Livingston's office shows a lighter side

An office decked out with a vizsla named Mojo, awards, baseball and a flipping monkey is starting to feel like home for one Missouri Southern instructor.

Kristen Livingston, assistant professor in the mass communication department, has had a smooth and easy transition from her former job at Labette Community College.

"I feel like I'm back in the ballgame as far as being at a university, being in an environment I'm comfortable in, being around very supportive staff and wonderful students," Livingston said.

On Livingston's desk are several pictures of her puppy Mojo. Mojo is a vizsla, a weimaraner and german shorthair pointer mix with rusty, red colored hair. Mojo has been with Livingston for 18 months now.

One of Livingston's proudest moments involves her winning a first place Kansas Association of Broadcasters award for the best Undergraduate/TV Documentary in 2008 for The Life of Chili. Chili is a vizsla dear to her and her family's heart who was 11 years old and started having liver failure.

"I still get choked up," said Livingston. "I can't watch it to this day."

Some of her other proudest moments include receiving Summa Cum Laude from Pittsburg State University and being able to give a presentation as a student at the OSCLG Gender Conference in Nashville, Tenn. The conference involved different discussions about gender alongside the conservative traditional country/blues scene.  Livingston had the opportunity to perform a gender-related song with her mentor in front of a live audience.

"It was completely new to me because I love to write about and study gender," said Livingston.

Livingston wants to find out more about herself thusly why she studies gender. She says she gets insight into a world that is overshadowed by societal standards and the haves and have nots. Gender communication and its practice has helped her stand tall and has made her proud for who she is.

Livingston has a brown, plastic monkey in her office that does flips. She admits she is still a child at heart and still doesn't act her age. She bought a bunch of toys as a graduate student at Pittsburg State University and they helped her relieve stress.

"If I was a classic monkey, this is what I would be," Livingston said. "Wind me up and I'll flip all over you."

Aside from playing with Mojo, watching her favorite baseball team-the Mets-and playing the Nintendo Wii, Livingston enjoys making documentaries and already has ideas for her next one; The Triumphs and Tribulations of Being a Young Faculty Member at an Institution. She wants to compare her day-to-day to that of an older faculty member. Livingston receives a lot of prejudice because she is so young and people assume she doesn't know what she is doing so Livingston wants to research this topic and see if it is true for other young instructors at other institutions.

"I park in faculty parking and get asked to move my car because people think I'm a student," said Livingston.

Sometime in the future, she wishes to make a documentary with a more historical look at the vizsla breed.

In the next few years, Livingston wishes to start on her Doctorate of Philosophy plus continuing to make documentaries that affect people and help educate students.