Each year at Convocation, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville recognizes recipients of UW-Platteville and Universities of Wisconsin awards, highlighting the excellence and dedication within the university community. These awards honor faculty and staff who have made exceptional contributions through teaching, service, leadership and engagement. This year, we’re shifting focus – instead of just highlighting their achievements and what they do for the university, we’ll be sharing the personal stories behind the people who make such a difference.
UW-Platteville has awarded Sara Koeller, administrative assistant for the Department of Humanities, with the University Staff Award for Excellence. The award recognizes staff members who provide essential services to the university while demonstrating excellence of performance, personal interaction and initiative and creativity.
Q: For those who don’t know, what does being an Administrative Assistant for the Department of Humanities involve?
When people ask what I do, it’s hard to explain—I usually tell them I’m a professional cat herder! As briefly as possible, I provide support to faculty, staff and students; coordinate textbooks, retroactive language credits, academic scheduling and the English test-out program; work with the Master of Science in Education program in Wuhan; and provide administrative support to both The Exponent and Pioneer Catholic. In general, I work to keep everyone going in the same direction, more or less at the same time—and try to do it with a smile on my face. I aim to make the campus experience a positive one for everyone.
Q: What do you think you bring to this role that others may not see?
I’ve been on campus my entire life (see below), and I think my institutional memory sometimes surprises people. After all, there aren’t many of us left who remember that there used to be lockers in Doudna, that Lundeen used to be a theater, or that winter color guard used to practice in what’s now 136 Doudna Lecture Hall—because it used to be a gymnasium!
Also, growing up in the academic world and spending time working in the “regular” business world have given me a unique perspective on how the university functions. That experience helps me guide people who are new to academia.
Q: What first attracted you to this job?
I really love to organize things. To me, being a department administrator is just organizing people instead of things. When I saw the opportunity to return to the Humanities Department, I knew I would enjoy coming back to a role where I’d be working with people I had worked with back in 2006—this time in a more student-facing position than in my previous job.
Q: How long have you held this position?
I’ve been full-time in the Humanities Department since January 2012—so 13 and a half years—but I also worked in the department for six months back in 2006 as an LTE, when a previous department assistant retired.
Q: Where were you born and raised?
I was born and raised in Platteville. My father was a professor of music at UW-Platteville for 48 years, my husband and stepmother are both graduates and my daughter is a current undergraduate, with my son expected to follow her in another year.
Q: What’s your favorite type of music or band?
I listen to just about every type of music, but I’d be a terrible sister if I didn’t list my favorite band as Cold Fusion—a Madison-based band that plays original, groove-filled jazz, funk and fusion music (and just happens to have my brother as the drummer).
Q: What’s the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Probably Bon Jovi in 1993. It was the first big concert I had ever been to and the first concert at a new venue in the Quad Cities. It was amazing, and nothing has ever matched that thrill.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, eating tacos and attending my son's soccer games. I also manage and teach at a local fitness studio, and many evenings I can be found there either teaching or taking a class. I spend time volunteering at the local high school, teaching yoga to various groups and sports teams and I also volunteer at my church.
Q: What would you tell your 18-year-old self now?
I would tell 18-year-old me that she would never believe where she ended up, but that she should keep following her heart. Even with twists and turns, it eventually led me to where I belong, and I wouldn’t change my experiences for the world (and neither should she).
Koeller will be recognized at the university’s annual faculty and staff convocation.