About Katie Paulson
Katie Paulson is the South Dakota, Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO) Center Director. Prior to this role, she has held positions in restaurant management, college admissions, and was the State Director for South Dakota SkillsUSA. As a product of many of the CTSO’s herself, she has a passion to grow and help thrive the great CTSO’s in South Dakota. Working closely with the State Directors of Educators Rising; Family, Career & Community Leaders of America; Future Business Leaders of America; FFA; Future Health Professionals HOSA; and SkillsUSA; to create professional development events and opportunities for growth at every turn. Katie has also found herself working with student members, board members, and industry to be a visionary for the work and growth of the future leaders of tomorrow.
Connect with Katie Paulson: Email
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Resources Mentioned
Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO)
South Dakota SkillsUSA
Educators Rising
Family, Career & Community Leaders of America
Future Business Leaders of America
FFA
Future Health Professionals HOSA
The Transcript
**Please note that all of our transcriptions come from rev.com and are 80% accurate. We’re grateful for the robots that make this possible and realize that it’s not a perfect process.
Sam Demma
Welcome back to another episode of the High Performing Educator Podcast. This is your host, Sam Demma, and today we are joined by Katie Paulson, who is in the middle of the harvesting season in South Dakota. Katie, please, just introduce yourself.
Katie Paulson
Yeah, I’m Katie Paulson. I am the director of the South Dakota CTSO Center. CTSO stands for Career and Technical Student Organizations. I oversee six of our statewide CTSOs. So, FBLA, FFA, FCCLA, Educators Rising, HOSA, and SkillsUSA. So, really excited about kind of starting off our school year. We’re actually in full swing here with everything going on. I have been in this position for a little over two years.
Katie Paulson
I had the awesome opportunity to start this position when we kind of started the CTSO Center. So I have a lot of previous experiences in CTSOs, and I love the work that I get to do now.
Sam Demma
What is the work that you get to do now in supporting these amazing organizations?
Katie Paulson
Yes. So, I work to collaborate as much as possible. So, each one of our organizations are very different. They have a very different identity. They have a very different set of career clusters that they focus on. And different CTE courses in the high schools and the middle schools and even some of our technical colleges that they are the leadership aspect on top of that. And so, I get to work day in and day out with the directors and leaders of these organizations to really bring our similarities to the forefront and provide really awesome premier leadership opportunities for these students.
Katie Paulson
You know, like I said, whether it’s professional development or, you know, bringing in different trainings or speakers or providing opportunities via monetary donations, really working to just enhance and move forward and just get bigger and better with these organizations. These students, they do a lot, right? So students are typically involved in a lot of things on top of trying to have a part-time job and all those other things. And so these students really, they’re doing it all. And they’re hungry for leadership opportunities and really gaining the knowledge to these career paths and preparing themselves for college. So it’s also, I build a lot of partnerships with a lot of different companies.
Katie Paulson
But the cool thing is, is everybody is really in it for the same reason, right? We all need these new future leaders. And just being strategic and I guess creative on how we can make that work together. You’re providing experiences that change…
Sam Demma
…the trajectory of young people’s lives. The work is so valuable and so important. Did you have a positive experience being a part of a CTSO as a student yourself, or what actually brought you down this path in your own career?
Katie Paulson
I was very involved in different CTSOs throughout high school. I was in FFA all through high school, so in my high school, and it still really continues, if you’re in any sort of agriculture education course, you’re automatically an FFA student. So that’s a great partnership that the Ag education has with FFA. And so I learned a lot, you know, it was a very different chapter, you know, very male heavy, which is also to be a female in that it’s great because sometimes that’s where life takes you in a career too. I was also involved in FCCLA, so that is Family, leaders of America. So more so on family and consumer science education type stuff. A lot of community service type projects that I was involved in. But I was most deeply involved in FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America. I really found my niche there. I was a state officer my junior year of high school for South Dakota FBLA. And some of those, the state director at the time is still a mentor of mine. Some of those other state officers that I kind of had our year of service with, we still, you know, our professional lives still collide. So really great things come about my CTSO journey. And so when I, I work out of Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, South Dakota.
Katie Paulson
And when I started here, I was an admissions representative. So I was a college recruiter. And one of my additional duties as assigned was being the college Skills USA advisor. And I was so excited about that. My boss was actually dreading telling me that I was the advisor. And I was so excited because this was my, like, I love CTSOs. I love everything they’re about. I was so excited. And I think she was kind of shocked that I was as excited as I was. But that led me into, a year after that, I became the state director for South Dakota Skills USA. And then the Department of Education kind of worked together with the different colleges around South Dakota to host these state director positions, and they wanted to put it all together under one umbrella of a CTSO center. And so when this idea came about, I knew that it was really something that I’m very passionate about. I love all of the CTSOs and just to do the work and to enhance and to be there to help the other state directors and really move these organizations forward was something I knew I’d be very passionate about. So that’s really my journey through CTSOs and the influence has been huge, tremendous on my life. But just working, getting to work with a lot of the other alumni too, to really in their professional lives, how great these CTSOs can really be a pipeline for future workers and leaders is truly amazing to be a part of.
