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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
- So your mom just called.
- Yeah. She calls me like 20 times a day.
- Does she really? You're gonna call her back?
- Yeah. I'm calling her right now. Hello, Mommy.
- [Mother] Yes, baby. Are you okay?
- Yeah. You are on podcast with President Damphousse. They're gonna ask you questions.
- [Mother] Oh my God. What? Stop.
- Okay. Let me ask the question. All right. How are you doing?
- Oh, thank you.
- I'm glad to hear it. So I want to ask you a question. What's your favorite story of Johanna when she was growing up? Something funny.
- [Mother] When she was, like, two years, less than two years old, I've taken her to the park. And I've dressed her up. She was wearing all white, nice white top, and she loves Dora. Everything about Johanna was "Dora the Explorer." So I dressed her up. It's a backpack and everything. And then we got to the park. And she just had a meltdown. She was crying. Was rolling in the mud. And oh my God. I didn't know what to do. Like, I was confused. Because I thought she would be happy that I brought her over there. And that was how our day ended. We had to turn around and go back home. And up until today, I tell her that story. And she's like, "Mom, you have told me that story like a million times."
- Hey, Bobcats. Kelly Damphousse here, president at Texas State University. And welcome to "The Current," where we talk to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the university to find out what's going on at Texas State. And today's a special opportunity for us. Johanna Ajayi, join us. Thank you for being here.
- Thank you for having me.
- Yeah. We've been buddies for a while. So you're a member of the Gold Star Society, which is actually pretty cool. It's kind of our ambassador program. And also you're the student body president this year. So it was kind of fun to see you kind of elevate that position. I remember I was walking into the Student Center and you were walking out. And remember you guys had a special color shirt, pink polo shirts on. And you said, "Hey, can we get a picture together?" I said, "Yeah, absolutely." He said, "Can you say 'Vote for Johanna'?" I was like, "No, I can't say that." But that's like, I didn't know you were running until that moment. And I thought, man, she is going to win. And it wasn't even close, right?
- Yeah, it wasn't.
- So let's start at the beginning. Tell me where you grew up and what brought you to Texas State?
- I actually grew up in Nigeria. I moved over to the U.S. in 2021 when I was 14. I started high school here. I went to, my first high school was... I've gone to like a couple high schools. I feel like I've gone to at least four high schools right now. I started at Sharpstown International School. And then I moved over to Alief Hastings.
- Oh, yeah.
- Yes. And then that's where I actually met my longtime friends, my roommates. Both of them we're still friends till this day. We've known each other for four years right now. And then I applied to like 20 universities before I chose Texas State. I applied and I was like, okay, let me see which school has the best, you know, building. I wanted to go visit them all. I actually like put to visit five universities. And I was like, okay, let me see what gives me the most money, which school do I feel related to most. And I actually only visited Texas State. And then I just committed to Texas State the moment I came on here.
- I hear that all the time from students. Like, "Oh, my mom made me come and I did the tour. And then like on the way home, I said, 'That's where I'm going.'"
- Yeah. Literally, I came in here, Texas State. And actually, one of the things I know... So when I came for my NSO, I was talking to students. And I actually moved away from the group and I talked to like random students. I was like, "Hey, do you actually like Texas State?" Like, I don't want to ask the tour guys because I know they're telling me.
- They're getting paid to say, "Oh, yeah, we love them here."
- Exactly. So I was like, I don't want to ask them. Let me ask a random student. And she was like, "Yes, I actually love Texas State." And funny enough, she's like, "One of the reasons I love Texas State was because of Buc-ee's. And there's a Buc-ee's right next by." I was like, "Oh, okay, that's cool." And then this other lady, she was telling me about how much her classes are like far apart. But like she loves to walk. She loves the nature. And she's telling me all the great spots they have here at Texas State, how she met her longtime friends. And just like so many amazing things that I was like, okay, I can definitely see myself here. They didn't feel weird that was coming up. Like, why are you talking to me? They're just like, "Yeah, like, hi, what's your name?" Like, they were just so friendly. And I was like, this is such a community-based school. And then also during NSO, I know I was walking around, I see tour guides talking in Spanish and English. And I was like, that's amazing. One of the only universities that we actually have tour guides talking in Spanish because we are a lot of first-generation students here. So I just felt like it was very diverse. It was very, what's the right word? Very adaptable, like for all students to be here and flourish here. And I'm really glad I chose Texas State.
