Member Spotlight: Katrina Kosted

Hometown:  I grew up in Rusk, Texas. It's a small town, population about 5,000, and its claims to fame are a tourist railroad and a state hospital. It's in East Texas, roughly between Tyler and Nacogdoches.

College(s) Attended:  I attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches for two years, then transferred to UT. I graduated from here.

Degree(s) earned:   Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Education in College and University Student Personnel Administration (aka Higher Ed Admin)

Title:  Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordinator- School of Architecture

What are your hobbies? Movies, getting outdoors for walking or hiking, dinners with friends, reading

What was your favorite childhood toy? Easy Bake Oven? Or Barbies. But I really wanted to write down"chocolate chip cookies."

What is your current position at UT? Briefly explain. Day 13 (as of September 28) Academic Advising Coordinator for Undergraduate Programs in the School of Architecture

Have you had any jobs prior to your current job at UT?  If so, what were they? My first job at UT was Student Development Specialist at what was then known as the Measurement and Evaluation Center. My first advising position was in Biology. During the last ten years I was an advisor for Longhorn Scholars Program, Bridging Disciplines Programs, and coordinator for the Archer Program in what was known as Connexus, which later became the School of Undergraduate Studies.

What is the most challenging aspect of your current job? This is the third day of my third week here. Yesterday, it was handling a situation in which a student cut his hand during a studio, and the resulting blood clean up (I did not personally do the clean up). The first two weeks it was figuring out how to do impact statements for catalog revisions, who to contact about various revisions, and then actually doing all the striking and underlining of the revisions. Ask me again next week…. But seriously, so far I love it, and I love figuring out all the things that are new to me. I love being a go-to person.

Why/How did you decide to work in an institution of higher education? After graduating with an undergraduate degree in psychology, I started applying for mental-health casework jobs. But I also put in an application at UT. At that time, after you submitted your UT application for employment, you were contacted if your skills matched job openings. I believe I waited about three months until I finally got contacted; I had at that point practically forgotten I'd even applied. I went for an interview with the Measurement and Evaluation Center; fortunately I had not landed a job as a mental health caseworker in the interim. I was over the moon when I was offered a position on campus, and immediately realized I was meant to work with college students. Fast forward eleven years, when I further committed to my fate by beginning work toward my master's degree in the field of working at a university.