My name is Kimberly Kuharik and I’m a non-traditional student majoring in Business Management. My husband, Christopher, and I have lived in Georgetown, KY for ten years. I was born in Augusta, GA, but I’ve lived in several different states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana. My father worked in the horse industry for a while, and we travelled quite a bit. When pressed about my childhood home, I answer Charleston, SC because most of my happier childhood memories involve that city. I love animals, all kinds, and we have two cats, Tigger and Calhoun, who we adopted from animal shelters. My hobbies are varied and depend greatly on my mood. I’m a very creative person. I’ve experimented a bit through the years: painting, knitting, singing, writing, jewelry-making, cooking, woodworking, etc.

I chose UK because my husband is a UK Alumni, a graduate of the College of Engineering. I felt by choosing UK, I was creating a family tradition.

I work for the Science IBU where I place material and chemical orders for the Chemistry and Physics departments. While some of my tasks are clerical, the majority of what I do is customer service. No two days are ever the same, and I love the challenges that presents. I especially love the opportunity to interact with new people whether that be a vendor sales representative, a faculty member, or another student. I’ve been working there for about 8 months.

Employment in A&S has certainly prepared me for my future career. I know most people will reply with “they gave me the technical skills or the knowledge I needed to get my feet wet….”, and that’s a good answer. I won’t disagree, but for me, it’s been more. Deciding to return to college was a difficult decision. I knew there would be sacrifices I’d have to make. Debt. Time spent away from my family. I worried that if I left the workforce that my skills would grow stagnant, or I’d be too old when I graduated. I worried about the job market and the economy. Working with my IBU team has helped me work through those fears. Working with my team has given more confidence in my ability to succeed after graduation.

One time that I helped implement a change in the IBU had to do with purchasing. The purchasing procedures set up in the Science IBU are pretty specific, but I’m always looking for ways to simplify things for our customers. And, of course, my supervisor is always open to any suggestions I have. My current project is finding a way to stream-line off contract purchase procedures, particularly with items a customer needs regularly. I’ve done some research and presented it to a member of Purchasing. Nothing has been decided yet, but I’m hopeful my work will make life a bit easier for both my team and my customers.