Kaitlin Miklos

Note: This is one in a series of spotlights on MOI staff members who have been named a “Keefer Fellow,” a monthly program aimed at recognizing staffers for their contributions to the museum and the community. This month, our Director of Marketing

Q: Explain what you do at the museum in 20 words or less.

Kaitlin: I’m the “unseen” figure who finds creative ways to brag about the Museum of Idaho.

Q: What’s a museum-related accomplishment that you’re particularly proud of?

Kaitlin: Anytime everyone manages to walk away alive, I’ll count that as a win. But most recently, I was proud of the marketing campaign surrounding the Idaho Gives campaign, since the benefits trickled out to so many community members. I was thrilled with the amount of media coverage I was able to secure for such an important cause. The reactions we received on social media were exponentially more than I had initially anticipated, so that definitely put a smile or two on my face!

Q: What do you do for fun?

Kaitlin: I love foraging with my husband, running, longboarding, swimming, and when I’m back home visiting – riding some waves.

Q: What would you do for a career if you weren’t doing this (and if money were no object)?

Kaitlin: My husband and I often dream about the day we can run a whiskey distillery along some Scottish countryside with our sheep. But, what I have going right now is arguably the second-best thing.

Q: What’s the weirdest / most interesting past job you’ve had?

Kaitlin: I was a news reporter all over the country – from Missouri to Washington, D.C. During my career I had a chance to: cover past and current U.S. presidents and vice presidents; ride in the Red Bull stunt plane during the Blue Angels airshow; ride inside an air refueling tanker with the U.S. Air Force, 50 feet above another plane; cover riots in front of the White House; form long-lasting friendships with those who live in our community; and tell crucially important stories to keep people safe and informed. I remember one day when I interviewed former Governor Butch Otter and immediately after, found myself standing in four feet of raw sewage while covering a sewage line break. You never knew what you were going to get!

Q: Name a setback in your life that has ended up being a good thing.

Kaitlin: I have gone through nearly four years of undergoing the I.V.F. process, but in the end we learned so many remarkable aspects of just how cool science can be and what we, as humans, are capable of overcoming when we are at a crushing depletion of hope. We learned of the unending strength and determination of the human spirit, which is something no one can ever take from you.

Q: What’s something – large or small, useful or not – that you’re really good at?

Kaitlin: Learning languages.

Q: What were you like in high school?

Kaitlin: An athlete and academic overachiever.

Q: What’s your favorite book, movie, and TV show?

Kaitlin:

Book: The Count of Monte Cristo
Movie: The harrowing tale of The Parent Trap
TV Show: “Cheers”

Q: Tell us something about you that might surprise us.

Kaitlin: I’m half Chinese and half Greek!