Staff Spotlight: Kate McPherson, Senior Academic Advisor
Interview by CUNY BA Student, Karl Taps (Ancient Mediterranean Religions, Hunter College ‘22)
Karl Taps: What was the most unusual or interesting job you had before coming to CUNY BA?
Kate McPherson: This is a tough one! I had some diverse experiences before arriving at CUNY BA: working with small animals at a veterinary office, horses at a show stable, plants at an award-winning nursery, among others, but I think the most unusual was the time I spent working for an automotive engineer who did virtual reconstructions of automobile accidents and provided expert testimony. I did everything from assisting with accident scene surveys to compiling reports and photo albums to be used in court. So I’ve learned some things. Always wear your seatbelt! And never back up when you miss an exit. Trust me.
KT: What might CUNY BA students be surprised to learn about your role and responsibilities?
KM: That I do so much more than advise students! I serve on the CUNY Council on International Education and the CUNY Advisement Council, two University level groups; I’ve served two terms as co-Chair of the Advisement Council and led the annual conference planning committee a number of times. I really value the opportunities these councils provide to come together with, learn from, and collaborate with colleagues from across the University. I’m the International Education Liaison for CUNY BA and serve as the point person for any student wishing to study abroad. I’m also part of an unofficial group of fellowship advisors across the senior colleges. I’m the Fulbright Program Advisor at CUNY BA and also work with students on other nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships like the Gilman Scholarship, Critical Language Scholarship, Freeman ASIA Award, NSF Pre-Doctoral Fellowships, Boren Scholarship, and more. I’m a longstanding member of the University Committee on CUNY BA, our governing body, representing our academic advising department. I manage our website (more on that below).
KT: Which project or achievement at CUNY BA are you most proud of?
KM: When I first started with CUNY BA twenty years ago, we had what could be most accurately described as a webpage. It had a list of information sessions about three semesters out of date, and we didn’t even have access to edit it ourselves. So, I took some HTML workshops offered through the Graduate Center IT department and built a new site! It needed some tweaks before it went live, but we finally had a comprehensive website that we could edit ourselves. Over the years, I’ve worked with a series of very talented graduate students who have served as our webmasters and built and maintained an evolving series of websites. Our current site launched in 2020 and is my favorite yet!
KT: What is your superpower?
KM: My superpower is knowing when to take a deep breath. Seriously! Sometimes it’s the only tool in my toolkit that I can reach for. I’ve learned that you rarely gain anything by reacting from a place of anger or frustration, but that still doesn’t make it easy in the moment. So, I just try to stop, breathe and collect myself; most of the time it helps me shift my response from aggressive to compassionate. It’s also okay to take your time in responding. Step back, gather your thoughts, consider what you really want to communicate and what outcome you want, then do it when you’re ready. I’ve spent the pandemic balancing full-time work and parenting a two (now three) year old and there have been lots of times that this is the singular thing that has made it manageable and kept me kind and loving.