Laura Russell: professor by day, public servant by night

She got as far as their summer orientation, but the day she returned, she had a surprise waiting in her mailbox. “I had a letter from Wittenberg about an offer that one should never pass up,” she explains, “so I went to school about 15 minutes away from my house at Wittenberg, against my will, because they didn’t even have a nutrition program, which I was really salty about.” 

Even though it wasn’t what Russell initially wanted, she says, “at the same time, it was such a meaningful learning experience for me. It was there that I found I actually loved communication.” 

Russell’s academic career at Wittenberg didn’t end as a student. She continued on to manage the oral communication center and within just a few months, was offered a role teaching research in communication, one of the core courses of both the Wittenberg and Denison Communication major. 

“I just about melted. I thought WOW! I would love to,” Russell remembers, “and then I thought ‘Well when are you going to do this, Laura? You’re working full time and doing school at night’, but I made it happen and that was where I found such a love for it. It really solidified for me how much I love learning.” 

After her time at Wittenberg, Russell went on to get her masters degree from University of Dayton and her PhD from Ohio University, which catalyzed her career as a full time professor. “I never imagined myself here, but as I’m doing what I do, I couldn’t possibly imagine a better fit of a career,” Russell explains, “I’m so glad I didn’t follow what I initially thought was what I wanted, because I don’t think I really knew.” 

Although Russell’s passion for nutrition started at an early age, she is happy she let her career progress naturally and didn’t follow a rigid path she laid out for herself. “When we’re open to listening to what they say, our futures have a much better direction than what we ourselves can come up with,” Russell says. “It sounds scary because it’s a leap of faith that I don’t have to be one to point it out, I just have to be open to it and listen to what opportunities come along. And that’s kinda what I felt like: a little leaf in a stream.” 

Not only is Russell an integral part of one of the largest departments at Denison, with over 300 majors and minors, but she has always been involved with her larger community.

“My heart is in being a servant and it has been most of my life,” says Russell. Growing up, she frequently tutored younger kids and was part of other service efforts in Springfield.

Now, Russell, who will be celebrating her 40th birthday this weekend, lives with her husband, Aaron Duemmel, 36, in Heath, which she describes as “a diamond in the rough.” 

She’s involved in Behavioral Healthcare Partners, a non profit in Newark that serves Licking and Knox counties in both mental and behavioral health, where she recently finished her term as president of the board. 

Although she reflects fondly on her experience as president, she is eager to get back into the field and interact more with community members. Mental and behavioral health always have been passions of Russell’s. “A lot of my research has been around recovery and that research stemmed from family experiences with people who had and still do struggle with addiction,” she explains, “even my own struggles with anorexia, it’s to some degree, an addictive experience. So for me that yielded the question, what is recovery?” 

Alongside her work in mental and behavioral health, Russell is heavily involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, although what piqued her interest wasn’t what one would expect. 

Growing up, Russell had an older brother, and it wasn’t until she was six that her younger brother, Sam, entered the equation. Russell freaked out. 

“If that younger brother is anything like my older brother, my life is going to be miserable,” she remembers thinking. “At that time, I decided, someday I’m going to get a sister. So when I learned about Big Brothers Big Sisters, I was like that’s my jam, that’s the organization for me.” Russell joined Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2012 and says that it’s “by far one of my most favorite involvements.”

Since Russell always has been so involved with her students and community, it wasn’t until recently that she and her husband started thinking about kids of their own. 

“I’ve had a lot of fulfillment because I’ve taken students on as my family. They feel very much like that and they always will,” she says. However, this June, Russell and her husband, Aaron, started the adoption search process. “We could end up having a child from anywhere,” she explains. “Right now, we chose domestic because I worry that we wouldn’t be travelling enough internationally and I would want that child to be able to go back to their home culture and at least experience it often, and neither my husband or I are international travelers.” 

One of the hardest parts about the search process for Russell is making their profile and “promoting yourselves as parents” that prospective parents and adoption agents evaluate. “For all I know, a child in my care is doomed. I am not a disciplinarian at all. I break things, lots of things. I don’t like taking showers and I eat cookies before I go to bed. I’m bad and this child is going to be bad,” she jokes. 

She also explains the intensity of the process and the feeling of being “under a microscope for a while.” Even though the process will continue for quite a while, Russell is looking forward to potentially having a child of her own. “Now I get to think about having children in my home, I’m pretty excited about it,” she says. “I think I will take after my mom,” she explains. “She was a teacher as well, and there was a lesson behind everything, which was, at the time, torture. A very clear memory of mine was when I came home and a friend had lied to me and I was so angry and I think I just wanted validation. I didn’t get any of that. I got, ‘Why do you think people lie? Have you ever lied? Why did you do it? Would you do that again?’” Russell remembers being frustrated at an early age with the seemingly excessive questioning, but now she says, “I find myself similar in asking questions, so I imagine that may be the type of role I take on.” 

Russell’s open and inclusive approach to teaching matches up well with her personality. “She’s a truly compassionate and caring person,” Schimmel says. “She genuinely wants to see her students succeed and take something away from the courses that she teaches.” Laura Russell brings an effortless warmth to the classroom that makes students feel at home.

