Welcome to another issue of "10 Questions with...," where we will learn more about our colleagues who make DUSON the destination for outstanding talent.

Let's get to know Katherine Zeph, Staff Assistant for the Division of Healthcare in Adult Populations, who has been at Duke for ten years.

Q: What's the best advice you've ever received?
A: Fortunately, I have received lots of "best" advice over the years. What I remember most are the folks who delivered it: my parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers. Strangers: the man in Philadelphia at a traffic stop; the hospice patient in Des Moines, IA; the cab driver who picked me up at 5:30 am in the snow to make my flight home.

Q: What inspires you working at Duke?
A: Collaborations on projects, building things, brainstorming new ways to complete tasks.

Q: What past work experience did you have that helped prepare you for DUSON?
A: Ten years of Duke work experience!

Q:What three words would you use to describe DUSON?
A: Dynamic, Smart, Collaborative.

Q: How do you balance career and outside life?
A: I play tennis and work in my yard - two outdoor activities - to balance the time I spend indoors at work. Both tennis and yard work are demanding (LOL!) so these activities keep me on my toes as well.

Q: What was your first job?
A: Not counting babysitting and a newspaper route which was passed down from my older brother (my Mom was my boss), I did a lot of retail and restaurant work. I volunteered as a candy striper in our local hospital and later worked as a nurse's aide and a unit secretary in med-surg, psych, and emergency departments while I attended college full time.

Q: What music is on your playlist?
A: Mavericks, RadioHead, Macy Gray, Grateful Dead, and the music from the 1970's (which I used to dislike, but as I age, I am nostalgic for it).

Q: What would you do (for a career) if you weren't doing this?
A: I cannot imagine doing any one thing to the exclusion of other things. I can't recommend this lifestyle, but it has worked for me. To be honest, I am married to someone who has maintained a career path and he has brought great stability to my life. I have been able to enjoy life so much more because of him. Left to my own devices, I wander too much. Everything looks good to me at first.

Q: If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
A: I would love to visit with my parents who have passed away in the last couple of years. My siblings, spouses, and their children would join us. I would invite my cousins and my parents' parents and their sibs. My aunts and uncles. When my husband and I could not make it home for the holidays, my Mom would say, "You will be here with us in spirit." This is the dinner I would like to have.

Q: What is something that most people don't know about you?
A: I was a guest on Oprah (a GUEST!). I rode my bicycle from Chicago to Pagosa Springs, CO, in the late winter and early spring and camped outside all the way. I worked as a bread baker. I was a private cook on a ranch. I worked at Saks Fifth Avenue ON Fifth Avenue. I worked for the Joffrey Ballet Company. I have never been drunk. LOL! I went to art school at the University of New Mexico (just for fun). I have degrees in English lit, fine arts, and graphic design.

Thanks for sharing more about yourself, Katherine!

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