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So, who am I?

My name is Kathie Gossett. I am a native Californian, born in San Diego, CA and raised mostly in Sacramento, CA. I spent most of my youth singing, dancing, twirling a baton, and trying to learn a plethora of instruments (none of which stuck) at the Harmony and Rhythm Workshop in Carmichael, CA. In 1986, I graduated from Mira Loma High School and gave up my youthful pursuits to start college.

I began my college career at Ricks College, in the beautiful metropolis of Rexburg, Idaho. After one winter, however, this California girl decided the snow was not for her. I decided to take a break and spent the next year traveling around Europe relying on my meager savings, the good will and generosity of my parents, and the occasional under-the-table job to survive and get me from one city to the next. After I returned home, I moved as far away from snow as possible, and ended up back in San Diego where I attended San Diego Mesa College and eventually transferred to the University of California at San Diego. I graduated from UCSD in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Literature and Creative Writing with a minor in Teacher Education.

At this point, instead of jumping right into the job market, I decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and was called to the Germany-Frankfurt Mission. I spent a wonderful 18 months in the southwestern area of Germany (Mainz, Karlsruhe, Wetzlar, Saarbruecken, and Darmstadt), and finally learned German (much to my mother's pleasure -- with a maiden name like Schulzke, you wanna guess how long she'd been trying to teach me German?).

When I returned home from Europe this time, it was time to become a responsible adult. I got a job in the San Francisco Bay Area working as a technical writer in healthcare information systems. I stayed with healthcare and over the past few years have toyed with programming (Lotus Notes, C++, Java), web design and development, systems analysis, and project management. While I was working, I managed to get my Master of Arts degree from California State University, Hayward and discovered that I really enjoyed teaching writing and literature. Not having the guts to walk away from the $$ available in the computer industry, I returned to cubicle hell and slogged away for a few more years.

Finally, in the fall of 1999, I decided it was time for a change and began applying for both full-time teaching positions and PhD programs. I didn't get any teaching offers, but I did get offers for PhD work, so now I am chucking my computer job and going back to school. (Yeah I know, I'm crazy. But you know what? I'm also happy!) Beginning in the fall of 2000, I will be a full-time graduate student and TA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Yes, this California girl is moving back to the snow! I'll let you know if it's any warmer this time around!

Tschuess!

Kathie