136: You Never Go Full Bald with Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly returns to The AV/IT Amplifier Podcast for week two with Ryan Gray, and the conversation picks up right where the first one left off: part Higher Ed AV Media strategy, part neurodivergent team therapy session, part comedy riff about baldness, gifts, and why some people should absolutely not be forced to sing an improvised jingle on command. Chris, Senior IT Support Specialist at Creighton University, HETMA Advisory Board Chair, and Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV Media, talks about his role supporting volunteer contributors, helping build consistency, and creating a structure that encourages people rather than making creative work feel like punishment. Ryan and Chris also get into the very real tension between spontaneity and planning, and why authentic collaboration often works best when people are not wired the same way.

The conversation moves from HETMA and Higher Ed AV Media into broader reflections on workplace communication, neurodivergence, podcasting, and the vulnerability behind even simple questions like asking someone how they are doing. Along the way, Chris explains his state high point hiking project, Ryan tries to force a Higher Ed AV Media jingle into existence, and the two land on one of the great philosophical questions of our time: what separates someone who is authentically bald from someone who is merely playing bald? By the end, Chris revisits his previous sign off and updates it into something that fits both his own work and the larger HETMA community: “Stay curious and get connected.”

Topics Discussed

Chris Kelly’s role as Managing Editor for Higher Ed AV MediaSupporting volunteer contributors without making deadlines feel punitiveNeurodivergence, procrastination, planning, and creative workHow Ryan and Chris’s different working styles complement each otherBuilding teams around difference rather than samenessCamera gestures, Zoom delay, and the lived reality of using classroom technologyThe possibility of a Higher Ed AV Media jingleChris’s state high point bucket list and upcoming Arizona visitGift giving, social expectations, and practical decision makingBaldness, authenticity, and Chris’s updated catchphrase: “Stay curious and get connected”

Connect with Chris Kelly

content@higheredav.com

content@hetma.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-kelly-272155122/

Connect with Ryan

@Ryan_A_Gray

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanagray/

ryan@higheredav.com