- I hear this a lot from students who say, I think some people are attracted by the fact that there's people who look like them here and they feel very comfortable in that environment. But I also hear them say things like, "I didn't have to come here and like become a Bobcat."
- Yeah.
- Because there's no real definition of what a Bobcat is. "I could just be myself."
- Yeah.
- And maybe myself is not who I was in high school. Like I could be Johanna 2.0, right? You know, because you've got a history there and you maybe did something dumb in grade nine and then it kind of sticks with you. Now you can, like no one knows what you did in grade nine. Yeah. And so you can start over. But you don't have to become something you aren't. You can just be who you are. And I think that's something that's special about this place. I do think the nature part of it, like hiking in the river, the beautiful architecture here.
- The trees, like very...
- Yeah, trees everywhere. You know, we're building a new residence hall and I went and toured it the other day. And we actually built it around these old live oak trees because we didn't want to tear them down. So we actually kind of made sure that we could rescue as many of the trees as possible. I took a few pictures of them. And they'll be like a centerpiece of the courtyard. And it would have been much more efficient to just like tear down all the trees and plant these buildings in a certain space. But we really wanted to protect the trees because nature is really important to our students and to our faculty and staff and to our community as well. So I'm glad to hear that that's kind of your experience. I've not heard that before. I think it's really a good way to like, to learn about a place is not talk to the people who are paid to say nice things. But actually talk to like...
- Random people or like people in the community.
- Tell me what you really think.
- Exactly. That was one thing I did.
- And I'm glad you heard good things. Yeah. And so you get here. What was your freshman year? What year was it?
- 2024.
- 2024. Okay. This is only your...
- I'm a junior right now.
- You're a junior.
- Yeah.
- So you became president at the end of your sophomore year.
- Yes.
- That's crazy.
- I became president at 18.
- Yeah. Yeah. That's crazy. Let's talk a little bit about that. So your major, what's your major first?
- So I did a double major. I am a finance major with business management and a minor in business law.
- Yeah. So business school. So McCoy College of Business.
- Yes. I love McCoy.
- And you're on the Dean's Leadership Council there as well. So you get to hang out with Dean Ramchander a little bit. Yeah. And then how'd you get on that?
- So they were sending a bunch of emails. McCoy always sends emails. And I was like, every five seconds you're getting emails from McCoy for sure. And I seen this, we were like, "Apply for this, apply for this." And I did a little bit of research. And I'm already in Gold Star by the time I applied. So I was like, this is very much like Gold Star, but specifically for McCoy.
- For the college.
- Yes. And it also was very limited. It had only 15 spots available. And obviously McCoy has thousands of students in it. So I was like, okay, let me apply. Let me see if I would do it. And also one of the things I really like about the Dean's Leadership Academy is the fact that it's not after hours. It's from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays. So it's like right after class. You can go, you don't have to wait after 5. And I was like, okay, this could work great for my schedule. Because I already making my schedule for the next school year. And I was like, okay, I like what they stand for. It was like a mentorship program. We get to work directly under the dean. And they had like a bunch of leadership opportunities in there. And I actually knew a couple people who were part of it. And last year, another thing that they explained was that they take students out of the U.S. and we go for a trip. Last year, they went to India. And then they went to go see a lot of companies. They got to meet people. Yes. And I was like, okay, for sure. I want to travel. And this is a great opportunity. And I just felt like I would make friends, meet people. And I learned a lot about myself. So I decided to apply. And when I was applying, I know they told me about like 60 people applied for it. So you never know if you're going to get it or not. I was like, okay, I'm just going to throw my hat in the bucket. And I went through the interview process. And after that, I got an email. Like over the summer, I just like randomly got an email. They sent us an email being like, "They're going to push back." It was very selective. I was like, oh, my gosh. Did I get it? Did I not? And then they told me like, "Oh, my gosh, you got it." And I was like, "Oh, my." Like, that's crazy because it's only 15 people that they were going to let in. And since then, we've only had two meetings so far. But so far, it has been amazing. And funnily enough, I know a lot of people in it already. And I was like, okay, this is going to be...
