Helen Katz’s UI career began more than 45 years ago when she was a college freshman. She’s glad things have come full circle for her. The office specialist in the College of Education’s department of educational psychology says interacting with students and professors who are learning about learning is what makes her job worthwhile.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“My job is about serving the students,” Katz said.
Katz’s days differ depending on the time of year. She’s very involved in helping students through the admissions process of the educational psychology graduate program. She reminds them of testing dates, assists in setting up committees within the college and relays information about the program.
“A lot of time is taken up on admissions,” she said, “processing various applications, checking transcripts … when the decisions start coming in, processing admissions or denials.”
Katz also writes the department newsletter and is one of the party planners for the office.
WHAT DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT DO?
“The way I’d define (educational psychology) is: psychological principles applied to education practice. It covers a huge range of stuff – linguistics issues and how (people learn) languages. There are people working on bullying, people working on educational assessment and how to measure testing – evaluations in schools and all kinds of things.
“There are people who are training to be school therapists and counselors. It’s a really broad thing.”
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WORKING IN YOUR OFFICE?
“Variety, I suppose. I like having projects I’m in charge of from start to finish. … The other thing I love is I have so much contact with and get to meet a lot of international students, especially Korean and Chinese students. We’ve become close friends.”
“The College of Education has its own commencement exercise. I volunteered to do it one year. The first time I got lucky and ended up being in the place where graduates come down the ramp to get a card and get photographed. I could congratulate all the graduates when they came down. … I love it because by the time someone graduates, it’s like we’re their little mothers. We’ve been (helping) them to get through everything.”
Sometimes Katz is the one who helps them make the final push to commencement.
Students make it part of the way though graduate school and may quit for a job with the intention of going back to school eventually. Once in a while, Katz’s encouragement helps them get through so they get their degrees.
That aspect of it is much of what makes her job gratifying.
“When I first heard about this job, I immediately knew this was the one I wanted. I really focused on trying to get it – and lo and behold I got it. I think I even said this in the interview: It’s perfect for someone who is a ‘mother hen list-maker.’ ”
Katz also serves as graduate contact in her department, which means she’s the contact person for graduate students to see if they have questions or other concerns about being in school.
“I’ve been to workshops where they talk not only about the forms (students have to fill out) but how to help students when they have a problem. We’re the people they’re likely to come and see because we’re the front lines. It doesn’t happen every day but it happens.”
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN AT THE UI?
“I started in 1963 (as a student). I went for three years,” she said. “I was here for a couple years and I went to (Illinois State University) for a couple years. I had no desire to get a degree. I got married.”
DID YOU EVER FINISH YOUR DEGREE?
“It took 44 years,” she joked.
Many years later, when she began her current job, she decided to take advantage of the free class offerings. She took some acting classes that focused on social issues. When she realized she got credit for the class, she went to see an adviser who told her finishing the degree she started in the early ’60s wouldn’t be that hard.
“This was a laborious process,” she said of examining her old transcript. “The transcript was so old and out of date, but when we figured out what I needed to get a degree, it wasn’t that much. I took one class a semester.”
She finally finished her bachelor’s degree in rhetoric in 2007.
She credits her advisers who helped her finish up her last science course. She had some medical issues that required her to take time off from classes, but her advisers found a class she took years ago that fit the requirement.
“The people at LAS were wonderful and helpful. (It might not have been their top priority to) make sure someone my age graduates, but they did everything they could to help me.”
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