My name is Kate and I’m a first year student in the Museology program at the University of Washington. I spent the last few years working as a designer, and now I’m focusing on the roles that design and new technologies can play in museums. I moved to Seattle from Chicago at the end of last summer and I’m overjoyed that I’m surrounded by mountains instead of plains and prairies now.

If you were stranded on an island, what three items would you bring with you to survive for at least a month?
I’d like to think I’d be somewhat practical and bring a good pocket knife and something to purify water with, but I’d probably still just want a good book as my third item.

What is your #1 travel destination?
Iceland is at the top of my list – I want to go north in general in order to see the Northern Lights, but Iceland and its history fascinate me more than anything else right now.

What is the one place you never, ever want to visit?
Honestly, I can’t think of any places that I flat out don’t ever want to visit – I feel like there’s something interesting in every place I could possibly go!

What did you want to be as a kid, and how is that matching up with what you’re doing now?
I wanted to be a veterinarian for a while, but that ended pretty quickly when I realized that I’m not cut out for how sad that job can be sometimes. After that, I switched to wanting to be an artist of some kind, so I’d say I got pretty close with my design and photography work!

Where/for whom would you want to work for for the rest of your life (job security is promised)?
I would want to work somewhere that would allow me to make something beautiful every day and give me the opportunity to constantly improve my skills – if I worked as an artist in a pottery or glass studio, I’d never get bored!

Do you have any pets, and if so what type of animal are they? Name?
I don’t have any with me in Seattle, but my parents have the family dog that I consider to be partially mine in Pittsburgh. He’s a Newfoundland named Moose and he’s fantastic.

What is your go-to recipe to make that doesn’t take a lot of effort, but still tastes good?
I don’t know that it really has a name, but it involves a skillet full of roasted garlic, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach and a lot of paprika. Always filling, always delicious!