Southwest Tech Spotlight: Kristine Haas
Southwest Tech Spotlight: Kristine Haas
Kristine grew up near Stockton, Illinois. She graduated from River Ridge High School in Illinois and enjoyed gardening and being involved in 4-H. Kristine has always had a strong work ethic. She worked in her Aunt Mary’s tax business throughout high school and was very comfortable working with numbers and records.
“Because I loved the outdoors and wasn’t ready for an office job, I went to Kishwaukee Community College for Horticulture. I loved the feeling of a community college and learned so much from my Floral Design and Greenhouse Management classes.”
Kristine graduated in 1994 and was soon employed in a greenhouse setting and really enjoyed it. She had her son, Brent, not long after.
“It was hard to give up my job in the greenhouse, but it was only a seasonal job. As a single mom, I needed something that would provide income year-round.”
Kristine worked several years at different gas stations before getting a job at SignCraft. She started out as a printer and worked her way up to a line inspector position. In her career life, something was still missing.
Kristine married John in 2002. A few years later, they moved to Darlington.
“When I moved to Darlington in 2005, GCR Tires hired me as their Office Manager and I loved having the variety of people to work with and knowing that every day would hold something new. However, I still felt like I could do something more with my life. There was always a thought in the back of my mind about going back to school, but I was busy enough juggling parenting, a full-time job and selling Tupperware products. A busy class schedule just was not doable at that point.”
After working almost eight years, Kristine’s job at GCR Tires was eliminated. Kristine saw this as the opportunity she had been waiting for and began looking into colleges. She called Southwest Tech the day before the campus Open House. This was the perfect opportunity to meet instructors and other students, so she decided to check it out.
“When I spoke with Gary Kirk, the Accounting instructor, and Sandra Ostheimer, the Administrative Professional instructor, we related really well. I felt like a person, not just a number. Southwest Tech had such a family atmosphere and I loved how everyone knew each other.”
Kristine applied to the Accounting program that very day.
“Ever since high school, I’ve been working with numbers. From working in my Aunt Mary’s tax business and keeping receipts to prove I was Brent’s main financial provider to keeping records for John’s trucking business and being an office manager, accounting was something I knew I could do and would enjoy.”
After completing the first semester in Accounting, Kristine decided to double-major. In the fall, she began taking classes for the Administrative Assistant program as well.
“I like working with the numbers, but I also want to work with people. With this combination of classes, I plan to get a job working up front with people, but on a different level than a receptionist.”
Kristine has enjoyed networking with other students as a Student Ambassador and in Student Senate.
In her free time, Kristine still loves tending to her flower gardens. She also enjoys quilting, reading romance books, watching the birds out her window, and selling Tupperware products at craft shows.