Name: Katelyn Perry
Majors Advised: Currently: Anthropology (ANTH) and Labor and Employment Relations (LER)
Previously: Criminology, Sociology, Economics, Psychology, Women’s Studies, English, and African and African American Studies
Hometown: Doylestown, PA
Educational Background:I’m a 3rd generation Penn Stater. My grandfather graduated from PSU in 1929 with a degree in chemistry. I didn’t inherit that science gene, though. I majored in English, and I have a graduate degree in Counseling. When I graduated from Penn State, I worked with mentally-challenged adults, and I had a part-time position at the Reading Area Community College in the Academic Programs and Student Development Office. I found incredible mentors there, and—with their support—I took on different positions, including teaching study skills, basic writing, and running ESL programs over the next seven years. I recognized that I wanted to work in a college setting at that point, and my mentors encouraged me to pursue a graduate degree. It took a lot of energy and a long time, but I eventually earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling.
Something most students don’t know about you: I have a terrible, terrible sense of direction (it might even be a learning disability of sorts), and I’m a very fast walker. So you might see me on campus—walking at top speed—with no idea where I’m going.
I lived in a small fishing town in Japan when I was 12, and I spent a year in Istanbul, Turkey after I graduated from high school.
Purple is my favorite color.
I have a “vagal” response to blood and surgical details—which basically means, I can’t handle blood, and I would be completely useless in any medical emergency. (Note to students: I have a No Bleeding Policy in my office)
I love music and need to be surrounded by it all the time—I would love to have a “soundtrack” for each day of my life.
My little boy taught me how to play chess recently, but he gets annoyed when we play because I have to talk myself through every move I make.
I love animals and I’m a vegetarian.
I changed my major 4 times as a Penn State student.
I get very attached to certain books and read them over and over.
I am not a fan of escalators. When I was a teenager, I fell down an escalator in a mall. It was a little traumatizing.
I’m left-handed.
If you could do college over again: Very definitely, I would have continued learning languages. I’m in awe of people who speak more than one language. I would have completed an internship to test out my interests, develop my professional network, and gain some practical experience. I would have taken more time to get to know my professors. And, surprisingly, I think I would have been less involved on campus. I was active in and held leadership positions in several student organizations—I remember being very stressed and busy.
What you like most about your job: There are so many things—I could write pages and pages. So, in order to avoid making you read a novel, I’ll list some adjectives and phrases to describe my job and work environment: energizing and exhausting at the same time, never boring, amazing students, rewarding, lots of problem-solving, an incredible boss, always changing, educational, fantastic colleagues and co-workers, challenging, fast-paced, and fun.