Doctoral graduand Hannah Kessenich, third from the left, with members of her family, from left, her stepfather George, mom Gigi, husband James, mother-in-law Aimee and father-in-law Scott.
It’s been said ‘if you can do a PhD, you can do anything’.
Doctoral graduand Hannah Kessenich, from the Division of Sciences, has not only had a very successful research project – resulting in nationwide media coverage and a few awards – she has achieved this while dealing with some intense personal challenges.
Doctoral graduand Hannah Kessenich in her graduation attire.
She took up long-distance trail running as a way to cope with these challenges.
If Hannah wants to do anything, she really, really, absolutely could.
Hailing from America, Hannah’s first taste of life in Aotearoa was in 2016 during her undergraduate degree as a part of the Study Abroad Programme.
“I studied in Christchurch, and I really liked the overall way of life here and the beauty of the outdoors.
“And then I heard about the programs for PhDs here and that they were pretty unique.”
Hannah says she kept that in the back of her mind as she finished up her degree and gained five years’ worth of experience working as an engineer for a tech company in Oregon.
She knew that long term, she wanted to do something she was passionate about, and while looking online she came across Otago’s Associate Professor Annika Seppälä and her work in atmospheric physics.
Hannah says it was a “niche kind of physics” that she felt would enable her to make a positive difference in the world.
Hannah and her then partner/now husband, James, were due to arrive in Ōtepoti for her to start her PhD in 2020, but they were held up for two years by Covid.
Doctoral graduand Hannah Kessenich, pictured, took up long-distance trail running during her PhD journey as a way to honour her late father and manage her chronic pain.
It was a month before Hannah was due to leave America for Aotearoa when her father was killed while cycling – he was hit by a drunk driver.
Hannah’s father was into cycling, ultra running and competing in Ironman events.
“He taught me that anyone can do these crazy things, and it’s really more of a mentality thing.”
Trail running became a way for her to honour her father.
“That’s part of my relationship with running… It’s like I’m running with him.”
Hannah also found a way to keep her father close during her wedding ceremony in 2023.
“We took a helicopter trip to land on a glacier by Mount Cook - Aoraki. Part of why we got married that way was so it would be just us and the photographer, without other distractions.
“I’m not really into traditional weddings, but part of doing it like this was so I wouldn’t be focused on my dad’s absence. In a way, he was the most present with just us out there, on the mountain.”
Along with dealing with the grief from the death of her father, Hannah has also endured a chronic pain condition for the past five years which has seen her require multiple surgeries.
“Getting into long-distance trail running was a way for me to cope with this pain that I have, and it’s allowed me to balance my life and keep working.”
Hannah recently completed the Routeburn Track, and has her sights set on the Motutapu Trail Run.
“A couple of years ago, I would have been told I would never be able to do that because of my back. But I feel that I have ‘befriended’ pain now, and that has transformed my relationship with it.”
Living with chronic pain helped her realise she needed to be intentional with how she spent her energy, prioritise rest and sometimes say no to certain requests, a process she has found empowering.
“I think in the beginning, some of the issues were presented as like physical weaknesses where I needed to quit doing all these things that I loved. But I think now I just feel like I have the tools to do anything.”
Trail running has also been a great way for her to see more of Aotearoa’s natural beauty.
Doctoral graduand Hannah Kessenich, left, and her husband James opted to hold their wedding ceremony in 2023 atop a glacier near Mount Cook - Aoraki.
Hannah’s mum and husband, and Hannah’s parents-in-law are flying from America to attend her graduation ceremony on Wednesday, 10 December.
“I’m the first one in our family to have gotten a PhD, so they will all be coming for that.”
She says it’s an achievement she feels her father would have been “the most proud of me” for.
“Graduating is a big milestone.”
Hannah has been asked by her department to give a talk on her ozone hole research, which her family will attend.
Hannah says both sets of parents had visited Aotearoa previously as a “once in a lifetime trip”, however they all loved it so much that they were keen to return.
“We’re also going to the mountains, we’re taking a couple of trips – to Milford Sound, to Mount Cook.
“It will just be a month of fun with them.”
After graduation, Hannah and her husband will stay in Ōtepoti as she has secured a postdoctoral position at Otago that will enable her to continue publishing some of her thesis work while also investigating new aspects of her research.
“We actually just got one of the MBIE Endeavor grants to continue our project to create a new ozone-detecting satellite.”
At the end of 2024, Hannah won the Best Research Paper Postgraduate Student award at the Sciences Divisional Awards, and this year she won a prize for a poster she created to illustrate her research that comes with a free trip to a conference in Crete, Greece.
Hannah’s doctoral research looked into what was causing the ozone hole to stay open longer, in recent years, than it has in the past.
Department of Physics
Our scientists research topics from atomic physics to astrophysics, and work on both fundamental questions and seeking applications in advanced technology and sustainable solutions for the planet.
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