The Utah Cultural Site Stewardship (UCSS) Program is so excited to welcome Kate Schmidt as the new UCSS Program Outreach Administrator.
Kate grew up just outside the Salt Lake Valley in Stansbury Park, Utah. Lucky enough to be raised in a family passionate about the outdoors, she has fond memories of exploring the west’s national parks and recreation areas growing up. She attended Southern Utah University, graduating in 2024 with a double major B.A. in Anthropology and English with a creative writing emphasis, as well as a bonus accidental English Literature minor.
Throughout college, she gained a variety of professional experiences. She got her first taste of working on public lands as an interpretation intern at Zion National Park, growing her passion for cultural resources by volunteering with the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance and Yellowstone National Park’s archaeological team.
She then spent a season as an archaeological technician intern at Bryce Canyon National Park and as a museum and archives intern with SUU’s Special Collections. Most recently, she’s spent her last two summers as a “rec ranger” for Yellowstone National Park’s Youth Conservation Corps program, where she led outdoor recreation opportunities and educated youth enrollees on the park’s natural and cultural resources.
(Photo; Kate far left, standing)
Kate is pumped to be back in Utah with the UCSS Program and looking forward to working with the amazing team and stewards to forward preservation and awareness of Utah’s cultural resources.
Outside of work and spending time outdoors, Kate enjoys being mediocre at as many art forms as possible – from art and piano to writing. She’s a published poet, has worked as staff for SUU’s Kolob Canyon Review literary journal, and loves to read (especially fantasy and sci-fi novels). She loves obscure archaeological and linguistic facts, and can be found occasionally reading academic papers for fun. Lately, she spends her downtime with her girlfriend and their orange cat, D’artagnan, playing video games, watching animated shows, swimming, and taking care of her exceptionally large spider plant, Saorise.