- Well, there's a circulation of students that are all kind of like super involved. And you're one of those students. You know, I had Brian McCoy sitting in that chair a few months ago. And we did a podcast with him. And his mom and dad were the ones who named the college with a very nice gift. But Brian's super involved himself. He helps. He's on the leadership board for the foundation and so on. He is, even though he didn't go to school here and his parents didn't go to college, he's super passionate about creating opportunities for students to learn about leadership. He's an incredible leader himself. He was the CEO of McCoy's Building Supply. And he's a very personal leader. Like, he will call his employees up on their birthday and wish them a happy, like before the day even starts. He gets up at five in the morning and call them up and say, "Hey, I just want to wish you a happy birthday." And when they get the office, their voicemail is lit up and it's their boss, wishing them a happy birthday. He knows their names. And that's one of the great ways of being a leader is to just know your people. And to see, I think he would love to hear that story about how you got involved because I think he understands that investing in students is investing in Texas, investing in America. And making this place better. So what are your plans after you graduate? What are you going to do?
- I want to work in finance. I wanted to work as an investment banker, but I realized that I have to get my MBA first. So I was like, okay, pause on that. But I definitely want to work in either wealth management and then after, for two years, then go to law school.
- Yeah. Okay. Law school. You're going to stay in Texas? You're going to head out or?
- I'm heading out.
- You're heading out.
- Yes. I love Texas. Yes. But I want to like look, explore the U.S. itself.
- Yeah. You know, it's funny, but about 85% of our students who graduate stay in Texas, but many of them want to start the adventure and they couldn't do it without a college degree. The college degree gives them an opportunity. I will tell you though, that once you leave Texas, it won't be long before you say, "I got to go back."
- Yeah. That's what everyone says. Yeah. I told my mom, she's like, "Yeah." She's like, "I'm going to wait for you to come back." Like, I was like, "Okay."
- That's funny. Yeah. You're also a member of the Gold Star Society, which is my ambassador program. So when we have events on campus, we have the students there. And that program had fallen on hard times. It was once called the Student Foundation. And a lot of our really, very active alumni were active students and they were involved in this program. And when I got here, I think we had three students in the program and then they were like, they had a polo shirt. That's all they had. But one of our alumni said, his name is Bill Poston and Bill's a great guy. And he said, "You got to bring back Student Foundation." And I said, "I don't even know what that is." And then someone said, "Well, that was that event you went to. That was who ran that." I said, "Oh, let's see what we can do." So we ended up investing some resources. We changed the name to Gold Star Society and we started attracting really good students to it. So tell us about why you applied and then what's your experiences are there.
- Yeah, actually. So I applied my freshman year and they've changed it up right now. You can apply when you're a junior, but when I applied my freshman year...
- Yeah. I think back then we're just trying to get people involved. And so now it's a little bit, you have to be a little bit older now.
- Yes, you do. So, you know, a little bit mature, kind of figure out what your place in Texas is.
- You were mature already though. I know. Well, you came president like a year later.
