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Jack of All Trades: Kent State Vice President Nathan Ritchey Finds Passion in Developing New Hobbies

When it comes to finding new hobbies, Nathan Ritchey, Ph.D., vice president for Kent State System Integration, is an expert.

鈥淚 would much rather be busy than not,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 like the busyness 鈥 and by constantly moving, I always find new things to do.鈥

Vice President Ritchey, who is in charge of leading the Kent State Regional Campuses, has many hobbies, such as beekeeping, woodworking, welding, collecting and restoring antiques, and playing piano and guitar.

鈥淭he second I see something new I ask myself, 鈥榟ow does that work?鈥 and then I try it,鈥 he says. 鈥淎 lot of my colleagues only have what they do at work鈥 that鈥檚 their identity. And that鈥檚 awesome. But I love to learn and continue to wonder how things work.鈥

Vice President Ritchey is also a collector of antique items, such as abacuses, slide rules, rubber change purses, staplers and insulators, which he finds at yard sales and flea markets.

鈥淚 like things that other people may find weird,鈥 he says. 鈥淚n general, most of the items I collect aren鈥檛 very valuable, but I like to collect them nonetheless.鈥 

 Although Vice President Ritchey is a mathematician, one of his first hobbies was unrelated to math.

鈥淚n college, I was double major 鈥 music and math,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 earned my doctorate in mathematics, but my music degree got put on hold. Now, I get to enjoy both!鈥Nathan Ritchey, Ph.D., vice president for Kent State System Integration, wears a beekeeper suit as he engages in one of his favorite hobbies.

Of his many hobbies, Vice President Ritchey says his favorite is beekeeping.

鈥淏eekeeping is marvelous,鈥 he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so great to be among my bees. They鈥檙e wonderful creatures. I love watching them because they work so hard 鈥 much harder than most humans. But they鈥檙e very fragile; they literally work themselves to death, which is why I try to do everything I can to make sure they survive.鈥

Beekeeping is different from any hobby he has had before because the stakes are much higher with living creatures, he says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very challenging, and the risks are very high,鈥 he says. 鈥淥ne mistake could mean life or death for the bees. But it鈥檚 incredibly rewarding. I just need to continue to find ways to hone my skills and learn more about beekeeping.鈥

Currently, Vice President Ritchey has taken up weaving as his new hobby. He started weaving through a loom he built himself to make rugs out of polypropylene rope, and then he found a vintage loom at a garage sale. Vice President Ritchey is currently taking weaving lessons from a professional weaver.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really incredible to me,鈥 he says. 鈥淎s a mathematician, I like patterns, and there are so many patterns you can make while using a loom to weave. In fact, I am interested in using some mathematical structures to create more patterns.鈥

Vice President Ritchey says that prioritizing is the secret to finding time for all of his hobbies.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 get to do each hobby every day,鈥 he says. 鈥淚 sometimes won鈥檛 do a particular hobby for a few weeks or months at a time. But I always revisit hobbies 鈥 and it鈥檚 like discovering them all over again. We live in a marvelous world that is so full of surprises. For me, lifelong learning is a key to happiness and eternal youth.鈥

On how to start a hobby, Vice President Ritchey says that all that is needed is a spark of interest and a passion for trying new things.

鈥淎sk yourself 鈥榳hat am I curious about?鈥 and go from there,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e wondering how things work or how things are made, find out for yourself.鈥

POSTED: Friday, December 1, 2017 09:20 AM
Updated: Friday, December 9, 2022 12:19 AM
WRITTEN BY:
Abigail Winternitz

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