Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Felly Chiteng Kot

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

A decade after earning a Master of Science in Teaching, Learning and Leadership, Dr. Felly Chiteng Kot says his time as a graduate student at Oklahoma State University continues to make an impact on him.

Today, Kot is an Institutional Research Analyst in the Office of the Provost at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. Along with his young famiy, Kot recently returned to Stillwater and the Oklahoma State campus where he took time to visit with College of Education students to talk about leadership and share his life experiences.

“At OSU, I learned how to learn and that education is a lifelong process. That had a huge impact on me,” Kot said. “Even now (after finishing a doctorate), I continue to take online courses. Going through the curriculum and instruction program at OSU, I learned how to stretch my mind and explore taking my potential to the next level.”

Kot grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo and attended the University of Lubumbashi, earning a bachelor’s degree in English language and literacy and a certificate in secondary school teaching. After graduating, he taught in an international school led by American missionaries, who shared with him an opportunity for graduate in the United States through the Fulbright Program. Kot applied and went through the process, eventually being matched with OSU.

“This was my fist exposure to U.S. higher education and it was a quite a shift from the Congo to OSU,” Kot remembers.

In Stillwater and on campus, Kot found a welcoming and supportive community that made his transition a smooth one.

“What I enjoyed about OSU, and that is different than any other academic institution, is that I felt at home right away,” Kot said.

Kot recalls a mayor’s welcome party and traveling across Oklahoma on an organized trip with other OSU international students to see the state landscape and learn more about Oklahoma.

“Stillwater was a great place to start my graduate work. It’s a great size. It is smaller and welcoming, yet it offered challenging graduate studies,” Kot says.

After completing a master’s degree at OSU, Kot moved to the University of Minnesota where he earned a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy and Administration in 2011. He also has a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Ethics from Kennesaw State University (2014).