Meet Katherine Hanson

We are talking with another one of our amazing tutors this week! Come meet Katherine Hanson!

Katherine’s family moved frequently while she was growing up. She lived in Ohio, Arizona, Minnesota, New York, Massachusetts, and Kentucky. That said, she claims Cincinnati as home! Katherine completed her undergraduate degree at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, where she majored in English and concentrated in Peace & Conflict Studies. After teaching for three years, she went back to school to study Education Policy and its implications for equity in education at Columbia University. She earned her M.A. in 2017.

Her entire career has been in education. She’s been a teacher, a Dean of Faculty, an Instructional Coach, an education policy analyst in the office of one of Ohio's state senators, and an education researcher. Currently, she works for a fantastic organization called The Opportunity Network, which is based in New York. The Opportunity Network connects students from historically and systematically underrepresented communities to college access and success, internships, career opportunities, and personal and professional networks. She directs the organization's data management, evaluation, and decision science activities in addition to managing a caseload of amazing college students.

How long have you been tutoring with Connections?

I have been tutoring with Connections since September 2017!

What's your favorite thing about tutoring?

Nothing gives me joy quite like working with young people. I aspire for my students to be independent learners with healthy growth mindsets. My pedagogy leans less on direct instruction, and more on building the habits of independent learning. My favorite moments are those when I can see my students flex these habits — when they say things like, "I don't know that word. We should look it up;" or "I want to work on this part of the assignment, but I need to review the chapter first.

What is the best book you've read in the last year?

Toni Morrison is my favorite author, and I'm working my way through her anthology. Earlier this year, I read Song of Solomon, which deeply moved me.

How would you spend a free Saturday afternoon?

I would exercise with my dog, Oakley, take care of my dozens of plants, and meet up with friends for a beer. Preferably outside, on a deck.

You just won an all expenses paid vacation! Where are you going?

I'm at my happiest when I am in the mountains, so you can take me anywhere above 8000' elevation and I will be thrilled. If you back me into a corner, I'll put off the trip for a year so that I can train aggressively to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania!

Thank you, Katherine, for all you do for Connections!