The position has its challenges, but Katie says she enjoys how much she’s able to learn and grow from it. “I like that part of this work, growing and learning. That’s always constant,” she says. “I really find that I can learn something new every single day in this role. And I should be, because I will never be an expert. Every person’s situation is different and that just creates different challenges, and different positive things, too.” Katie’s appreciation for Ecumen extends beyond the professional and into the personal, as she’s had a parent and two parentsin-law pass away in the community. “Every time you walk away, you are so humbled by the love and the care that the staff provides every single day,” she says. “They’re just heroes where they work. It’s hard, but the people who do it are angels.” All of Katie’s diverse experiences at nursing homes and hospitals, and all the diverse people and situations she’s worked with, are the things that her sister, Nicole Schmitz, thinks make Katie so good at her job. “She just has a huge knowledge of so many different aspects, and it gives her such a broad spectrum of understanding people,” Nicole says. “I think she’s just such a huge asset to anywhere she goes.”
Submitted Photo
Katie with her family and friends after receiving her Master’s Degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2018.
Tribune File Photo
Katie assumed the position of Regional Director of Operations for Ecumen in January.
LIVING HER BEST LIFE
When she isn’t at work, Katie is likely to be found cheering on her two kids at their school activities, or spending time with her husband and friends. She loves to play golf, and spends as much time as she can either on or by the lake. She relishes the chance to sit on her deck, drink wine, be with her PAGE 22 | WOMEN 3600
Tribune File Photo
Katie, far right, holds a quilted coverlet created by the Detroit Lakes Area Quilters Guild for Ecumen Detroit Lakes to use in its 2018 Walk of Honor ceremony, which honors its residents at the end of their lives. Also pictured are (from left), Ecumen Chaplain Peter Gallatin and Quilters Guild members Corinna Honer and Pat Link.
family, and just watch the water. She’s also active with various state and local organizations. She’s been in the Rotary Club for about a decade, and is also on the Minnesota Board of Aging and LeadingAge Minnesota — both of which assist older adults by making sure they have a voice in the public sphere and have access to the health care they need. She personally ensures that older people in the rural Lakes Area are heard. “I just feel very strongly that we have a voice at the table,” she says. “I concluded several years ago that I don’t go, ‘Who’s going to go?’ We need a voice at the table.” Her work with these organizations has helped her grow and learn more, too, she says. Her sister seconds this, saying, “She always comes back from (board events) with a whole other set of ideas, or...viewpoints.” Between 2015 and 2018, Katie managed all these career, family and volunteer responsibilities while also working on her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration at Minnesota State University Moorhead. This past summer was her first summer off from school in three years. “I missed three summers of adult opportunities,” she laughs. “I think I got like three more rounds of golf in this summer.” Nicole says her sister has a talent for balancing all her involvements, and keeps her eye focused on what’s most important in life. “She always knows how to reset herself,” she says. “I think that’s why she’s been so successful.” “I just really try and live my life the best I can every day,” Katie says. “It’s really just about the people I have around me.” §