Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to the Get Inspired! Project for Berks County Living magazine. Today I have one Kristin Kramer with me. Hi, Kristin.
Kristin Kramer: Hi, Toni.
Toni: How are you?
Kristin: I’m good.
Toni: Good. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project.
Kristin: Thank you. I’m excited to be here.
Toni: So, Kristin, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kristin: I’ve had an interesting career with great opportunities right here in Berks County from publishing to public relations and nonprofit work. I currently work at the Wilson School District. I have two roles with the District. I serve as Public Information Director for the District, which means handling communication and PR, and then I also serve as Executive Director for the Wilson Education Foundation.
The mission of the Foundation is to support Wilson excellence. We do this by raising non-tax dollars to provide grants for teachers. We do scholarships for students. We provide funding for a variety of academic programs within the District, and then also support District events. It’s a great way to help supplement the school budget and provide opportunities for students at Wilson. There’s other school districts that have education foundations as well throughout the community.
Toni: Wow! There’s a lot going on there.
Kristin: Yes. Keeps me busy.
Toni: I was going to say, you must be one busy lady. Let’s get into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Kristin: Inspiration for me is what excites me to try something new, or to take action to make a difference.
Toni: Try something new and take action.
Kristin: Correct.
Toni: Do they go hand in hand, or could they sometimes be different?
Kristin: Sometimes they could be different. Taking action might be something I know about, but then I find a little bit more information and I’m inspired to get involved or take action. Then, just to try something new that maybe is outside of my comfort zone, but that I’m willing to try because of hearing from others or hearing their stories. I find that inspiring.
Toni: Have you been inspired recently that you can speak about maybe where you tried something new, because you were inspired to do so?
Kristin: This past year I’ve actually been taking graduate classes at Alvernia. That’s just a little bit outside of my comfort zone, having graduated college many years ago. Going back to school while working full time and being involved in the community has been challenging.
The program I’m in is a Masters in Organizational Leadership. Through that program, I’ve been challenged to be a better leader and do things that work, such as being a self-advocate and bringing up issues and talking about things like reviews and how we work as an organization, and that’s different. That’s definitely pushed me through the coursework, through the professors. That’s inspired me to be a self-advocate and improve myself as a leader for the community.
Toni: I love that. Something inspired you to go back to school, but how you describe that as being a self-advocate? Can you quickly tell us what you mean by that?
Kristin: I think in any situation, sometimes it’s easier to say “yes” or just go with the flow, but that’s not always the best for you, whether it’s your career or an event you’re working on. Being able to open my mouth and voice my opinion and be able to advocate for myself or the organization or my beliefs, I think that’s important – not just at work, but as a person; to be able to know that you have value and that your opinion matters, and your thoughts matter, and you should be able to share those with other leaders, other members of the community. I’ve been trying to be more self-aware of doing that and being able to voice my opinion and hopefully make a difference.
Toni: I love that. How do you take all of that, the inspired thinking, the self-advocacy, all of this, but particularly the inspiration that comes around it, and put it into practice here in Berks County?
Kristin: I think I do have a great opportunity within my workplace that I’ve been able to support District initiatives and provide funding for students and for teachers. I’m fortunate that I can have a difference just through my job.
I also have always been very involved with Greater Reading. I grew up here and left for a few years and was living in New England. I’ve been back over 10 years now. Community involvement is really important to me. I’ve served on a variety of boards and different committees for different organizations. I’m really proud of the work I did with the Greater Reading Young Professionals, or GRYP, as it’s known in the community. I served on the board for six years, and I was the President for two years. I’m still on the Advisory Board. I feel what GRYP has done to support its mission to attract, engage, and retain young professionals has been tremendous for our community.
I really think being involved and dedicating my time to make a difference is how I hopefully help inspire others. Right now, I’m actually doing something different and outside of my comfort zone. I’m running for West Reading Borough Council. I’m a West Reading resident. I won the primary, and I’m on the ballot for the election in November, so I’m going to be entering the world of politics.
Toni: Wow – congratulations!
Kristin: That’s something again, taking my community involvement to the next level and serving in that role, if I have that opportunity, if I am elected in November. It’s something that I’ve been inspired to do through other community members and Borough Council members. I’m hoping I can continue to make a difference looking at West Reading as the place that I call home.
Toni: That’s fantastic. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Kristin: I’m inspired by all the teachers in our community. Through Wilson I get to see firsthand the impact our teachers have on our students. I’m also from a family of teachers, so I have siblings and parents and cousins and good friends that teach at a variety of school districts. I don’t think teachers get the credit they deserve for the difference they make for our students. Seeing what they do every day really inspires me and keeps me motivated.
Toni: Anybody else in particular you want to give a shout out to that inspires you? The teachers, the students … what I like about your answer, though, is that it brings full circle as to what inspiration means to you, and it’s that giving back to the community, the advocacy that you speak about, because isn't that really what teachers do for the students, too?
Kristin: They do. I can't say there’s one person. I think there’s so many people in our community that are making a difference, so to highlight one person … I’m inspired by the Board of the Greater Reading Young Professionals. They’re continuing to do great work for our community. There’s so many organizations. It would be hard for me to say one person. I agree. Teachers are advocates for our students and making sure that they get the education and nurturing and so much more that they need, and are having such an impact, and will continue to do so.
Toni: What a great opportunity to give them a shout out. You have to pass this along to all of your teacher friends.
Kristin, what do you want your legacy to be?
Kristin: I do hope that I’ve had an impact on our community, and I hope I can continue to do so, so that if people think of me, they’ll remember some of the work I’ve done with the Young Professionals or the work I’m doing for students at Wilson. Just having some type of continued impact. I plan to continue to serve whether it’s on boards or in political office in Greater Reading for years to come, and I hope that I can continue to make a difference, and hopefully maybe inspire some others to get involved and give back to our community as well.
Toni: So again, you are a fine, shining example in this community of people who are living their legacy by inspiring others to do work that matters. Thank you, Kristin, for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project, and good luck this fall.
Kristin: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
