“Hard work is something that is inherent in the college experience. You need to be able to get up and do things, even when you don’t want to,” he said.

Wensell’s love of music started at a young age and he decided to pursue a career playing the double bass. He had a full ride to OSU for music performance and even got a full ride to Florida State University for his master’s. He has performed with various music groups including the Delaware Symphony, the Tulsa Philharmonic and the Argentine National Symphony, and even performed at Carnegie Hall.

“I’m a huge fan of world music. I had an opportunity to record with the Argentine National Symphony doing the music of Astor Piazzolla. That was one of the most rewarding recording sessions that I have done,” he said.

While still a junior at OSU, Wensell got his first teaching job at Stillwater High School, where he taught orchestra. He managed to get his teaching certificate while still attending school and playing for the Tulsa Philharmonic. He taught in Stillwater for a few years before pursuing his master’s at Florida State. He ended up teaching at both Florida State and Columbia State University where he taught everything from composition and arranging to pedagogy.

“What I tell people is that if you are focused on the subject you are learning in school, you are doing it wrong. What you really trying to do is learn how to teach yourself. You should know not just how to study it, but how to do research and how to develop critical opinions.”

Teaching had fallen into Wensell’s lap, but it was not something that he wanted to do forever. So, he decided to enlist in the Army National Guard. First, he became a licensed aircraft mechanic before serving a two-year tour in Afghanistan.

Upon returning to the United States, Wensell continued to work on Blackhawk helicopters with the Delaware National Guard but he wanted to do something else. For Wensell, that meant being his own boss and starting his own company, Bellefonte Brewing Company.

“It started out as an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with PTSD. I’d known how to homebrew for years and I was just trying to look at ways to make it cheaper and cheaper while staying at home. It was fun to make your own drinks to share with friends. Then I started running the numbers behind beer and trying to see how cheap I could make it. That’s where the beginning of the business started.”

Bellefonte Brewing Company was a whole supply business, which meant getting ingredients from wholesalers and then selling them to homebrewers.

“I had a crazy uncle who was also an OSU alum. He introduced the family to homebrewing back in the 80s when nobody did it. I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” he said.