By Juliana Schmidt ('25)
As the new Professor of History, Sam Kocheri Clement might be new to teaching at Houghton University, but he is familiar with the world of history.
Kocheri grew up as the youngest of four in a small family in India. He dabbled in other avenues before he decided to pursue a career in teaching.
“I went to join a Catholic seminary to become a priest. After I realized that was not my calling, I discontinued it,” he explained.
Kocheri graduated from Mahatma Gandhi University—located in Kottayam a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India—with a bachelor’s degree in English. He then obtained his masters in English from St. Aloysius university in Karnataka, India. In 2021, Kocheri successfully defended his PhD thesis in Postcolonial History at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He returned to India to work for ten months, and during that time he received his postdoctoral funding.
At the time, Kocheri wanted to look for a place that aligned with his beliefs. He found HU while searching for Christian institutions.
“I wanted to go somewhere where I could profess my faith much more clearly,” Kocheri said.
While Kocheri feels comfortable in his faith now, there was a time when he felt disconnected from God. He opened up about how he fell numerous times away from Christianity and how he was an atheist for about four years before he found his way back to God.
Kocheri talked about how important it is for him as a teacher to show his students that he is not and has not always been perfect in his faith. By showing that side of himself, he believes it will allow him to relate to his students more in their own faith journeys.
He was inspired by various people along his journey to becoming a history professor. He shared a quote from Carl Gustav Jung: “One looks back with appreciation to brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is a vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”
Kocheri tries to live by Jung’s quote in his teaching. Additionally, he mentioned the professors Andrew Davis and Dr. Berny Sebe.
“Both of them guided me like their brother,” Kocheri remembered. Dr. Sebe was, “Extremely kind to me, compassionate. I want to be someone like him.”
In 2020, he married his wife, Claire, in Birmingham, England. Three years later they welcomed their daughter, Lydia.
Kocheri reminisced about what he used to do with his free time. A few years ago his answer might have been movies, but after his baby came almost all the movies he watches now are Disney movies. In his free time Kocheri now just wants to “chill.”
“I don’t know how long she’ll be a small kid, but I want to enjoy every second with her,” he explained. Kocheri expressed an interest in fishing with his daughter when she grows older. He also likes raising animals and would love to have some chickens or goats.
While Kocheri has only spent a few months at HU, he described the community as sacrificial. Everyone “cares for one another,” which is not something he had experienced as much at previous jobs.
He found the first two weeks hard, but with the help and support of Houghton’s community and students, he has settled in and feels welcomed.
Currently, Kocheri is “Loving the peace and calm Houghton has.” ★