- Yeah. So I applied my freshman year right after I ran for senator. I was like, okay, I knew a bunch of people in it. I feel like that's another thing about resources because I talked to a lot of people and I try to get involved as much possible. And they were like, "This is something that I think you're going to flourish in." And I was like, "Are you sure?" So I did some research and I was like, okay, this seems really nice. And I was like, okay, this is President Damphousse's ambassadors. And actually I remember that I met you my freshman year, like my welcome week. Another reason why I was like, okay, yeah, for sure. If I got to meet the president on my first week of school, I'm definitely staying here at Texas State. And I was like, okay, let me see how much more I can get involved here. So after applying, when I had my interview with Holly, it was actually over December. And I was like, okay, let me see if I'm going to get in. Like, I didn't really know if I met the applications or like the credentials to be part of it. But I was like, let me just put my best foot forward. You never know what could happen. And I got in and I was like, "Oh my gosh." Like I literally was screaming. I called my mom and I was like, "Mom, I got in." She's like, "You got in?" I'm like, "Gold Star. I got in." She started screaming.
- She doesn't even know what it is. She's just happy for you.
- Like my mom doesn't really know a lot of things until I tell her and I'm like, "Oh, this is actually what it is." She's like, "Oh my God, that's like amazing." That's awesome. And I really did not know I was going to get in or not. But I feel like my involvement in student government and also like the things that I wanted to do, and like my ideas and things I wanted to do here at Texas State made me a good candidate to be part of it. And I'm just so glad I was in it. I've made like longtime friends in Gold Star. Like we still talk to this day, but it's just like really fun to be part of Gold Star and like helping events. And then that's kind of how I met you and started talking to you a bit more and just like meeting a bunch of leadership because that helped transition into my role as student body president.
- Yeah. I think it demystifies things when you get to meet like the president or vice presidents or maybe dignitaries coming to campus because that's part of your job is to host them. You kind of go, oh, okay, an ambassador is coming down, you know, whatever. And it's like it kind of like relieves some of your anxiety about being nervous around people because you realize they're just people. And so what's a favorite Gold Star Society moment for you?
- When we went out because we had a social and that's when I felt like I really got close to the members of Gold Star because we always work events together, and we don't really have time to talk at events because we're always doing different roles. But we had a social, and we all just got to sit down and talk. And we're all like, "Oh my God, you're just like me. You're genuinely just like me. You're like friends." And that's how we really got to see each other as regular students and regular people. And just figure out, okay, you have all these leadership roles, but you're still just a student like me. And honestly, I really do feel like I have a good connection with the members of Gold Star because when I was campaigning, I actually called them up and I was like, "Hey, I know you're the leader of this org. Do you think I can come speak to your org?" And they're like, "Of course. I'm going to tell everyone in my org to vote for them." Like, "Wait, let me speak to them first. And then we can go over there." So I really do think like during my campaigning, they really showed up for me, and I was not expecting how much love I got from them. And then also like during the social, us meeting each other, meeting Tsering too. I was like, oh my gosh, Tsering's just a regular person like me too. Obviously, she is in charge of us in Gold Star, but she's also really sweet and really nice.
- And she's the ordinary person. She just got married.
- Yeah, I know. She looked beautiful.
- Yeah, she did. So one of the things that you said really resonated with me because when Bill Poston was telling about Student Foundation, he said, "You know, all my friends are in Student Foundation."
- Yeah.
- And I always tell students that with 48,000 students, it may seem such a big place. How do I fit in? And nobody can make friends with 48,000 students. You got to find your people. And with you as Gold Star and maybe the leadership group in the college, or maybe your roommate or the people on your floor in your residence hall. But you have to find a group that's like your people.
- Yeah.
- And really, you're probably only going to have five or six real friends. But a group of acquaintances that you have something in common with. And then you can draw on those when times get tough or you need a hand for something. That's what makes this big place seem smaller. That's what you want. You want it to feel small. You don't want to feel big. You want it to be big, but not feel big.
- Yeah. It really feels small. I talk about this all the time. Yeah. Like I see the same people every single day. That's exactly how it feels like.
- I hear people tell me all the time, "I'm glad my daughter goes to a small school like Texas State." You know, you're the 24th largest university in the country. But they feel like it's a small school.
