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Career Profiles - Kathryn Holliday-Darr

K. Holliday-Darr

  1. Describe your career field.
    Fifty-five percent of my time is spent teaching Engineering Graphics (drafting) and First Year Experience classes; thirty-five percent on scholarly activities and research; and the rest on serving Penn State and the Community (committees.)

  2. How did you become interested in this field?
    I became interested in Industrial Arts by accident. I went back to college when I was 25 to take classes that looked like fun. Next thing I knew, I was less than a year away from a degree in Industrial Arts (high school shop teacher.)

  3. What education did you have to obtain- how many years, what major, degrees?
    B.S. in Industrial Arts 1978, University of Northern Colorado (4 years) M.A in Industrial Arts Education 1988, State University College at Buffalo (part-time spread out over 7 years)

  4. What were you favorite subjects in school?
    Cheerleading, gym class and home economics. I thought the rest of my classes were a waste of time. I asked questions like "Why do I have to take English classes? I write well enough to write Christmas cards." "Who needs math, I can balance a checkbook."

  5. What's every-day life like in your field?
    Each day is different. I use skills I thought I would never need. Remember my comments above about writing and math? Well, I recently wrote a textbook called Applied Descriptive Geometry. You never know where life will take you, be as ready as you can be.

  6. How do you balance a family and career?
    This is an extremely tough one and not one I do well. Unless there is a family emergency, work fills the majority of my time.

  7. What's the coolest thing about your career?
    My job is never boring. Part of my job is to stay on the cutting edge of technology in my field. This means I am constantly being challenged, experimenting, and learning. I love seeing students get excited about a project and work together to solve the problem. I enjoy visiting with students that have graduated from our programs -- to see how their lives have changed, they have grown, and how happy they are in their careers.

  8. Anything you would like to add?
    Enter a field because it is something you love to do. Ask questions, job shadow, and pick your school carefully. As I said before, you never know where life will take you, be as ready as you can be - and enjoy.