Campus parking lot monitor McKenna Hunter has only been on the job a few weeks, but that’s been long enough to have a couple humorous encounters.
“I’ve had two students come running up to me when I have been at their car to explain that they bought a parking permit but just don’t have it hanging on their rear-view mirror for some reason,” said Hunter, a sophomore psychology major from Tomah. “When they show me their permit, they’re OK.”
Parking lot monitor with Viterbo’s physical plant department is just one of three current jobs for the industrious Hunter, who has another work study position with the Viterbo Honors Program and works with a family in La Crescent with two adult daughters with autism.
“We do activities designed to improve their communication and social skills,” said Hunter of her off-campus job. “I really enjoy it.”
The La Crescent position is also great experience for Hunter’s future career. She would like to work with people with special needs, and with a minor in visual arts, art therapy is a possibility. So is counseling.
Drawn to the small size of the university, Hunter has enjoyed the close relationships with faculty members and her fellow members of the Honors Program. She is also the president of the V-Hawks for Life student organization.
Hunter took a longer journey to La Crosse and Viterbo University than most students. The daughter of a member of the U.S. military, Hunter has been a resident of five different communities across the country.
“Wisconsin is my favorite state I’ve lived in,” she said. “I love having all four seasons and being able to walk outside and see the trees and landscape. It’s just beautiful.”
Outside of work and school, Hunter is a coffee aficionado and enjoys antiquing.
“I’m drawn to old dishware,” she said. “I also recently acquired an old Singer sewing machine from the turn of the 20th century that I’m going to try to get running again.”