- Yeah.
- Yeah. So were there any surprises when you came to Texas State? Like you kind of, you'd been here and you kind of seen it. But like when you got here to go, oh, I was not expecting that. I would say, surprises, the hills.
- Yeah.
- Because definitely that was a surprise.
- You do the tour and you kind of like forget about it and then you go, oh, they're everywhere.
- Exactly. Especially when we came for NSO, we were kind of like subjected to a smaller part of campus, like the central part of campus, like LBJ, 'cause we stayed in Gaillardia. So like that part is like right next to LBJ. So that little section. So I didn't really think like, oh, okay, Texas is huge. But like, I didn't go to either side until I stayed in Brogdon. So like kind of on the other side of Texas State, like after the Texas State sign. So walking up that hill every single day, I definitely lost a lot of weight.
- Yeah. That's right.
- I came home and was like, "You look so skinny." I'm like, "Well, the hills."
- You know, a lot of schools have the freshman 15. We got like the freshman minus 15.
- Yes.
- It's a lot of walking.
- A lot of walking.
- It's funny. This fall I saw on parents' Facebook page about, "Oh, my daughter got up in the morning and she took Uber to her class." And so why is she taking an Uber to her class? And she was kind of grumpy 'cause the Uber didn't drop her right in front of her building. I was like you can't do that. You have to walk.
- Yeah. You have to walk. Yeah. That's how I know the difference between someone who's been here and not, by your calves. If you have strong calves, I know you're definitely a seasoned Texas State member.
- You can tell a senior from a freshman be the size of the calves. That's right. That's hilarious. So let's talk about the presidency. And so, were you involved in student government in high school?
- Yes. I've been involved in student government like my entire life. I would say since middle school, I was the president of my middle school. I was the VP of my high school. And then I came to Texas State. I was in Freshman Council and then I was a senator and now I'm a student body president.
- So there used to be a time when freshmen could be on Senate, but now they can't really, or a freshman, a student council. So they have the Freshman Council, which is kind of a separate thing. Kind of prepare you to run for Senate or for Senate council the next year. Yeah. And so you had that experience, the StuCo experience before. And did you come here thinking, man, in year two, I'm going to run?
- I would say yes and no. I don't know if you remember this. I kind of started doing my speech, but like during the first week of school when I first met you, another reason why I chose Texas is I wanted to see the presidential debate so bad. Yeah. Like I was so excited for it. And I was talking to you about it.
- Me too. Yeah. I was so excited about it too.
- I was like, "Oh my gosh, why did it get canceled?" And you were like, "Just like a couple of themes, but like, it's okay. Like, obviously you're going to have so much fun." I'm like, "Yes, I am." Like, and I'm really sad it got canceled. And you told me like, "Don't worry, you're going to be running this one day."
- I did. I said, "You're going to be running this place someday."
- Yeah. And like, like at that time I just laughed at off. I was like, okay, you know what I mean? I feel like the day, like I really wanted to run was when I was a senator and I was like, there's a lot of things that I would like to change, but I can't just sit at home and complain about them. Like I actually have to be the change I want to see. So I was like, why don't I think about running? But it was still kind of like, I don't really know. Let me see-
- Should I wait a year?
- Exactly. Should I wait a year? Like normally people wait till their senior or your junior year for their senior year to run. If my mom's like, "Don't you think it's a bit too early?" I was like, "I don't know." I've been talking to like a couple of my senator friends. I was like, "Y'all, what do y'all think?" Like, I also didn't know if I could have a lot of support because it's like, I'm also like, this is my second year at Texas State. And also like, do I know that many people that would vote for me? Like people would be like, okay, who's this girl? Why are you trying to run? You know what I mean? I was just like, I don't know if this would be like the best time to run. But I was like, why not? Like genuinely, why don't I do it? And if I don't win this year, I could always run next year. Like, I don't have a reason why not to do it. And I was like, what do I want to change at Texas State? So I sat down and I found Keller and we're talking about it. Let's see if our goals align. And we were like, I don't know if you've seen that meme of the aliens, kind of their heads like this. That was me and Keller. We were just kind of like going back and forth of like our ideas, what we wanted to change here at Texas State. And we're like, "We should definitely run. Like for sure we should run." And that's how we campaigned and did all that.
