This is part of a series of former Flyer student-athletes who are lending their expertise to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

CINCINNATI – Dr. Brian Kelly was a team captain on the 2007 University of Dayton football team that won the NCAA Division I-AA Mid-Major National Championship.  A three-year starter at linebacker, he was a named the winner of the Emil Karas Outstanding Leadership Award as a senior.  He was also a three-time First Team Academic All-Pioneer Football League selection.

He currently lives in his hometown of Cincinnati, where he is a cardiac anesthesiologist at Christ Hospital.  

DF.com:  We know you are now back home in Cincinnati, but what path did you take after UD to return to your roots?
BK: After Dayton I went to Ohio University for medical school and then to Tufts Medical Center in Boston for anesthesia residency.  I stayed in Boston at Brigham and Women's hospital for my fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesia. 
My wife Corey and I moved back home in 2017.  We have a three-year-old daughter, Maddox, and a one-year-old son, Maddox (hopefully future Flyers!) 

DF.com:  How did COVID-19 affected your professional responsibilities?
BK:  When the pandemic struck, elective surgeries were canceled. So as an anesthesiologist, we were doing less work in the operating room and more work throughout the hospital, functioning as the airway team where we were responsible for intubating patients and placing them on the ventilator. 
In April, I left Cincinnati to help in New York City, at New York-Queens Presbyterian Hospital. It was a combination of working in the ICU, airway team duties where I was responsible for intubating patients, working with invasive line placement teams, and really giving any help I could. It was pretty much all-hands-on-deck and whoever could help, helps.  
There were a ton of people from all over the country out there to work and it was pretty impressive. It was an intense and draining experience from the start, and I really have so much respect for those who work there full-time and were working so hard in that type of environment for over six weeks by the time I got there. 
In the end, it was pretty heartbreaking. Hard watching families say good bye to their loved ones via FaceTime. I also felt bad for the employees there. They were clearly overwhelmed with an enormous census of CoVID patients needing ICU care and not enough ICU beds or ICU staff. All of them were doing their best and working so hard. I have a ton of respect for them, especially the resident physicians I saw working so hard day after day. I wish I could have done more for them.

DF.com:  How about now?
BK:  It's calmed down a bit and doesn't feel as overwhelming since we are all well-adapted to the new state of normal now. We are back to elective surgery with specific policies and procedures in place. The new workflow was a bit cumbersome at first, but with time and repetition things are going much smoother.

DF.com:  What are your best memories of UD?
BK:  Everything related to Flyer football.  I loved it and had a blast. Beating San Diego at home my fifth year was probably the highlight and I have such vivid memories. I even grew to love and appreciate practice! I loved my teammates and we had an amazing group of guys. Beyond football, it was everything from Tim's, Dayton to Daytona, late-night Cousin Vinnys, hopping house-to-house…pretty much everything Dayton and the list is endless. I loved every bit of my time there. It's truly a special place. 
I still keep in touch with guys from our team like Kevin Hoyng, Chance Walton, Matt Champa, Casey Klaus, etc. Even today, I miss my playing days and had the experience of a lifetime at UD. 

DF.com:  How did playing football help you prepare for what you are doing today?
BK:  It taught me how important not just teamwork is, but how important the culture of a team is. Preparation to win, a winning mindset, winning attitude, expecting to win, etc. is so important. Everyone has to believe that the team together can achieve victory. At Dayton, I learned that. I'd take a team of guys who prepare the right way and believe they can win over a team of superstars with a poor culture and lack of preparation any day of the week. 
Even more important was how no one person could do it all. We each had a job to do. Each of us were a link in the chain. As long as all the links hold strong, you end up with a good result. I learned the importance of not only doing my own job, but trusting the links on my team to do their job as well. That's probably what made us so close in the end and to this day. 

DF.com:  What are your thoughts about no football this fall for the Flyers?
BK:  I'm not sure where Dayton and the PFL are right now in terms of being able to play, but I'd be heartbroken for the seniors and the fifth-year guys if the season gets canceled. I know first-hand how much that fifth year means to guys and everything they have sacrificed to stay an additional year. It's a year those guys can never get back and there is no next year. Even as a physician who has seen the ugliness of this pandemic up close and personal in NYC, I'm not sure what the right thing to do is. I'm not sure anybody does. The only thing I know is that if this pandemic hit during my fifth year in college, I'd do anything to play and have a season.  Truly heartbreaking.

DF.com:  Any other closing comments or information you would like to add?
BK:  Go Flyers! So grateful I had the opportunity to enjoy everything Dayton had to offer.   Please pass along my best to Coach Chambo and Coach Kelly.  I just absolutely cherished my time at Dayton and have so much appreciation for the program they built and I was able to be a part of.