Kate Anderson

    Kate Anderson ’14

    Back to All , Spotlights

    2014

    Current job title and employer and briefly describe what it is you do: I am currently an Account Manager working in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and a freelance broadcast producer. In my role with the Jazz, I manage over 300 season ticket holder accounts, and work to contribute to our annual ~$70 million revenue goal. I also plan multiple events throughout the year for our clients, and work closely with basketball operations to manage player attendance at select events. In my role as a broadcast producer, I have worked with NBC at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, CHN and at the 2022 Summer Dew Tour in Des Moines, Iowa. I manage partner/sponsor obligations during the broadcast, format the broadcast so we stay on schedule, and sit in the TV truck during our live broadcasts to ensure everything goes smoothly. I've started my own company for these freelance jobs, and it's a been a great learning experience!

    Academic experience at Saint Michael's College help prepare you for your career: My academic experience at Saint Michael's College prepared me for my career by teaching me that I don't have to stick to just one thing I'm interested in. I took classes in a variety of different subjects while at SMC, and I learned that I can be successful without sticking to one narrow track. I learned how to take value from every experience, even if it's not obviously aligned with my overall career goals. Any day you learn something new is a good day.

    Favorite memory or class from your time studying at St. Mike’s: My favorite memory of Saint Mike's is the friends I made. I loved the small school experience, and having everyone live on campus. I am from Minnesota, so going home on the weekends or for short breaks wasn't an option. I loved that all my friends lived close by during all four years of school, it really brought us closer and created a sense of community. One of my overall favorite memories is the snow day we had my first year. We all gathered in one tiny dorm room to watch movies all day, and there may or may not have been some skiing off the mail room roof (sorry Lou...). I really came out of my shell during my first couple of years at SMC, and I am so grateful to my friends and SMC community for fostering that.

    Translated your volunteer experience at Saint Michael’s into giving back to your community after graduation: I am always looking for ways to give back to the Utah communities I'm a part of, thanks to Saint Mike's spirit of volunteerism and community. I've led Team USA athletes on service trips to Mexico, organized a girl's only ski camp, and even administered an annual grant given to an athlete's charity of choice. Giving back to communities you love is so important, and that's one of the first things I loved about Saint Mike's.

    Other information you would like to share or advice for incoming or current students: Say yes to everything! If you're interested, try it out. I never thought I would be interested in student government, but I decided to run for President of North Campus my sophomore year and loved it! I stayed involved in Student Association until graduation. Saying yes is how I got involved in producing. It's never something I had thought about doing, but when the opportunity arose unexpectedly, I said yes to the adventure and I'm so glad I did. Don't be afraid to say yes, to moving across the country, or to starting over completely. It can have payoffs you never expect.

    Tell us more: Several years out, I am still very satisfied with my choice to pursue a degree in French, especially when combined with my second major in Business Administration. Having grown up speaking French, it was exciting to be able to experience those upper-level courses that a college offers. Had I not been able to maintain my French proficiency throughout my years at SMC, I would not have been able to thrive as much during my study abroad program as I did.  I had the opportunity to intern with the National Institute for Sport, Expertise, and Performance during my semester in Paris.  My strong language skills were instrumental in my success at my internship.  My French colleagues were continually saying how impressed and appreciative they were that I was able to communicate effectively and efficiently in French; something I could not have done without the strong foundation from the upper-level courses I took at SMC. Combining French with a degree in Business has been a winning combination, as many business and accounting principles are set to an international standard.  I have the chance to explore opportunities within any Francophone region in the world, something I’ve been excited to pursue since experiencing the rich international community on campus.

    Having a strong knowledge of the culture of Francophone countries was also hugely helpful in my personal life while abroad.  The French are notoriously hard to make friends with, especially as a foreigner.  Being able to relate to the literature and films of the French-speaking world was hugely helpful in forging connections with my French friends, and made it much easier to assimilate to my life there. I would not have gotten nearly as much out of my semester abroad were it not for the cultural knowledge and linguistic skills from the many French courses offered at Saint Michael’s College. It’s also such a fun moment to meet someone else here in the U.S. that speaks French; It’s an instant connection.

    Post-graduation, I have still been so happy that I obtained a degree in French. My boss has told me that the reason he hired me was because of my internship in Paris.  Working in the world of international and Olympic-level skiing and snowboarding, French is extremely valuable. It is one of the official languages of the International Olympic Committee, and all of our 14 teams train in France and Switzerland at various points during the year. Having a strong level of French was also a major factor in my nomination as Team USA’s Young Ambassador to the 2016 Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. They were looking for a candidate with fluency in more than one language, and my French was a huge asset during the Games. That position has opened so many doors for me; I have traveled internationally several times, and I received a grant to bring a group of athletes to Mexico to build a home for a family in need. This community engagement project was especially meaningful to me as a graduate of Saint Michael’s, where giving back is such an important part of the on-campus culture.