Name/Title: Bryan Katafiasz, administrative associate
Hometown: Toledo, Ohio
Talk about your job and what you like best about it:
As a basic science department administrative associate, I wear many hats from human resource and SAP work to graduate student assistance to meetings and events scheduling and beyond. What makes it best (other than my incredible office view), is that the amount of people I interact with has increased exponentially from when I was a lab manager. I enjoy these interactions and I enjoy helping not only members of the Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy department, but also personnel all across the campus and sometimes even patients (usually by pointing them in the right direction).
Your favorite memory of working at UNMC:
I will always remember the time that I received the Chancellor’s Council Silver "U" Award in July 2012. I was genuinely surprised and it really felt good to know that someone valued my work. As it turned out, other than the chancellor himself, I was the only other male participating in the lunch that month!
Hobbies:
I enjoy reading (particularly investment books), playing baseball (wood bats and fast pitch!), and listening to 80s music.
List three things people may not know about you:
If you look closely you will see the scar on my bottom lip that resulted from me chewing on Christmas lights as a toddler – and my sister plugging them in!
I spent a couple years working in the microscopy sales business and am always willing to help anyone with microscope problems to the extent that I can.
My wife (Dawn, who also works here at UNMC) and I broke the bank at an Omaha Royals game in 2005. We actually won that crazy contest where if you toss a ball in the sunroof of a car driving around the field, and your ball is selected from those that made it, and the Royals hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th inning, you win $10,000. We did.