Devils in Depth: Kathleen Harrison

Kathleen Harrison is a junior at the Polytechnic campus going for their Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry with a certificate in Sustainable Food Systems.  In addition to attending classes, Kathleen also works as a mortician.

Kathleen was seeking full-time employment after their departure from the military when they stumbled across a position as a removal technician for National Funeral Home in Falls Church, Virginia.  Essentially, removal technicians are “those who retrieve deceased people.” 

Kathleen’s favorite part of working as a mortician is working with the dead, who, according to Kathleen, “are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”  Although many people may not be, Kathleen is perfectly comfortable around the dead and thinks it has probably allowed them more hands-on anatomical experience than most med students. Kathleen’s least favorite part of the job is the salesman aspect of the industry.  According to Kathleen, as a funeral director, you’re a salesman, and you only make money by convincing someone who’s probably having the worst day of their life to spend a couple grand on all the funeral expenses. 

Kathleen enjoys anime/manga and video games during their free time.  Some of Kathleen’s favorite anime/manga have fantasy and science fiction elements.  As for video games, Kathleen enjoys playing online PC games with their friends.  Playing online games and watching anime with friends really helped Kathleen get through 2020.  Some of Kathleen’s other hobbies include gardening, hiking, camping, and various other fitness activities.   

Kathleen hopes to get into med school someday.  With their compassion, experience, and work ethic, Kathleen’s hopes it will surely become a reality someday. The Sun Devil community wishes Kathleen the best of luck in achieving their goal of getting into medical school.