but they look up to their coaches and teachers in a different way and you're having a huge impact in their lives. So thank you for doing that. Thank you for being here.
Zenarae Antoine (24:54):
I appreciate that. I really do. I love being at Bobcat. I love Texas State.
Kelly Damphousse (24:58):
Well, we love you being a Bobcat as well. All right, that wraps things up. We'll be back right after this.
(25:03):
All right, we're back now and we've got a really special segment here. This is a great opportunity for us to hear from one of our alumni who is doing great things using her degree. Sometimes students will get a degree and then go off in a different direction. I was a criminal justice undergrad, wanted to be a police officer, never get a chance to do that. It's a story of my life. But anyways, sometimes people are doing what they always wanted to do and so we've got with us Hannah Rucker. Hannah is actually working at KVUE and she's the daybreak traffic and news anchor, which means you get up at 2:00 a.m. every morning.
Hannah Rucker (25:35):
Bright and early, lots of coffee every day.
Kelly Damphousse (25:36):
And get up. And I love watching you in the morning. So chipper, I dunno how you do it. I'm not chipper in the morning and you're talking about the wonderful traffic in Austin, which is great.
Hannah Rucker (25:49):
It's just crazy. Oh my gosh. The growth in everything has been unbelievable and it really is a joy and I feel like a horse ready to be let out of the gate every day. Ready for live TV.
Kelly Damphousse (25:57):
Now when you go in, so you get up at 2, but what time do you actually drive to work?
Hannah Rucker (26:01):
Yeah, so I try to get in by 3:30, but I start looking over everything. You just got to get ready real fast.
Kelly Damphousse (26:07):
But the traffic's probably pretty good by then, right?
Hannah Rucker (26:08):
It is, dark and early.
Kelly Damphousse (26:10):
So this morning I drove to Bee Cave and the night before I said, oh, it's going to take 45 minutes to get there. And then I got up in the morning, says, oh, it's going to take me an hour and a half to get there. And so you never know, right?
Hannah Rucker (26:20):
Yeah, Bee Cave is extra hard too. There's only just kind of very tight, narrow road.
Kelly Damphousse (26:24):
I should have asked you before I left. So tell us a little bit about yourself. Where'd you grow up and why'd you end up coming to Texas State?
Hannah Rucker (26:31):
Yes. Well, first I just wanted to say it is an honor to be here. I love that you're doing this and everything that you've done for this university has been incredible to see.
Kelly Damphousse (26:38):
Thank you.
Hannah Rucker (26:39):
And I am a proud native Texan. I grew up just north of Dallas, a little town called Coppell and—
Kelly Damphousse (26:44):
Oh yeah, with the Coppell
Hannah Rucker (26:47):
Cowboys.
Kelly Damphousse (26:47):
The Cowboys, that's right.
Hannah Rucker (26:48):
Yes. Yeah, we always kind of had our tie to Dallas and—
Kelly Damphousse (26:51):
Unfortunately I'm a Cowboys fan, so I'm not sure—
Hannah Rucker (26:53):
Me too. Last night was — can we talk? Oh.
Kelly Damphousse (26:56):
Yeah, you can. It's OK.
Hannah Rucker (26:57):
It hurts.
Kelly Damphousse (26:57):
It wouldn't matter when this was airing because last night was probably just as bad as next week.
Hannah Rucker (27:01):
OK. This is so true. Anyways, kind of a small town, but I was always very active with my church. My family is very musical, so I'm musical too. I like to sing and was always kind of in front of a crowd and always really enjoyed reading and writing and just kind of ended up at Texas State.
Kelly Damphousse (27:21):
Why did you come to Texas State?
Hannah Rucker (27:23):
Let's see, so what was it, 2012 maybe? And it's kind of funny, I actually credit my dad. I remember us nervously flipping through the books of majors.
Kelly Damphousse (27:32):
Because back then no internet. Well, you had internet, but you really had to get the books right?
Hannah Rucker (27:35):
Yes. And it was just so angsty. I really didn't know. I mean, I had an idea, but really it was him that pointed to electronic media and he's like, you would be perfect for this.
Kelly Damphousse (27:43):
Is that right?
Hannah Rucker (27:44):
It is, yes.
Kelly Damphousse (27:45):
So from the very beginning though, you came in as a freshman, that was going to be a thing.
Hannah Rucker (27:48):
It was, and it wasn't until I got to actually try out for the school TV station and all that when I was like, this, it just kind lit me up. I was like, I got to keep doing this. So yeah, I always credit my dad because it's kind of, choosing a major is so intimidating. You just don't know. And it's like how is your whole life going to be planned out by this one decision?
