Laura Kahl has helped families and students get started at S&T for more than 20 years.

“I love talking to the families and incoming freshmen,” Kahl says. “I can see it from the parents’ side because my son chose S&T, too.”

Among her duties as an office support associate for new student programs is handling registration arrangements for Preview, Registration and Orientation (PRO) days.

All new students prepare for the start of their S&T college career at a PRO Day, during which they get their Miner ID card, meet with an academic advisor, learn about student life, take S&T’s math placement exam, plan their class schedule and register for courses.

Kahl joined Missouri S&T as a temporary clerical employee, hoping she would get an offer for full-time employment. That offer came in 1997 as a senior secretary for the Center for Personal and Professional Development. She has been with the university since.

“I love the people in my department,” Kahl says. “We have many student workers, some we hire as freshmen. I love seeing our students develop, get jobs and graduate. It’s like a second family.”

Super bowler

Outside of work, you can find Kahl bowling in a league in Waynesville, Missouri. While she’ll usually play a couple games each season that score over 200 points, she says her all-time high score is 254.

Her team is named the Super Bowlers, and their uniforms include football jerseys representing their favorite teams. Kahl’s is the Dallas Cowboys, while her teammates sport San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers jerseys.

Laura at a Glance

Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania, nicknamed “the sweetest place on Earth” for the famous chocolate company

Hobbies: Bowling and watching football

Favorite food: Any kind of pizza

Advice to other employees: “Just stay positive. Try to make the most of every day.”

Most proud of: Son, Zach Kahl, a 2013 S&T engineering management graduate who now works for Kendo, an Oakland, California-based company that produces cosmetics lines like Kat Von D and Marc Jacobs

Family: A son, Zach (see above); and mother, Mildred Bonnette, of Waynesville

About the Staff Spotlight

Missouri S&T’s Staff Council launched the staff spotlight feature in February 2019 as a way to highlight staff members throughout the university. Legends Bank, Au Bon Pain and the S&T Store are sponsors. The articles are published every other week in eConnection (second and fourth Thursdays during the academic year; second and fourth Wednesday during breaks) and shared on Staff Council’s Facebook page.

Share the spotlight

Know someone who deserves recognition? Want the campus community to learn more about your department? Nominate a staff member for the Staff Spotlight. Email news@mst.edu with your name and the name of the person you would like to see featured (it can be yourself). If you’d like to tell us about yourself, fill out a staff spotlight questionnaire.