Minot State University
03/23/2023 | News release | Distributed by Public on 03/23/2023 10:46
Coffee and passion fuels Albers
By Amanda Duchsherer
Digital Communication Specialist
MINOT, N.D. - KateLynn Albers has sage advice when it comes to volunteering.
"If you're not volunteering about something you're passionate about or helps build you up, you're not going to continue doing it," she said. "How can you help, be impactful, and also fill your own cup up?"
Those words can be applied to life in general and is a tenet the Minot State University College of Business assistant professor ascribes to.
"Sometimes in class, I lose my voice from screaming too much," she laughed. "It's just accounting, but I love it."
Passion is a reoccurring theme in Albers' arc, from petitioning the Hazen High School principal to offer a business law class as a student, to volunteerism - beginning in school clubs like Future Business Leaders of America, 4-H, and the National Honor Society and continuing as the Companions for Children's 2022 Mentor of the Year - to immersing herself in the community.
"My favorite part of Minot State as a student was the community feel," the 2015 graduate said. "I came for the affordability and that it was close to Hazen, and Minot just sucked me in. I haven't left since.
"And supporting nonprofits is very huge for me, because if I'm part of a community, I want to make sure I'm helping it as a part of that."
In addition to being an adult friend to her mentee, Albers serves on the Minot Housing Authority and Minot Area Schools Federal Credit Union boards and can often be found supporting nonprofit events.
"I honestly don't think if I hadn't been involved in Entrepreneurship Club or PBL (Phi Beta Lambda, now Future Business Leaders of America Collegiate), I probably wouldn't have realized how great the community was," she said.
Albers first found her community fit at Minot State thanks to coffee.
"When I was a freshman, I saw a flyer around campus asking, 'Do you like coffee?' I'm like, I love coffee," she said. "And that's how I ended up going to my first Entrepreneurship Club meeting.
"And it might have been that first meeting, or the second, that they started electing officers. I had shorter hair at the time, and one guy goes, I nominate the girl with short hair. I ended up being an officer and it just made me come out of my shell more."
Albers was part of the Entrepreneurship Club while they owned the Beaver Brew Café - the whole premise behind that fateful coffee poster.
"We started and opened the café my freshman year and I got to see the sale of it my senior year," she said. "I was the only student in the club that got to see it from start to finish.
"I did things like calculating the cost of a cup of coffee to trying to decide what products we should sell. I got to see all aspects of it, and as an accounting major, I think it helped me see the full view of a business rather than just the numbers."
From working with marketing majors focused on customer demand to an art major creating the logo, Albers was able to engage in real-world learning with different personalities.
"It was all-encompassing and a great experience," she said. "I got a better grasp on the whole concept of how a business runs and how different minds can come together."
That knowledge directly transferred to her job in public accounting with Brady Martz & Associates PC for five and a half years following graduation. It also helped her realize what her true calling was.
"I found that what I loved most was helping new hires and interns as they started in their career," Albers said. "So that's what led me to want to have more impact with new students in their career, and that's how I ended back at Minot State.
"I love interacting with students and seeing what their passions are. I love when a student comes in and wants to talk about what they want to do with their future, or when I get an update of where they got a job. And I think that's what's also so great about Minot State - our graduates are sought after and successful because of our class sizes, the people, the community."
About Minot State University
Minot State University is a public university dedicated to excellence in education, scholarship, and community engagement achieved through rigorous academic experiences, active learning environments, commitment to public service, and a vibrant campus life.