Kelly Damphousse (28:04):
You're 18 years old in high school and you're going to make a decision that affects the entirety of your life. Now a lot of students do change the major, but I never did. I was, I want to be a police officer. So I was a criminal justice undergrad. I never veered, but most students changed two or three times. And you didn't though. You stuck with it too.
Hannah Rucker (28:21):
I just kind of stuck with it. Yeah, I had a minor in psychology, which actually some of those classes have helped me in my news career. We can talk about that. But it just all kind of worked out. It's just crazy. And as I went on throughout college and I got to be with the school radio station, KTSW, and then Bobcat Update, I just look back and the stars just kind of aligned. It was amazing. And I'm really glad, yeah, I went this route.
Kelly Damphousse (28:41):
What was the best experience either at KTSW or what other in broadcast experience that you had here that you were like, this is it. This is the moment when I'm like, I'm locked in.
Hannah Rucker (28:52):
Even I remember freshman year, Dr. Laurie Fluker looked out to the class and she said, people are going to be very nervous at the amount of talent that you have. And she told the whole class that. And I felt like she was just talking to me. And I don't know, every time I come back here, I get emotional almost because it makes me realize how far and how hard I've worked. But really some of these professors shaped me so much. And I think back to that and it just kind of lit something inside of me and I was like, maybe I can really do this. And it was classes like that and the late nights of the radio station and Dr. England. And at first he kind of scared me, our first class, the level of intensity. But he taught me so much and brought, you've got to be tough. You've got to be tough in this line of work. And yeah, I just have so many fond memories with the professors over the years.
Kelly Damphousse (29:34):
So what's your pathway to KVUE? How did you get there? Was it automatic? Was it easy? You graduated and you kind of walked in and got the job. First one you applied for?
Hannah Rucker (29:43):
No, no, no. It was such an, oh—
Kelly Damphousse (29:45):
Good. Thank goodness.
Hannah Rucker (29:46):
Oh my gosh.
Kelly Damphousse (29:46):
Because that's the normal story, right? It's a curvy path, but everyone thinks that, oh, they just went and did this thing.
Hannah Rucker (29:52):
I know. Isn't that? It's just crazy. No, it was not some overnight thing. It really wasn't. So I got an internship in Austin and they allowed me to do these little standups and they would let me practice through whenever the shows would be over, I'd stay late and run through that. And then my first job was actually out in Lubbock, which was crazy. The news out there is insane. I dunno what it is. But I was out on cotton farms every day, and then I'd be at Texas Tech and just all kinds of crazy things out there. And it was duopoly, so it was ABC and CBS. So I was kind of turning two stories every day. And it was, I do what's called an MMJ. So you're a multimedia journalist. So you essentially shoot—
Kelly Damphousse (30:30):
You got the camera, you're doing everything right, because in the old days you had a sound person and you had the camera person, and now it's just you.
Hannah Rucker (30:37):
Pretty much.
Kelly Damphousse (30:37):
Yeah.
Hannah Rucker (30:38):
One man band. And some days it can be real rough. You're out there in that desert wind hitting you. But it just made me tough. It made me tough. And then after that I went to Myrtle Beach and South Carolina, you just kind of have to work your way up and you just travel around. We sign these two year contracts, really. And then you just kind work your way. And then after Myrtle Beach, got some good experience there. Hurricanes, I was out there, raging ocean.
Kelly Damphousse (30:59):
That's got to be the best thing, right? You want to go there,
Hannah Rucker (31:02):
It was so fun.
Kelly Damphousse (31:02):
You know, Dan Rather strapping himself to the telephone pole, that kind of thing.
Hannah Rucker (31:05):
Exactly. I mean, yeah, I went from the desert out to the ocean and it was such a—
Kelly Damphousse (31:09):
Lubbock, Myrtle beach, very similar.
Hannah Rucker (31:11):
It was so different. And it was very fond memories there too. You just kind of fall in love with these places and the people you meet at the stations really become your family. So a lot of fond memories there. And then I saw there was a weekend position at KVUE, came back here, and then I'll be at KVUE in February, five years, which is crazy. And then I've kind of just sort of made my own little thing here at KVUE.
Kelly Damphousse (31:34):
It's interesting. So I think there's a rule that if you move away from Texas, you have to move back eventually. But was there a time where you said, I got to get back to Texas?
Hannah Rucker (31:42):
Oh, oh yeah. Oh yeah. I dunno. I have a deep love for the state. I think people, yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (31:47):
What is it about Texas?