- How did you decide who was going to be president? Who's going to be vice president? You guys like do a rock-paper-scissors thing?
- No, not necessarily. I wanted to be president. I knew that for sure. And actually someone else was trying to run for president and VP. And the president that was going to run, she was like, "I don't want to do this anymore. It's going to be too much work for me." And the VP and me were like opposite tickets. We're like, "Okay, maybe we should run together." She's like, "I don't have a VP and you don't have a president." And then he was like, "You know what? I don't think I want to do this anymore. Maybe my friend might want to." And I was like, 'cause he wanted to run with me as VP. He did not want to be president. And I was like, "Okay, let me talk to your friend." So I was like, "Let me see. What do you want to change at Texas?" I didn't want to tell him anything I wanted to do first. I was like, "Let me hear what you have to say." Let's see if we're interlinked yet. So when he started talking, I was like, "Okay, yeah, for sure. We are running together. We are good." Like from there, me and Keller talk every day. We become friends from that very first interaction.
- He's a great guy.
- Yes.
- He's so personable too.
- He is. And it was just so funny that we decided to run together when we're going to be opposite parties. Like that's what really made it like, oh my gosh. Like we were definitely meant to run together.
- So, presidents run on platforms. So, and things you wanted to change. So what are some of your platforms? Or what's on your platform?
- Our campaign name was Bobcats in Bloom. One thing I really liked about our campaign was that we chose specific colors that people would be able to relate to. We had like pink, yellow, blue. You cannot look up something as pink or any of these colors and look away. Like it was very much out there, very bright, very vibrant. And I think that reflects me on Keller's personalities. One of the things that we wanted to have here at Texas State was we wanted a community because we felt like everyone has their own personal community, but we didn't really think there was one shared one because everyone was like, "Okay, yeah, like I'm in this org. I'm only going to talk to people that are in this org." And they don't really like to go out and like meet other people. And obviously we've talked about like COVID and like that kind of made a lot of people's social skills go down. So we're like, "Well, how can we change this? How can we make everyone like, maybe not necessarily know each other, but kind of like interlink and like, want to partner up with an org that you never would have thought of?" So that's one of our campaign points where like, we wanted diversity. We wanted inclusivity. I mean, we wanted people to feel like they have a community here at Texas State.
- What's been the toughest thing about being the president so far?
- Trying to balance my academics and being president. I have a meeting at like 10 a.m. and I have class at 11. So I'm like running to my class at 11. So I don't miss anything. And just kind of like trying to figure out a good balance. Like school just started. So I'm still trying to like find, you know, like my groove and like study for tests, but also like try to be in meetings and try to like lead my cabinet because, you know, we have expanded our cabinet this year. So like there are 13 people in our cabinet. So kind of like checking in with each of them, making sure like they have the resources that they need to be successful in their position. And then also our cohort of 50 freshmen, they're so amazing. But like, we're trying to figure out...
- The Freshman Council.
- Yeah. Freshman Council. Yes. We're trying to figure out, okay, do we have 50 enough of the gift cards or like, do you do enough of this? And I'm like running around trying to grab, maybe we have like 10 less and like, obviously we don't want any of them to feel like left out. So I'm trying to grab all this and over there and trying to figure out like a syllabus. Like I feel like a professor sometimes 'cause we're like creating a syllabus. We're trying to like, okay, this way you're going to learn this day. 'Cause it's like students leading students and we have to come prepared. So I would just say little things like that, little things you would not have thought about until you really get there. You're trying to plan all these events and plan all these things.