Sam Demma
When you were a state officer yourself, can you think of a moment where your advisor or a mentor in your life really changed the way you saw yourself or how much you believed in your abilities or just a moment that was very pivotal in your development and what do you think that caring adult did that had such a big difference for you?
Katie Paulson
Yeah, you know, there are actually quite a few. So I was super lucky to be in a high school where I don’t know how our organizations were funded, but we didn’t have to like fight tooth and nail to fundraise. And I know that’s always a deterrent for a lot of these organizations, and it’s just such a big weight on these advisors.
Katie Paulson
So the fact that we had to just very minimally fundraise, but our advisors were always like, you’re going to do the best you can do. You’re going to win at the state conference, and you’re going to go to nationals. And you’re going to, you know, kick butt, and it’s going to be amazing.
Katie Paulson
And so just the fact of like, not like, well, you got to raise $3,000 before you can even think about making it to nationals. That was never a conversation. And so, and that’s really what we deal with a little bit today. But I remember being at the school until 9, 10 o’clock at night.
Katie Paulson
Our advisors were there helping us. We just, the crazy things that we came up with, like even running for state office, we had a campaign manager and you had a whole campaign. I still have my stuff. Don’t monkey around. I gave out lollipops with monkeys on them.
Katie Paulson
I mean, it’s just, it was just a lot of memories, but really just having advisors that were so supportive in your ideas, but also like in their time. Like I think about that now and I’m like, that would be hard for me to stay here till 9 p.m. at night when you have family things going, like to help your students. And I mean, it was multiple…
Katie Paulson
…nights. Like we were there all the time. And so, yeah, just the support that I look back on was like, I probably took that for granted a little bit, like the amount of extra time that they put into us, because they really did believe in us. And I did, you know, we made it to nationals and multiple different things. And like those experiences were absolutely amazing as well.
Sam Demma
It sounds like the belief or the support in terms of kind words and time is one of the ways that these mentors and advisors played a big role in supporting you growing up. How do you think you build relationships with young people today? Times are different, things are a little different. How do you build rapport and support young people?
Katie Paulson
Yeah, and you’re right. It’s very different. And I think especially with our teacher landscape right now, there’s a lot of pressure on teachers, not a ton of support. South Dakota has one of the lowest teacher wages in the nation. And so putting that also on advisors…
Katie Paulson
…every school operates a little bit differently on what like an advisor gets for a stipend when they’re a CTSO advisor. And so I really, you know, I try to really relate to our leaders and I get the privilege of working…
Katie Paulson
…with the state officer teams of all six of our organizations multiple times throughout the year. And they are just amazing, right? So I get to do like a first training with them the summer after they are elected. And then, so that’s in June. And then I take them to our legislature at our Capitol during our session.
Katie Paulson
So that’s in February. And then just seeing them, I attend all of their state conferences. And so just seeing their transformation during their service year, I think is super important. But I love to connect with them also, you know, whenever they’re doing other things, right? So if they ever come to campus for something else, or, you know, they’re involved in a…
Katie Paulson
…lot of things, right? I try very hard just to be someone who they can go to as well. I’m not a direct rapport for them or any of them actually, but I just want to be someone that they know when they’re somewhere, to shake hands and to cheer them on and kind of be their support, encourage them to attend their national conferences and do all those things. Because really, the time flies so fast.
Katie Paulson
You know, these opportunities, they really are there for a second. And so just really trying to be with them during their journeys and help them out. And it’s crazy how much I see them outside of their roles and their organizations, just in the different circles that they’re also involved in. Just really being a support system and somebody always cheering them on has been my way of really continuing to encourage them.
Katie Paulson
Hopefully, that does work and hopefully, they are super supportive alumni. That’s just hoping it all comes full circle is really my goal for being their support system.
Sam Demma
Tell me about the transition you made into this role two years ago. How did this chapter of your life unfold and come about?
Katie Paulson
Yeah, so it was very different…
Katie Paulson
…because it was a brand new role. I was new to it. Nobody really knew. There were a lot of places we could take it. And there were some skeptics. The Department of Education secretary…
Katie Paulson
…at the time was one of them. She’s a huge FFA advocate alumni, had been a past state director. And so she was nervous about keeping the identity of each CTSO alive, right? Because they are so different in what they are…
Katie Paulson
…Yes, their foundations of leadership and teamwork and professional development and all of that great stuff are there, but they’re all very different in a lot of components. And so how are we going to keep the identity of those alive? And so that was really my big telling…
Katie Paulson
…Like, I racked my brain a lot. I listened to a lot of different podcasts and books and some different things. But what we ended up doing was we brought in a… just like a moderator, essentially to form a one- to two-year strategic plan with my state directors, the Department of Education team. And I think it was really great. Some frustrations came out, some initial, you know, thoughts of like, if this happens, this would be bad. Or, you know, if this is what we can do, great.