Hannah Rucker (31:48):
Oh, I don't know. The people here are friendly. They care about you. They love you. They will just give the—
Kelly Damphousse (31:52):
They're real. They're authentic.
Hannah Rucker (31:53):
They're real. What you see is what you get. They'll take off the shirt for your back. That is how a true Texan that you're meeting, they're just very caring people and yeah, I needed to get back home. I missed the food, I missed the barbecue, the music, all this.
Kelly Damphousse (32:03):
I'm just going to ask you, what did you miss?
Hannah Rucker (32:05):
Oh, all of it. Yeah. We are big foodies. My dad, he makes us eat through the top 50 Texas Monthly barbecue. We got to do it. He is true blue Texan. And my family is everything to me. And having them local, they watch every morning. My mom will tell me my nose is shiny. All the things, they will give it to me straight though.
Kelly Damphousse (32:22):
Being close to family though is important too, right?
Hannah Rucker (32:24):
It's so important. Especially with this job, it can be tough. And after long weeks, there's nothing better than just reconnecting with them. And yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (32:30):
You say the job's tough, so it always looks easy, right? Because you're so graceful and you're having a great time and you got your co-hosts and so on. But there's tough moments too, right?
Hannah Rucker (32:39):
There is tough moments. I mean, it is long hours and the news that we are reporting and consuming and essentially marinating in every day, it's very heavy. And especially now, it can just be a little tense sometimes as a society. I don't know what it is right now, but—
Kelly Damphousse (32:52):
I know what it is.
Hannah Rucker (32:53):
Yeah, I have an idea.
Kelly Damphousse (32:53):
I have a few ideas, but it is heavy. And for you have to, first off, you've got to project a certain personality while you're doing this. And not let the news bother you because you've got to present the news, right?
Hannah Rucker (33:06):
And I have naturally always been a very joyful person and optimistic, and I really do feel that. And so I just think people need that more than ever. And I take it very seriously to be able to share that.
Kelly Damphousse (33:16):
People aren't going to watch you because they want to get depressed about bad things. They're looking to you to lift them up and to put a sunny side to something. And you found, you've become people's friends. People come up to you and start talking to you like, "Hey, how are you doing?" Or they're your friends already.
Hannah Rucker (33:38):
Oh yeah. And especially when I come back to San Marcos, that mermaid event we do when I come back here and I put on that big wig, but it's, people run up to me and they're like, we're so proud of you, we're so proud. And it just brings tears to my eyes. It means so much to me. And yes, I, I'm kind of floating in this television, not knowing who's on the other side. And so when I get out and talk to these people, I'm like, you're on the other side. You're up with me. You're a farmer, you're a teacher, you're up at the crack of dawn doing it just like I am.
Kelly Damphousse (34:03):
Do you play a game with yourself? You're talking to someone specific like your mom or something like that? Or is it just nothing, that's like you're talking to everybody.
Hannah Rucker (34:10):
Oh my gosh, what do I do? I don't know. Yeah, you just got to get out all that head noise. And I'm just like, this is a very important story that I'm sharing. And yeah, maybe I do know my parents are on the other side or my friends. Or the more you connect with the community, it does help that. It really does.
Kelly Damphousse (34:24):
Actually. I do that when I do public speaking. Sometimes I'll pick somebody out and I'm going tell you this story.
Hannah Rucker (34:29):
Oh, that's good.
Kelly Damphousse (34:30):
And maybe two or three people so I'm not just staring at that might make someone a little nervous. Why is that guy staring at me the whole time, just fixated? He's just staring at me. But I think sometimes if you can personalize who you're talking to, it can help you kind of break a barrier down. They're not just speaking to a void. I used to, when I first started, I would stare at the back of the room and people are like, what is he looking at back there? Because unless you've taken public speaking, you have, I'm sure you're quite gifted naturally, but you probably had some training in this. But until you get used to that, you've got to find a secret to it somehow.
Hannah Rucker (35:02):
Oh yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (35:02):
Yeah, yeah.
Hannah Rucker (35:02):
When you're first starting out, that's exactly what they say though. Try to think of someone familiar in your mind and it does help. It does. Yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (35:07):
So the first time we met, I think was the Mermaid Festival. I think that might've been the first time we met.
Hannah Rucker (35:12):
Or what was it? No, yeah, we did. It was a live show.
Kelly Damphousse (35:15):
Oh, you did a live show at the courthouse.
Hannah Rucker (35:17):
Yes.
Kelly Damphousse (35:19):
The Square. It was like six in the morning or something like, it was dark out there.
