Kristen VanDeRostyne is the Administrative Assistant for the Graduate School. She's originally from a small town called Parker, South Dakota (Population 1,033). She grew up on an acreage where her family had horses, cows, dogs, and cats. After she graduated high school, she then went on to join the South Dakota Air National Guard, which is a subset of the Air Force. After her Basic Military Training, she started working on her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with a Minor in International Business at Northern State University. While attending college she continued to serve in the military part-time, and even deployed overseas to the Middle East midway through her schooling. Before she graduated with her degree, she studied abroad in Australia, working at an internship at a 5-star hotel in Gold Coast. Once she graduated Magna Cum Laude with her degree, she set off for Seattle to work for Amazon as an operations manager, and then as an operations manager of a company called EOS IT Solutions. Her work experience includes managing teams, forecasting, product management, and inventory control. She decided to leave Seattle to be closer to family by moving here to Anchorage. Not long after she moved, she took on the role of the new Administrative Assistant for the Graduate School here at UAA.

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Kristen took the time to answer some questions about herself, her job, and some of her favorites.

What's your favorite part of your job?

I like the variety, whether that be meeting with students, planning and hosting events, or collaborating with faculty and staff members on an assortment of tasks. Every day is something new.

What are your favorite hobbies?

Walking my dog, fishing, riding motorcycles/ATVs/snow machines, and reading. A good mix of indoor and outdoor activities.

What's something people might be surprised to find out about you?

I have had a government CDL, a commercial driver’s license, and am forklift certified.

What's your favorite place/activity in Alaska?

I recently went on a remote fishing trip with a women veterans' group called Operation Mary Louise. We were flown out on prop planes that had to land on the beach, where we stayed in a remote lodge and fished for salmon. We saw brown bears, beluga whales, seals, and otters.

What's your favorite place on the UAA - Anchorage Campus?

My favorites are the quad near Cuddy Hall when they have food trucks for “Concert on the Quad” during the summer, and the third floor rotunda section of the library. It is a nice and quiet place to work, and has a nice view.

Thank you for sharing, Kristen! You can reach Kristen at knvanderostyne@alaska.edu.