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Educator, avid sports fan and self-professed video game lover are just a few words to describe Dr. Damon Kraft, assistant professor of English and philosophy, one of Missouri Southern's newest faces.
Though it is his first semester at Southern, Kraft already loves the campus, students and the Joplin area. He said it's the type of University and where it is regionally that made Southern an attractive job.
For the past eight years he has been teaching at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he also received his Ph.D.
Kraft wanted a job that had a greater emphasis on teaching instead of publishing, and was in an area that was not too far from his hometown.
"I loved where I grew up and I grew up in a very cool community," he said. "It had everything that one needed. It was safe, it was beautiful. Nothing bad to say.
"A lot of people don't like where they grew up, they say 'aw, this place stinks.' I never had that reaction. I loved it."
His love for the Midwest and his fondness for being close to home led Kraft to get his bachelor's degree at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kan.
His first intention was to be a sports journalist, not an English teacher. He wrote for both his high school newspaper and the ESU newspaper and was a fairly successful sports columnist.
It didn't take long, however, for Kraft to realize that writing about sports was probably not the best career choice for him. The more he became friends with athletes, the harder it was to write the type of sports columns that needed to be written.
"I had a hard time to criticize my good friends," Kraft said. "I couldn't be the brutally honest person that was required for the job."
Also interested in British literature, he crossed paths with a teacher at ESU who inspired him to become more interested in English, specifically medieval literature. That is what made him decide his sophomore year as an undergraduate that he wanted to teach.
Not only does Kraft enjoy teaching and playing sports, but he's also quite the lover of all things involving video games.
"I grew up in the video game age," Kraft said. "I can vividly remember when my dad brought home an Atari 5200 for the family one Christmas. That was a huge deal."
Although the Atari is long gone, he still enjoys playing Nintendo Wii games at home, and sometimes convinces his wife to play.
When he isn't watching sports, playing the newest video game, or teaching a class, Kraft can often be found outside with his dogs. He loves being active, exploring nature, and hiking, but hates camping.
"I am not a camper," he said. "Roughing it is a hotel that doesn't have room service."
Kraft and his wife like traveling, and seeing the natural beauty of places of places they visit. They've been coast to coast, north to south, but consider themselves homebodies. At the end of the day, Kraft says he's happy being at home with his wife and their dogs, simply enjoying the weather.
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