Hannah Rucker (35:20):
Yes.
Kelly Damphousse (35:21):
Yeah, that's right. And then you did the mermaid, you were like the emcee for the mermaid thing, and you were all dressed up in—
Hannah Rucker (35:26):
Yes!
Kelly Damphousse (35:26):
Peacock blue. I think.
Hannah Rucker (35:27):
It was so good to meet you. Like I said, I love how focused you are on student engagement and even doing this right here, you have so many unique ideas and it seems like you are in with the times and what kids are doing. So that's really cool.
Kelly Damphousse (35:38):
Well, it is such a fun job and it allows you to do things that other people only wish they could do. What I remember about that was just how calm you, and I remember you wearing a straw cowboy hat and you had a Texas State shirt on, and I was so proud of you because you were like, "Hey, I'm Texas State. I'm a Bobcat. I work in Austin, but here I am in my hometown." And you actually said my hometown. You didn't say Coppell, you said San Marcos, and we are proud of you. It's so great to see you. Not only are you famous for being the traffic person in the news person in the morning on Daybreak,
(36:14):
but you also have kind of a personal mission, these forever friends stories that you do. And it really touches my heart as my parents adopted me and they became foster parents. So I lived, I wasn't a foster child, but I lived in the foster system, on the edge of the foster system for a long time. And I always had a real appreciation from what my adopted parents did for me and what they did for those foster kids that came in and out of our house. But you also have a fondness for the people trapped in the system as well. Talk a little bit about how you got into doing this and then what you're doing now.
Hannah Rucker (36:52):
Oh, it's been amazing. I mean, I've always been very connected with children, and I always told myself, if I wasn't going to go into broadcast, I want to do something with children. And so this kind of fell into my lap and it was a series that was already in place, but they really needed someone to kind of take it on and show it some more love and keep it really going. And they knew that I'm someone that's going to stay here in Austin and really try to pour into it. And it's just turned into this incredible thing. It's every Tuesday I interview a different child in local Texas foster care, and we show up at a local venue of something that they might like. So for instance, last week I was shooting hoops with a young boy.
(37:29):
And he's like, I just really want a family that will play with me. And he's like, my biological dad taught me how to play basketball, and I obviously don't get to do that with him anymore. So there's a level of sadness with it. But I look forward to these stories every week and it's just been incredible, the outreach. So they air Thursday, Friday, Saturday. We just try to put 'em out there as much as we can. And the whole concept, it might seem a little weird, but this visibility, it's been incredible. Last year we saw 13 children that I have featured be adopted. This year we've had more. I'm going to a couple of courthouses coming up too. And it's just been, and I love that you shared your story when you said that you have a personal experience. It's, you know better than anyone. There's that level of loneliness and what these kids want. It's just the basic things. They're like, I want to go out to dinner with the family. I want someone to spend time with, I want to not have to share my house with, because a lot of them live in group homes.
(38:22):
So it's been good.
Kelly Damphousse (38:24):
It's really challenging, but you're providing a venue for these young people to tell their story in a way that they couldn't otherwise. And then for the audience who I know tunes in to see these, the same people like to watch the Olympics for the Olympic stories, the backstories, that people are watching this and then getting touched in a way that say, talking to their spouse maybe saying, Hey, you know what? We've got the ability, why don't we kind of do this? And you said 13 last year—
Hannah Rucker (38:49):
Oh yeah.
Kelly Damphousse (38:50):
Forever families were created.
Hannah Rucker (38:51):
And that's just the filmings that I've done. But locally, yeah, it's just amazing. There are people, exactly what you just said where they're like, wait a second, maybe I can look into this.
Kelly Damphousse (38:59):
Yeah, I think people want to do well, but do good, not do well, but do good and don't know where is the need. There must be need out there, but I don't know where it is. And you're kind of opening a door to something that they may not know much about.
Hannah Rucker (39:12):
Thank you. Yeah, it's been incredible.
Kelly Damphousse (39:13):
What was your best or favorite story about Forever Families?
Hannah Rucker (39:19):
Well, actually, so after I do this with you, it's a very special story. This year I've had so many because I take these little piece of them with me and I just think about that.
Kelly Damphousse (39:27):
They're like your kids. There's no favorite kid, right?
