Kat Sauber’s journey to her current career as Human Resources Coordinator at Rainbows is a bit unconventional. She didn’t choose HR as her career until she was already working as a Registered Nurse. As she later learned, getting into HR from another career is a rather common path for lots of HR Professionals.
Kat’s older sister Emily Jensby is a Mental Health Specialist at Rainbows United, Inc., and encouraged Kat to apply for the Registered Nurse position. “The day I got the call from Rainbows offering me a position, I had just walked into my home from a particularly rough night shift at the hospital,” said Kat. “I was dealing with a lot of sadness as I was realizing more each day that my once dream job was turning out to be very different due to Covid. As I opened my door, I saw a rainbow reflection across my floor from the sun reflecting on the crystal drawer pull on my tv table. It was such a moment of peace for me as I understood this to be the sign that Rainbows was my new home. I watched as the rainbow disappeared as the sun moved in the sky, and not even 5 minutes later, my phone rang with Rainbows on the other end offering me a job.”
Kat earned her Registered Nurse multistate licensure and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wichita State University in May of 2021. She is also certified in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), and Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP).
Kat joined the Rainbows’ team in February 2022. While in the Nurse role, she helped with recruiting and new hires while Rainbows searched for a Recruiter. To her surprise, she found the HR side interesting and enjoyable and slowly took on more. She ended up in a dual role for about a year. Eventually, for both her and Rainbows’ best interest, she chose to move into solely HR as each role needed a separate full-time focus.
After moving into her full-time role in HR, Kat earned her Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification. This certification is the global standard certification for those who work in HR at the operational level.
Each day as the HR Coordinator is a little different, but most involve recruiting, coordinating onboarding and orientation of employees, helping with employee relations, and maintaining employee records and benefits. Depending on the time of year, Kat’s main focus shifts. In Spring/Summer her focus is on hiring for Camp Woodchuck and in Fall/Winter her focus is more on benefits and details for open enrollment.
“My lifelong “why” for what gets me out of bed in the morning, is to help people,” said Kat, “and for most of my life, I thought this could only be done through being a bedside nurse. Rainbows gave me an “aha” moment for not only how much I enjoyed being in HR, but also that no matter what role I had in an organization that helps people as Rainbows United does, I will feel fulfilled in my work.”
“I am frequently reminded of my “why” many times over since day one here,” said Kat, “and my favorite part of the job is any activity that reminds my heart of this “why” such as seeing employees I helped onboard in action, Camp Woodchuck events, Early Care and Education graduation, etc. I’ve found a home and family here at Rainbows with individuals who share my passion to make a difference.”
Kat is the youngest daughter of 3. “Both my sisters are 7 and 10 years older than me,” she said. “I am the tallest, though, so things even out. I’m 5’11” and my sisters are 7 and 5 inches shorter than me.” Kat enjoys gardening, playing the guitar, lifting weights several time a week, and crafting.
