About Me

Tell us a little about yourself!

Full Name?

Katherine Anne Johnson. Fun facts: My last name is the second most common in the US, and my first name ranks 41st.

Pronouns?

My pronouns are she/her/hers or they/them/their

What is your birthday? Are you OK with having your birthday publicly acknowledged/celebrated?

February 3rd, 1995. Yes!

Where did you grow up?

Illinois, McHenry County, Island Lake. Don't worry, no one else has heard of it either.

Did you have any fun nicknames while growing up? Do you have any now? What is the origin (if you feel comfortable sharing)?

I was called Kate for my entire childhood. My mother says she named me Katherine because Kate was a nice short nickname that was easy to say.

What holidays do you celebrate (if any)?

As a family we celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving (although I'm an atheist). I personally celebrate Halloween and Valentine's Day by getting on-sale chocolate and eating it myself.

Academics

What is your academic life like?

What year in school are you?

Goodness knows. I'm 24 and I did some fine arts education at MIAD before deciding I wanted to major in theater. I did my Gen Eds at Madison College and I'm now at Edgewood.

When do you expect to graduate?

Hmm, tricky. Probably in about two years.

What is your major? How did you choose that?

My major is theater. I've been doing theater since I was ten years old, so it was a very natural choice for me. I'm also minoring in Ethnic Studies. When I was at Madison college I developed a lot of interest in cultural anthropology, and I think it relates my love of theater to my enjoyment of academics.

Do you know what you'd like to do after you graduate?

I do! I'd love to be a theater director. I also eventually want to get a teaching certificate and teach theater as well.

Interests

What do you like to do when you're not in class/working for STS?

Right now I'm really enjoying rock climbing! It's fun and a full workout, the best kind of exercise. I've also gone back to drawing, and I'm working on my Japanese in my spare time.

What do you like to do for fun?

I enjoy going to see theater, hanging out in museums and watching anime.

Do you have any hobbies or groups that you participate in?

I've been a long term member of a group called The Young Shakespeare Players since I was ten years old. I later directed there. I'm too busy to direct there at the moment, but I still visit. This also started my Shakespeare addiction.

Do you have any other jobs or internships?

Not just at the moment, but I do have a volunteer job that I will be starting soon with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).

Any exciting plans for summer/winter break?

Over the summer I'm excited to work on projects I don't have time for during the year, like art, languages and theater. I'll be working on a play that my friend is writing and I will be directing (date to be determined).

Neat Facts

What are some interesting, unexpected, or surprising facts about yourself?

I love 80s/90s classic Japanese horror manga.

What is something that might surprise someone who just met you?

I've been involved in around forty theater productions.

Where is somewhere you have always wanted to travel?

Papua New Guinea or Japan.

Have you ever met anyone famous?

Life at STS

Talk a little bit about your time with STS

I've been at STS for a little over two years now, and while the people have changed I still love the work environment just as much as when I started. I love that this job encouraged me to aquire new skills, and always respects the knowledge of the trainers. I have enjoyed learning new skills like HTML and CSS on top of my design program experience, and it's very cool to work with other people who are excellent at using these various programs. I have learned as much by watching others teach as by teaching classes myself.

What is your favorite topic to teach?

I really enjoy teaching Illustrator. It's the program I'm the most skilled with, so I feel confident that I can answer most questions and help students with unique problem solving. I especially like working with the design classes, because they need to find creative ways to translate their design to Illustrator and I love stretching my creativity with the program to help them do that.

What is something you are interested in learning?

It's been on my list forever to learn Python. It's such a popular language right now, and a popular class with STS.

What has been the most challenging part of working at STS?

I would say rolling with the punches. Program not working? Computer refusing to start up? Different classroom without enough desktops? Life in a tech job requires you to be adaptive, and though I had some talent for that to start with STS has been a crash course.

Miscellaneous

Other potentially interesting bits of information about yourself