First-generation college graduate Kelly Mettler chose education at every opportunity

Twenty years after leaving the classroom, Kelly Mettler wasn't sure she could succeed in a doctoral program.

Now, Dr. Mettler holds four degrees from Ohio University, including a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the Patton College of Education. Mettler credits her success to the confidence, support and sense of belonging she found at Ohio University Chillicothe, where her educational journey began. 

That confidence was tested early.

When Mettler enrolled in her doctoral program, she deliberately chose to take the course she feared most first: statistics. After two decades away from school, she viewed the statistics class as a test of whether she could succeed.

"I'm either going to sink or swim," she recalled thinking. "I knew if I could get through that class, I would be fine."

She did more than get through that statistics class.

"I did really well in that class," she said.

Mettler defended her dissertation in 2024 and earned her doctorate in 2025. But first she had earned an associate degree in human services technology, a bachelor's degree in specialized studies and a master's degree in family study, all through Ohio University. 

A place that felt like home

Mettler, a Huntington High School graduate, had some reservations about college before starting out at OHIO Chillicothe, but one of her first classes, a crisis intervention course, changed her outlook.

“I knew when I took that class, this is it,” she said. “This is a passion of mine.”

She also found a sense of community. Her first cohort tackled service projects and community events together.

“We kind of became family,” Mettler said. “It was just a group of people that felt like home.”

The University's reputation was another draw.

“When I get a degree from Ohio University Chillicothe, it’s an Ohio University degree,” she said. “I’ve always been proud of being a Chillicothe grad.”

One degree at a time

After earning her bachelor's degree, Mettler joined Job and Family Services (JFS). Later, the agency paid for her master's degree.

“How can you turn that down?” Mettler said.

While working full time and raising a young daughter, she attended classes and completed coursework after her daughter went to bed. She focused on one course, one assignment and one semester at a time.

"I just kept powering through," she said. 

That persistence became a defining theme in both her education and career.

Mettler spent 18 years with Job and Family Services, eventually becoming a social services supervisor. She later left to launch M&M Training and Consulting, despite skepticism from others.

"Everybody thought I was just nuts," she said.

Her response was simple.

"It's time for something new," she said.

Today, Mettler trains child welfare supervisors through the Ohio University Consortium of Child and Adult Services and teaches classroom management through her business, which contracts with the PAXIS Institute. Her work has taken her across the United States and to Australia. She also serves as education director for a behavioral health organization. 

‘You are a teacher’

Despite years spent training adults, Mettler never considered herself a teacher.

That changed in 2020 during a conversation with Julie Barnhart-Francis, director of Ohio University’s Stevens Center for Literacy and STEM Education, about pursuing a doctorate. When Barnhart-Francis asked whether she had considered teaching, Mettler immediately dismissed the idea.

"I said, 'Oh, I'm not a teacher,'" Mettler recalled.

Barnhart-Francis disagreed.

"You are a teacher," Barnhart-Francis said.

The conversation shifted Mettler's perspective. Months later, Barnhart-Francis emailed her about a doctoral opportunity.

“I remember where I was, exactly what I was doing when I read that email," Mettler said. "I was like, 'This is it. This is my opportunity.'”

The next challenge was the GRE.

Mettler studied four to six hours a day for six months before taking the exam. At 48, she was the oldest student in her classes but never felt out of place.

"They didn't see me as the older student," she said. "They just saw me as a cohort student."

Still learning, and paying it forward

In addition to her other roles, Mettler also contributes to Ohio University’s Advancing Ohio's Early Childhood Workforce, a project funded through a grant from Ohio University's Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. In collaboration with Barnhart-Francis, she recently organized and hosted LaunchED: The Early Childhood Workforce and Credential Summit at OHIO Chillicothe.

"She's been such a wonderful mentor and friend through this whole process," Mettler said. 

“Kelly is a born educator and mentor,” Barnhart-Francis said. “Her genuine and warm care guides others, of all ages, along their paths in education and life. She shares her knowledge and expertise with encouragement, passion and support, elevating students, in both formal and informal settings, to reach their potential.”

Mettler's commitment to learning continues. She recently wrote a grant for her behavioral health organization and is often asked when she plans to slow down.

Her answer remains the same.

"I love to keep learning and growing," she said. 

That commitment extends to helping the next generation. Her dissertation focused on high school students exploring pathways into early childhood education and college, and she remains in touch with many of them today. 

For students considering college, Mettler believes encouragement and relationships matter.

"Having people who can tell them that they can do it," she said, can make the difference when navigating challenges such as completing the FAFSA, meeting with an academic advisor or deciding how to begin. 

For those who are unsure whether college is possible, her advice is simple: start.

"We have a beautiful university right here," Mettler said of OHIO Chillicothe.

The message echoes the advice her father shared with his children years ago. Education, he said, was something that no one can take away from you.

That lesson has guided every step of Mettler’s journey.