Get to Know Our Community: Katherine (Katie) Gipalo

As a Student Success Analyst in IR at Florida State University, I support FSU’s mission and vision by conducting research on academic, co-curricular, and post-graduation outcomes of our students. I also serve both faculty and other staff at the institution by providing student data in various formats (tabular, visual, and inferential) that support teaching and programing oriented around student improvement, development, and achievement.

Name: Katherine (Katie) Gipalo, MPA
Title: Student Success Analyst, Office of Institutional Research
Organization: Florida State University

Can you describe your current role in institutional research and how it supports your institution’s mission?

As a Student Success Analyst in IR at Florida State University, I support FSU’s mission and vision by conducting research on academic, co-curricular, and post-graduation outcomes of our students. I also serve both faculty and other staff at the institution by providing student data in various formats (tabular, visual, and inferential) that support teaching and programing oriented around student improvement, development, and achievement.

What sparked your interest in institutional research, and how has your career evolved since then?

While completing my undergraduate career at Florida State, I worked in the call center for Enrollment Management. Amidst the standard “how do I apply for admission?” and “who do I need to talk to about my financial aid?” questions, I would frequently get asked for basic statistics about our institution. Along with my studies in economics and statistics, I loved answering questions about the context in which I was studying and about the value of our institution. IR seemed a natural place to do those things in a professional setting and (hopefully) as a career.

Since starting in IR, I have developed more technical skills, more quickly, than I could have imagined. I also have gotten a better understanding of the inner workings of an institution, how to manage projects and stakeholder relationships, and the importance of learning from colleagues outside of your own context.

What’s one project or accomplishment in your IR work that you’re especially proud of—and why?

My first (and proudest) major project in IR is the Admissions Dashboard on our website. Coming into IR from my position as an admissions officer, I wanted to surface the answers to the questions I was asked every day in my prior position. It was a great opportunity to get an inside look at the data behind the outward-facing role I had previously held, and to help my previous colleagues answer those questions going forward. The ability to integrate my contextual knowledge of the subject area with the technical and data literacy skills required in IR was incredibly valuable.

What do you find most rewarding (or enjoyable) about working in IR?

The answer to this question for me truly depends on the day. Some days, it’s my colleagues, both in the office and throughout the institution. Others, it’s the satisfying feeling of a SQL query perfectly executed or a DAX code working exactly how I want it to. Occasionally, it’s looking back at everything I’ve learned and having tangible proof of how much I’ve learned and grown (both professionally and personally) because of my position in IR. The responsibilities and experiences in my position are so varied that my “what gets me excited about work” is rarely the same for an extended period of time!

When you’re not working with data, how do you like to spend your time?

Though I love numbers, coding, and visualizations, my first love is text. I am a rather voracious reader (and have been since I was a kid) and almost always have both an audiobook and a Kindle ebook in my queue. I tend to prefer fiction (from mystery to romance) but have been rediscovering my interest in nonfiction – especially books related to higher education, history, and social phenomena.

I am also very fitness-oriented; I attend a local workout studio 3-4x a week, and do strength training, mat-based pilates, and dance cardio classes there. That has been a huge source of community and support for me outside of the workplace.

What’s something about you—personal or professional—that might surprise your colleagues?

Anyone who has met me would almost assuredly say that I give very big “golden retriever” energy – but I actually have a cat as a pet! His name is Mačka (Machi for short), which means “cat” in Croatian, the heritage of one of my parents. Machi looks a lot like a Russian Blue, but is actually just a gray-colored domestic shorthair, and is both very cute and very chaotic.