Hannah Rucker (39:29):
Oh, I just can't stop thinking about, I really can't. And so it's so crazy. My coworker actually ended up adopting one of the little girls that I featured, and he's a single dad, and it was insane. So he invited me to the courthouse with her. And so I still get to be a part of her life and I'm going to see her later today. But that to me was like, whoa, I get to see her on a regular basis. She's part of the KVUE family now. And what he said to her in that courtroom, he's like, will you be my daughter forever? And she just teared up and she's like, yes. She's like, you've changed my life. And she just wanted someone to see her and support her. And she's like a spunky little, we have the same energy. So we have a soulful connection. And now I feel like I'm part of the family too.
Kelly Damphousse (40:10):
What's interesting when children are in the foster system, when they age out of that, many of them don't go anywhere. They just go get a job somewhere. Some few of them go to college and actually the state does a good job of providing for free tuition for them and for those who go, but when they can afford to go, because the state provides resources, but they don't have a lot of extra spending money. And when the school shuts down, they don't have anywhere to go at Thanksgiving or Christmas break.
Hannah Rucker (40:38):
I've wanted to do a story with you on this so bad. We've talked about it with the Forever Family people, so we'd love to do it sometime maybe with one of our teens, but it's so true. And getting to college is hard enough, even when you do have supportive parents in your corner. But if you don't have someone sitting there and even just filling out the applications and being like, you got to, and solidify that housing and solidify all of that. So a lot of them don't go, which exactly like you just said, it just kills me. I'm like, they have this opportunity to go and do it, and they don't do it. They don't have that support.
Kelly Damphousse (41:05):
We talk a lot about first-generation college students, about half the students that come to Texas State are first generation, almost all the foster kids would be for first generation. But the challenge we always talk about is that first-generation students can't go home and talk to their parents about the challenges. The parents don't understand it. They try to empathize. But if you don't even have that, just think how much more challenging it is. We're blessed to have a couple of faculty members that have created a student organization for foster kids called FACES here on our campus.
Hannah Rucker (41:33):
Oh, wow.
Kelly Damphousse (41:33):
And it's a student organization where these foster children who've aged out of the system are now on our campus, and they can come together and talk to each other and ask questions of a faculty member. And it's really moving for me. Beth and I started a scholarship program, so every year it's when it's my birthday, she always puts out don't buy 'em a present, donate to the scholarship program for the foster kids that are in our school.
Hannah Rucker (41:56):
I love that.
Kelly Damphousse (41:57):
Yeah, it's great. And people have been so generous. About $60,000 have been raised through this and that the money all goes to these young people who just need sometimes someone to listen to 'em, to give some advice or just to care to show that they're important. And that's what you can provide. And you've done that through. I've seen you. You're so compassionate and they know that you care.
(42:27):
Well, thanks so much for coming in, Hannah. I've enjoyed learning more about you and more about what you do, but more importantly about who you are. And thank you for sharing that. This is now kind of a new thing we're doing where people can send in questions for me. I've not seen the questions, but would you mind, I've been asking you questions, you ask me a question.
Hannah Rucker (42:45):
Now my turn. I like this.
Kelly Damphousse (42:47):
And if you have your own question, you can power away too.
Hannah Rucker (42:48):
OK. Let's take a look here. What legacy do you hope to leave as president of the university?
Kelly Damphousse (42:55):
Oh wow. These are always so deep. So legacy is, in some ways, it's a story that people will tell about you when you're gone. And for me, I hope the story people tell is that I came here not knowing much about the school, but learned as much as I could, as quickly as I could. And then I tried to improve that story to make that story better and to amplify the story. And ultimately, you want to leave the place better than when you found it. And that people will think that I cared about them. I do. I care about our students and our faculty and our staff. I want to make sure that they have what they need to be successful. And for our students, that's mostly about getting into college and staying in college and then graduating and then having a chance to go off to have the life that they wanted. And for our faculty and staff, it's a chance to come to a place and do something they've always wanted to do. For many of them, what they want to do is what I want to do with our students. They're here to help students be successful. And if I can do that, what better legacy is there than to improve a place that has been changing people's lives for 125 years, but setting 'em up to do even more of that in the years to come. So there you go.
Hannah Rucker (44:15):
I just love it and I think people can tell you really genuinely do care. And once again, I just really appreciate you for having me here and it's been a wonderful chat with you.
Kelly Damphousse (44:22):
I love this place. I love our students. I love our faculty and staff, but I especially love our alumni who are going off and doing great things. LBJ talked about can do people in his life, and sometimes he would give them a memento that said "can do" on it. And these are people who got stuff done, and I think LBJ would say that Hannah Rucker is a can-do person. So thank you for representing us so well.
Hannah Rucker (44:44):
Thank you so much.
Kelly Damphousse (44:44):
All right, well that concludes this episode of The Current podcast. All right, talk to you soon. States Up.