While Russell loves being a professor, she admits, “I don’t think I ever imagined it for myself.” Growing up in Springfield, west of Columbus, Russell was eager to attend college out of state and start her career in family and consumer sciences at Purdue University. 

She got as far as their summer orientation, but the day she returned, she had a surprise waiting in her mailbox. “I had a letter from Wittenberg about an offer that one should never pass up,” she explains, “so I went to school about 15 minutes away from my house at Wittenberg, against my will, because they didn’t even have a nutrition program, which I was really salty about.” 

Even though it wasn’t what Russell initially wanted, she says, “at the same time, it was such a meaningful learning experience for me. It was there that I found I actually loved communication.” 

Russell’s academic career at Wittenberg didn’t end as a student. She continued on to manage the oral communication center and within just a few months, was offered a role teaching research in communication, one of the core courses of both the Wittenberg and Denison Communication major. 

“I just about melted. I thought WOW! I would love to,” Russell remembers, “and then I thought ‘Well when are you going to do this, Laura? You’re working full time and doing school at night’, but I made it happen and that was where I found such a love for it. It really solidified for me how much I love learning.” 

After her time at Wittenberg, Russell went on to get her masters degree from University of Dayton and her PhD from Ohio University, which catalyzed her career as a full time professor. “I never imagined myself here, but as I’m doing what I do, I couldn’t possibly imagine a better fit of a career,” Russell explains, “I’m so glad I didn’t follow what I initially thought was what I wanted, because I don’t think I really knew.” 

Although Russell’s passion for nutrition started at an early age, she is happy she let her career progress naturally and didn’t follow a rigid path she laid out for herself. “When we’re open to listening to what they say, our futures have a much better direction than what we ourselves can come up with,” Russell says. “It sounds scary because it’s a leap of faith that I don’t have to be one to point it out, I just have to be open to it and listen to what opportunities come along. And that’s kinda what I felt like: a little leaf in a stream.” 

Not only is Russell an integral part of one of the largest departments at Denison, with over 300 majors and minors, but she has always been involved with her larger community.

“My heart is in being a servant and it has been most of my life,” says Russell. Growing up, she frequently tutored younger kids and was part of other service efforts in Springfield.

Now, Russell, who will be celebrating her 40th birthday this weekend, lives with her husband, Aaron Duemmel, 36, in Heath, which she describes as “a diamond in the rough.” 

She’s involved in Behavioral Healthcare Partners, a non profit in Newark that serves Licking and Knox counties in both mental and behavioral health, where she recently finished her term as president of the board. 

Although she reflects fondly on her experience as president, she is eager to get back into the field and interact more with community members. Mental and behavioral health always have been passions of Russell’s. “A lot of my research has been around recovery and that research stemmed from family experiences with people who had and still do struggle with addiction,” she explains, “even my own struggles with anorexia, it’s to some degree, an addictive experience. So for me that yielded the question, what is recovery?” 

Alongside her work in mental and behavioral health, Russell is heavily involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, although what piqued her interest wasn’t what one would expect. 

Growing up, Russell had an older brother, and it wasn’t until she was six that her younger brother, Sam, entered the equation. Russell freaked out. 

“If that younger brother is anything like my older brother, my life is going to be miserable,” she remembers thinking. “At that time, I decided, someday I’m going to get a sister. So when I learned about Big Brothers Big Sisters, I was like that’s my jam, that’s the organization for me.” Russell joined Big Brothers Big Sisters in 2012 and says that it’s “by far one of my most favorite involvements.”

Since Russell always has been so involved with her students and community, it wasn’t until recently that she and her husband started thinking about kids of their own. 

“I’ve had a lot of fulfillment because I’ve taken students on as my family. They feel very much like that and they always will,” she says. However, this June, Russell and her husband, Aaron, started the adoption search process. “We could end up having a child from anywhere,” she explains. “Right now, we chose domestic because I worry that we wouldn’t be travelling enough internationally and I would want that child to be able to go back to their home culture and at least experience it often, and neither my husband or I are international travelers.” 

One of the hardest parts about the search process for Russell is making their profile and “promoting yourselves as parents” that prospective parents and adoption agents evaluate. “For all I know, a child in my care is doomed. I am not a disciplinarian at all. I break things, lots of things. I don’t like taking showers and I eat cookies before I go to bed. I’m bad and this child is going to be bad,” she jokes. 

She also explains the intensity of the process and the feeling of being “under a microscope for a while.” Even though the process will continue for quite a while, Russell is looking forward to potentially having a child of her own. “Now I get to think about having children in my home, I’m pretty excited about it,” she says. “I think I will take after my mom,” she explains. “She was a teacher as well, and there was a lesson behind everything, which was, at the time, torture. A very clear memory of mine was when I came home and a friend had lied to me and I was so angry and I think I just wanted validation. I didn’t get any of that. I got, ‘Why do you think people lie? Have you ever lied? Why did you do it? Would you do that again?’” Russell remembers being frustrated at an early age with the seemingly excessive questioning, but now she says, “I find myself similar in asking questions, so I imagine that may be the type of role I take on.”