Katie Paulson
Do we have funds to do this? Maybe not. You know, like, how big can we go? And so that was really a great starting point and I think we’ve advanced maybe not exactly how that plan was laid out, but really how it best fits us right now. So we’re kind of on a good roll.
Katie Paulson
I have a great team and we’re all kind of working through it together, right? There’s a lot of teacher turnover, even some open jobs. And so, filling those gaps and really being there for the advisors, because without advisors, none of us would be anything, right? And so, trying to fill into them, but also trying to get to the school boards and the higher up, like to create the importance of this within their minds and to really maybe help adjust budgets…
Katie Paulson
…and things like that. We talked to legislators a lot, those types of things. And so I think we’re still learning for sure. And just the different landscapes of the economy as well as like the education outlay of these teachers and advisors…
Katie Paulson
…we’ll continue to navigate kind of where we go. But I think our organizations are very strong and we just continue to build industry partnerships and that has been huge for us. These industries really, they come out in full force. They open their pocketbooks for us.
Katie Paulson
They do a lot of great things, because again, the money is super tight. And fundraisers are, you know, it’s just crazy what kind of needs to happen in a year for a student. And so we kind of take it, you know, kind of, I would say quarter by quarter, honestly.
Katie Paulson
But I do meet with my state director team monthly. And I do, they bring great things to the table. You know, all of their organizations have different maybe issues, fires, or like potential. And so we try to wrap that all up and like, what can we do to help all of us? And so it’s ever changing, which is also awesome. No two days at my desk are really the same, which is great in some aspects and pretty challenging in others.
Katie Paulson
But, you know, for what we’re doing and what we provide, it is so worth it, you know, in the end, to really keep fighting for what’s best for our organizations.
Sam Demma
The work you’re doing is amazing. And it sounds from how much passion you have while you talk about it, that it feels fulfilling and meaningful for you. And I think that’s what matters most, that everyone is doing work that they believe is important and that gets them excited because then you end up doing your best work. And I know that the thousands of members among the different organizations and the CTSOs within South Dakota. That’s why they are…
Sam Demma
…different so that every student can find that pathway that best suits their unique skills and abilities and talents. When you think about the future, what are you excited about? Like, you know, we just started the last quarter of this year, coming up into the fall and the spring, looking forward to?
Katie Paulson
I’m super excited just for all of our CTSOs. So we’re all growing, even though FFA and South Dakota is planning to celebrate their 100th year in a couple of years. Yes. And so been around for a long time, really a cornerstone organization for South Dakota, but just like they’re still growing.
Katie Paulson
And so it’s amazing to see kind of what’s all happening in schools. We’re trying really hard to get in front of, like I said, administration for schools to really see the importance of our organizations and to really just help them, you know, financially if they can, but also give their advisors a little bit of grace on, like, attending these events, right? You don’t just get the professional development and the teamwork and the camaraderie…
Katie Paulson
…and all of the connections by staying in your classroom. And so just really moving the needle forward on how important CTSOs are for schools and their CT programs and their graduates. You know, there’s a lot of research that shows any more, especially like in South Dakota, our graduates within five years after high school graduation, it’s like a higher number, like 80% of them move back to their hometown around like 50 miles. So it’s really great, yes, and like the teacher pipeline and all of those things for these communities to really build these leaders in high school, send them to college, bring them…
Katie Paulson
…back when they become professionals, and have them build their families in these communities. And so very important kind of the work that we do on that front to really understand like putting, you know, effort and time and skills into these students is important for these local communities. They’re not just going to lose them all, you know, when they go to college and things like that. So very cool stuff. But yes, I mean, our job and our the landscape of kind of what that looks like will be continuing to change. But we’re trying our best to really get these students back to their hometowns and get them…
Sam Demma
…into careers and helping them build families. The work, again, I said it a few times, the work is so exciting and you’re doing a phenomenal job and I hope that all the CTSOs continue to grow and make a significant contribution to their members. I hope that at some point we’ll cross paths and until we do keep serving and keep up the amazing work.
Sam Demma
Thank you so much for coming on the show to talk a little bit about your own journey professionally, your experience with CTSOs, and some of the ways you think we can better connect and serve young people today.
Katie Paulson
Thank you so much, Sam.
Join the Educator Network & Connect with Katie Paulson
The High Performing Educator Podcast was brought to life during the outbreak of COVID-19 to provide you with inspirational stories and practical advice from your colleagues in education. By tuning in, you will hear the stories and ideas of the world’s brightest and most ambitious educators. You can expect interviews with Principals, Teachers, Guidance Counsellors, National Student Association, Directors and anybody that works with youth. You can find and listen to all the episodes for free here.
