Katherine Brink describes her experience with the world of education as one of being “bitten by the bug.” To explain better, Katerine, who studied abroad in Madrid, Spain during her college years at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Penn., had a yearning to head back to Spain.

“It turned out that the only real way to live and work in Spain as an American was to work for the government teaching English in a bilingual school,” Katherine explained.  “That year completely changed my life - and not in the ways I was expecting!”

From that point on, Katherine developed a deep passion for education and being a part of a community of learners - something she’s pursued in many avenues since. This Summer, she joined the Westover Admission Department as the Director of Admissions, a role that will allow her to continue to share her educational passions and talents. 

“I want to build on the amazing work already done by David Tuttle (Director of Enrollment Management) and the rest of the Admissions team,” Katherine said. “We are poised to continue making great strides in the next few years, and it is exciting to be able to take that on. I especially want to build strong partnerships across the Westover community; enrollment takes a village!”

Katherine is no stranger to the life and environment of an all-girls school. Growing up in Williamstown, Mass. Katherine attended Emma Willard in Troy, N.Y., and worked at Miss Porter’s in Farmington, CT for several years in the Admissions Department.

I am deeply familiar with the type of environment an all-girls school fosters and was also attracted by Westover’s unique position in the market, 

she said.

Most recently, Katherine worked at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT as a Development Officer. She explained what drew her back to working in the independent school world and, in particular, an all-girls school, was the community of learners Westover fosters that goes hand-in-hand with the mission statement of empowering, “young women to lead lives of consequence.”

“I love that students who graduate from Westover can lead “lives of consequence” that are all incredibly unique,” Katherine said. “I always say that the world needs graduates of girls’ schools now more than ever! Westover is a small school, and very intentional about that, which makes the closeness of the community unique.”

In her role as Director of Admissions, Katherine explained she’s looking forward to helping tackle the current hurdles many educational institutions are facing due to the effects of the pandemic and current world climate. Katherine, who said friends would describe her as someone who is a good listener, explained she’s eager to share the stories of the community, what makes Westover so unique and help continue the important work of bringing in the right-fit families to Westover.

“We have to do admission work at the highest possible level in order to sustain the vibrancy of our school community,” she said. “No school can rest on their laurels anymore. Yes, we have to be creative and try new things, but we also simply have to understand and articulate our value proposition better than ever before. I love the true diversity of the Westover student body. My job is never dull getting to learn about students from so many different backgrounds. I think the caring nature of the Westover community also makes it stand out.”

Outside of work, Katherine lives in Avon, CT and tries to spend as much time outdoors as possible.

“I grew up playing sports and have transitioned to running and hiking as my main ways of staying active,” she said. “My husband, Brian, is an avid fisherman so you can often find me fishing with him - or at least hanging out on the boat!”