Meet Kristen (Kogerman) - Account Manager for The Expert TA

How did you land in Tulsa?

I grew up in Southern California. As a child, I lived on both coasts, and I pretty much grew up in Laguna Hills. Eventually, I moved out to Topeka, Kansas, with my husband after he got out of the military. He went to college there, and I was a police officer, actually. When he finished college, we moved to Kansas City. And then we ended up in Tulsa for his job in 2014.

How did you find out about inTulsa?

I stayed at home with my children for ten years. When my youngest started school, I tried my hand at commercial real estate. It's a finicky type of industry, the sales cycles are very long, and there's not a lot of people who want to mentor you. But I did that for a while, and so I have sales experience. I wanted a faster sale cycle, though, so I started looking for something else.

A friend of mine, who is not in Tulsa, got on LinkedIn, found inTulsa, and sent a link to me. I did some research, and ironically, I had already applied for a different job that talent partner Princess Austin had sent out, and I found her to be extremely professional. I also researched inTulsa and thought it was fantastic. I got into a great program that one of their clients put on for business development representatives. When I graduated, I interviewed with the CEO of the company. It was probably the best interview I've ever had. We had a really fun time. But we realized right away that I wasn't going to fit into the open role they had. I circled back with Princess at inTulsa, who said, “I think I already have another company I want you to interview with.” So I interviewed, and now I'm here at The Expert TA.

What was it like working with the inTulsa team?

It was great! Princess Austin is such a consummate professional, and it's nice to be able to rely on that professionalism. I knew I'd be taken care of. Knowing what to expect is a big thing when you're looking for a job and you are going through recruiters and sending out a lot of resumes. I've had some pretty negative experiences along the way. But inTulsa was extremely professional. They didn't tell me things to butter me up. They didn't say they were going to do something and then not do it. My experience with inTulsa was just stellar professionalism. I appreciated that.

What’s a typical day in your role like?

The Expert TA is an educational software company. We provide an online homework platform. In addition to that, we have a tool that allows instructors in any subject to use the Open Educational Resources at OpenStax. The job itself is hard. The Expert TA’s homework platform was founded on physics. And when I was growing up in high school, I was discouraged from learning about STEM careers back then. So when I took this role, I needed to learn about physics, science, and math. Some of that has been extremely challenging.

But I get to use my sales experience and my creativity, and I feel very valued. My job incorporates the things that I like. I get to do a lot of research. On top of that, I get to do sales, which is why I applied for the job. I get to talk to people all day long, professors from around the country, and I get to be a coach, which I love. I get to teach these instructors about our system. And that's really satisfying. I really love the job.

What’s the company culture like at The Expert TA?

The Expert TA is a small company. They value my opinion—they wanted my opinion from the first day. We moved into a new building, and I got to actually invest a little money into decorating my office. If I need to work from home, I don't have to ask. I just inform them what I’m doing, and I'm treated like an adult. That’s not necessarily the case everywhere you work. I love going to my office, though, and I choose to work at the office because that motivates me. My manager, the Director of Sales, tells us, “These are the students that have to be touched on. Figure out how to do so.” To have that kind of trust put in you is extremely motivating. If they're going to trust me like this, then I'm going all out 100%.

What do you enjoy most about living in Tulsa?

I've lived all over the place, and Tulsa has been a very easy place to live. In the last few years, it has changed and grown, but the traffic is still doable. You have everything here that you need. Just last year, I got back into theater after a couple of decades of not being in it. And I did a musical with my two daughters by a local playwright. There's a decent amount of different religious groups that you can get involved in. I'm going to go to a rotary meeting downtown .So I'm getting involved in the community, and my kids have been able to get involved. There's a lot to get involved in.

What would you tell people who are thinking about moving here?

We have things building up here, and I think there are some huge opportunities between northeast Tulsa and Pryor. I think that whole corridor will just grow, and it’s just going to make Tulsa grow. The inTulsa initiative involves more than just recruiters. There's the Remote Tulsa initiative, and there's an initiative to help companies transition here and help them get their employees. And that is such a smart thing to do. You can't just grow a city willy-nilly. It’s clear they do have a plan down the road to continue this growth. And I'm just so excited about my job, but I'm also excited to see what's happening here. It's a great city to invest yourself into.

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