Member Spotlight: Kara Harlan

Organization:

Other than improving your Zoom meeting skills, what have you learned (or learned to excel in professionally) since March of 2020?

One thing I learned is that I like working from home and that I can be very productive when I do so.  But it has also reinforced my belief that I work with a great team and that it’s nice to have them around now that I’m back in the office.

Who are you outside of work?

I am a mom of two wonderful children.  Our son recently moved out of the house and is in the beginning stages of becoming an electrician.  Our daughter will be a freshman at the University of Cincinnati this fall so we are about to become empty nesters!  I love spending time with my family and our two dogs, traveling, creating crafts on my scan n cut and enjoy good food and drinks.

Name a silver lining in your own work experience since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

It has made be become more flexible and I’ve learned how to do a lot of things differently.

What MPI resources have you used to help you cope in 2020?

Especially early on, I really enjoyed the Coffee Chats.  It was nice to hear from other people about how they were handling the changes that came with COVID.  The Impressed awards were a great way to re-connect with old friends too.

What is the greatest place you have ever visited? 

It’s hard to say what the greatest place I’ve ever visited is.  I was fortunate to have parents who loved to travel and would take me with them.  However, I loved Switzerland and would like to get back there someday.

Something people don’t know about you:

I love Broadway Musicals, I had a job at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and I lived in Japan when I was young.