Buck Kelsey

Buck Kelsey lays claim to several vocations. Trained in music and degreed in music education, he considered becoming a high school band director. A chance encounter in 1974 and a passion for saving lives, however, sent him to Tarrant County College for courses that launched his medical career. 

"It was called TCJC (Tarrant County Junior College) back then, and it was a great start," said the 60-year-old anesthetist for North Star Anesthesia. "The summer before my last year in college, I was rooming with a guy who was (in the medical profession) so I took a first aid course and worked all summer on ambulance service." 

In 1976, Kelsey earned an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing from South Campus. While a student at South Campus, Kelsey taught an Emergency Medical Technician course at Northeast Campus. He later worked with an anesthesia group at Osteopathic Medical Center in Fort Worth. 

"You never know where you're going to wind up. I was never skilled in career-building. I just enjoyed what I was doing. I just followed what looked interesting, and I found pulling people out of fires really appealing." 

A retired member of the Air Force Reserve Nurse Corps, Kelsey has often returned to TCC as a guest lecturer to nursing students. 

"My bedrock was teaching music, but when I was in nursing school I found out it was really fun and really what I wanted to do. My instruction at South Campus was second to none."