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Katie George, who previously worked inside the Pittsburg State University development office, has joined the upper administration as PSU President Steve Scott’s Chief-of-Staff.
George attended Pittsburg State and is continuing her education while she starts her job in Russ Hall.
“(At Pittsburg State University), I graduated with my undergraduate degree in 2015,” George said. “My major was graphic communications with an emphasis in web and interactive media, and then a minor in marketing and I’m almost finished with my master’s degree in human resource development. I’ll finish that in the spring.”
She expressed her delight when she received the offer to become University President Steve Scott’s Chief-of-Staff.
“I was very excited,” George said. “A little nervous, but in a good way. Just excited to learn but knowing that I do have a lot to learn, but excited for the new opportunities and getting to work with Dr. Scott and the rest of the upper administration. And it’s been a lot of fun so far.”
As she settled into her new job, she became responsible for many important parts of the university. She also became vital to President Scott’s administration.
“So, I am Dr. Scott’s gatekeeper,” George said. “… I help manage his schedule as well as my own. We work through several different meetings, like I attend President’s Council meetings. Managing the staff in this office and it’s a lot of just random tasks, approving things, going through paperwork, working with donors, and just different people that we invite to events and things like that. So honestly, I don’t know that necessarily every day has looked the same so far.”
Entering her new job, she shared her hopes for the year and her expectations for the upper administration as a collective.
“First and foremost, just grateful to have students back on campus and have coworkers back,” George said. “Last year was, you know, rough for everyone. So happy for that. Looking forward to being able to have athletic competitions and events and things like that on campus again. As far as for this role. Kind of like I said, just excited to be able to work with upper administration and learn from them and just see how they handle different situations and challenges as they arise so that I can make note of that and be a better leader and manager and professional myself.”
George will oversee and organize ongoing projects that will help students on campus.
“I’m excited to work with Dr. Scott through his last year as President,” George said. “Hopefully looking forward to maybe wrapping up some projects and stuff that upper administration has been working on the last several years and eager to see what happens next.”
As a former undergraduate student, she wanted to share some advice for students this year and as they continue their college experience.
“First, just to get to know your faculty members and your organization, advisors and people who volunteer their time to help students,” she said. “And secondly I would say I guess just try and get involved in as much as you can and just kind of soak it all up because after college, so many things change.”