Every direction Pepper turns, he is greeting someone—emitting a loud and quick “Oh, hey!” or “Hiiii!”—always accompanied by more hand gestures. His exuberance and charisma generate immediate reactions: Everyone seems to smile or giggle upon contact.

Pepper, with his dark wavy hair and blue eyes, is also musically inclined. He plays acoustic guitar, mandolin, ukulele and pocket harmonica (one of which he saves for special occasions on campus). He loves to have jam sessions with the band “Fun with Bettie,” named in tribute to a KRC instructor. Pepper focuses on entertaining the people with his sense of humor and his costumes.

He says he is driven by his relationships with others. “It’s all about the people,” he said enthusiastically, “and creating a happy atmosphere anywhere and at any time.”

Pepper recently wore a Superman costume (including a cape made by his mother when he was in 2nd grade) to school. He said his classmates and the instructors enjoyed the humor but probably couldn’t help wondering what he was thinking. In class he blurted, “What? It’s my uniform. Why’s everyone laughing?” He then began to laugh, too, with his deep “Ha! Ha! Ha!”

As a part of his smile, Pepper wears “Tommy,” a false tooth attached to a plate on the roof of his mouth. He lost the original tooth while playing “shinny hockey” back in high school. He named his new tooth after Timmy the Tooth, one of his favorite cartoon characters, and he has experienced technical difficulties with Tommy from time to time—swallowing it in his sleep, super-gluing it back together after it was broken and dropping it into a flushing toilet. Pepper claims it is challenging keeping up with “Tommy the Fourth.”

He said that his goals in life include a “Beatles cover band, lots of make-out sessions and achieving a doctorate in education so I can officially claim the title of Dr. Pepper.” Pepper said that he is working toward a degree in elementary education and wants to teach children in either a preschool or elementary school setting.

Pepper, who works on the KRC campus at the student services desk, lives with his family in Nikiski. Prior to attending KRC, he lived in Anchorage while enrolled in UAA.

On the job at the student services desk, Pepper offers guidance tinged with his sense of humor. Students recognize him as always willing to lend a hand and a smile. There are rarely dull moments with inspirational and enthusiastic students such as Chris Pepper around.