DAFVM Spotlight Employee: Kathy Johnson
Kathy Johnson
Kathy Johnson works hard as Events Coordinator in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. She also works as a full-time mother and student as she pursues her degree in General Studies.
Kathy plans all events for her department. She is in charge of hiring all the 100-plus student workers and intermediate workers. She keeps track of all their paperwork, payroll, and general schedule.
“I love this position because of all the new students and people I get to meet almost every day,” she said.
Kathy’s favorite aspect of her job is the Row Crops Short Course. This three-day seminar is attended by several hundred agricultural producers, consultants, and students. Leading scientists share the latest crop-related research. Some undergraduate and graduate students speak at the event.
“The program has been growing as well,” Kathy said. “When I started, we had about 200 people attend. In the five years that I have been here, over 700 people started coming.”
Kathy said that she is always moving, and no two days are ever the same. She enjoys being busy and having a new task each day.
“I started this career later in my life, and we moved back here to be near my husband’s family,” Kathy said. “There was a lot of opportunity from MSU, and I think where I was hired was a really good fit for me and my family.”
She talked about some advice that she would give students interested in working for her.
“They would have to be flexible, organized, and outgoing. The students would have to be up for different types of tedious work and be able to multitask with all the many responsibilities,” she explained.
Kathy has been married for 33 years and has one daughter who is currently a graduate student teaching at Mississippi State University.
Editor's note: The Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine Spotlight Employee profiles are provided by the Office of Agricultural Communications at Mississippi State. For more information, please click here.
