‘I’m happy to do it’: OLLU professor serves his students and the country

Student: ‘He’s still giving 100%'

SAN ANTONIO – A highly educated U.S. Army veteran is now doing double duty, serving his criminal justice students and his country in a time of crisis.

Harrison Watts has "Ph.D." at the end of his name as a full professor of criminal justice and criminology at Our Lady of the Lake University.

In the Texas State Guard, Watts serves as a chief warrant officer 2, and he was deployed in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Brandon Celedon, one of Watts' students and president of OLLU's Criminal Justice Society, said he, like many others, thank the professor for serving the country at a time like this.

"He's still giving 100%," Celedon said.

He said Watts is responding to his students even late into the night.

Celedon said it's inspiring to see how Watts handles his commitments to his students, his military duties and his family.

Watts is also earning his jurisprudence degree after having already received an impressive eight other degrees, ranging from business administration to criminal justice.

Celedon said Watts proves to his students that "if you set your mind to it, you can achieve the goal."

Watts said besides being their professor, he's also an advisor and mentor to his students.

With all that, plus his job helping to provide assistance for Texas State Guard, Watts said, “I’m happy to act in this role. It’s what I’ve been trained for, and I’m happy to do it.”

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March.

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About the Authors:

Jessie Degollado has been with KSAT since 1984. She is a general assignments reporter who covers a wide variety of stories. Raised in Laredo and as an anchor/reporter at KRGV in the Rio Grande Valley, Jessie is especially familiar with border and immigration issues. In 2007, Jessie also was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.