- You know, one of my previous institutions, the student body president was allowed, a full-time course load is 12 hours and they were allowed to take only nine hours. So they still were full time, but they were like three hours. Like it was like being president, like having a class. Yeah. It's pretty demanding.
- It is.
- All right, my friend, we have a task for you. Now you get to be the podcast host. And so our viewers submit questions. And so you get to ask me the question and then if it's a good one, I'll let you answer it as well. I don't know what it is, so I'm not seeing it yet. So it's a secret. They always hide them from me. I always come in here looking beforehand and they don't ever tell me what it is.
- It's a fun one.
- Okay.
- "What's your guilty pleasure food?"
- Food?
- Yes.
- Oh my goodness. So, okay. I have so many, I'm going to say cereal in general because I love cereal and I especially love sweet cereal. And so when I was a kid, there was a cereal called Sugar Smacks and now they call it Golden Crisp. But there was another one called Alpha-Bits, but you can't buy Alpha-Bits anymore. But Beth just thinks it's ridiculous. So do the kids. But like we'll have supper at like at six o'clock and about eight o'clock I'm getting like the hungries. And I'll just go get a bowl of Golden Crisp or a Frosted Mini-Wheats or Frosted Flakes. Sometimes a Frosted Flakes. I'll put a little slice of banana in there. And I feel healthy because it's got banana. And so, but yeah, probably sugary cereal late at night. So yeah. What about you?
- I would say something sweet and savory, like something I really love to eat from Nigeria is called suya. It's like spicy meat, like very seasoned, spicy meat. It's so good. Like when you're eating, you're sweating. You're like, literally it's so, so good. And I'm trying to find the best spot here at Texas. Like I've been trying it different. Every time I go somewhere, like last time I went to Houston, I'm like, "Where's the suya spot on here?" I'm trying to try the best one. Have not found it yet though.
- So I will tell you, I love hole-in-the-wall places. Like I don't like to go with chain restaurants. And the other day I went to this place called Journet's Creole Kitchen and it's Cajun food. And I'm not kidding. It's like in a gas station and they got like picnic tables. It's not like a real restaurant, but it's the best Cajun food I ever had in my life. And so there's little pockets of food around town that are so good. And this is literally... It's like a mother and a father and their two kids are running it like a fourth grader and an eighth grader. It's a Big Ben... No, no, no. Let's, what's the name? Bob. Big Bob, Little Bob and Medium Bob. And so, they're hilarious, but it's like, it's so good. And it's a family-owned deal. And they're just like trying to make a living doing this. They're raising their kids and do something that, you know, using a grandmother's recipes. I know you're a big family person. And, but I love that. I love going to like diners and kind of divey places rather than like these chain restaurants.
- Yeah. Me too. I'm trying to like stop going to chain restaurants and start looking at like the little niche places here at Texas State or San Marcos area, like, you know, going around the Square and just like, what do you have here? I've actually gone to a bunch of thrift stores here and they're so cute. They have like really unique decor. This one had like a huge traffic light and then they had like the red stop greens. It was just so cute.
- Yeah. Well, thank you for joining us.
- Yeah. Thank you for having me.
- It's been so great. I mean, I know so much of your story, but I still learned something today.
- Can I ask you a question?
- Yeah.
- What's your Harry Potter house? I'm probably Gryffindor, I guess. Yeah. Actually, I kind of like, you know, the movie evolved over time and Snape's character evolved over time. I used to hate him. And at the end, he's like the hero of the movie.
- Yeah.
- And I kind of like, maybe I should be Slytherin. I don't know. So there you go. So thank you for joining us.
- Yeah.
- And it was so great. And thank you for joining us as well. It's always great to hear from our students about what things are happening here at Texas State. You know, I always think I know what's happening here. And then I talk to a student and go, oh, I did not know what was going on here. So thank you, Johanna, for joining us. Thank you for joining us as well. Until next time. Status Up.