Kati Von Lehman has been working in higher education since she became a Resident Assistant back in 1998. Over the years, she has worked for several different institutions and in different areas, but her favorite school has been the University of Pittsburgh! Kati started working in the Office of International Services (OIS) in 2011 and loves working with the Pitt international community!
What brought you to Pitt? How did you end up in your current role?
I am a Yinzer at heart. I grew up in Pittsburgh and after having my first child in Seattle, I wanted to move home. I always worked for Student Affairs in colleges and universities, so when I returned to Pittsburgh – Pitt was it! At the time when I was applying for a job at Pitt, OIS was part of Student Affairs and I had worked with international students at my last college, so it seemed like a great fit. I originally joined OIS as the Compliance Coordinator (making sure everyone was maintaining their immigration status) and I managed our database and online service center (My OIS). While I really enjoyed the critical thinking and problem solving of being the Compliance Coordinator, I missed the relationship building and connections with working more directly with people. In 2020, I became the Assistant Director for Outreach and Assessment which allowed me to focus on developing programs for our Pitt international community, the Global Leadership course, and additional intercultural trainings for Pitt faculty, staff, students, and community members – I get to do so many cool things!
What does a typical day in the office (in person or remote) look like for you?
I love the idea of a “typical” day. Do people actually have those? For me, I am managing our social media and working on the content for either my classes, cultural trainings, or Experience America programs. Honestly, much of what I do is dependent on the time of year and is very project-based. And the emails… so many emails!
What’s the accomplishment at Pitt that you’re proudest of?
This is hard because I get to do so many amazing things, so… I am going to cheat. My top 3 are writing a chapter in a book for faculty about working with international students and how their experience is different than domestic students, building our outreach to international family members who are in Pittsburgh, and some of the fun initiatives I have been able to do on social media. Because of my background in Residence Life, where my job was always to make people feel like part of our family, I feel like the more I can do to make everyone feel like they are valued and belong at Pitt – the better everyone feels. To achieve this goal, I include my family in many things I do. My kids will be at several International Welcome Week (IWW) events and occasionally show up on the OIS social media accounts. In addition, last year I started a social media campaign to send messages of positivity during finals. I loved looking up information about each student who asked for a personal message of encouragement to find out how great they are and tell them! These are the things that I am so proud that I get to do for the incredible people who are in our international community.
What would you say is the most exciting project you’re working on now?
International Welcome Week! We have added a few events to the schedule this week that I am excited to try. We are having a Tea and Biscuits event for Pitt international families, both new and current, to come and enjoy some time meeting each other over delicious cookies. This is the first time we have had an event focused on families during IWW and I hope we get a bunch of people to attend. We have also added a day of recurring sessions on U.S. Classroom Culture and Employment. The classroom culture in the U.S. is different than many other countries and getting even a basic understanding of how Pitt classes work can help better prepare our international students to succeed. The Employment session is also something very complicated from a legal standpoint for international students, so to take time to explain it from the beginning should help them understand the regulations before they start to look for work.
What’s one fun fact that people might not know about you?
I love national parks! My family has been to more than 30 national parks and we make little videos about what we love most or find the most interesting at each. This tradition started years ago when we accidentally found ourselves on a dirt logging road (our car forged a river!) and thought the videos were going to be all people found left of us. While that was a ridiculous learning experience, the videos have kept coming. We also drive to all the national parks, so our road trip game is strong! Some of my favorite family memories are the things that happen when we are trapped in the car together, whether it is funny comment, beautiful locations, or finding random treasures like the Jolly Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, Wisconsin.
Favorite thing about UCIS and working here?
I love the atmosphere of curiosity and passion about what people do! The people in the Global Studies Center and NRIEP (Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs) love their community, work, and team ALMOST as much as I do. That’s a lot! It makes working in UCIS a great place to feel the impact and intentions of the work we all contribute.