UW-Green Bay is proud to have such strong Alumni presence both on and off campus. One of those great alumni is Ryan Kauth, Entrepreneurship Lecturer with the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business. Ryan has served in a couple roles with UWGB since 2007. Ryan has a wife and 4 kids and loves to try new local restaurants.
Name: Ryan Kauth
Position at UWGB: Entrepreneurship Lecturer, Austin E. Cofrin School of Business
Summary of what you do: Teach courses entrepreneurship and small business management, strategic decision analysis, business and its environment; advise general business students
How long have you been employed: 4 years in Sept full time (but as an adjunct since 2007)
Brief history of employment with UWGB:Adjunct instructor in the School of Business, SBDC Director, now Entrepreneurship Lecturer in the School of Business
Three words that describe you: UW Green Bay alum
Personal interests: My faith and my family (alum wife, 4 kids who all like to read and play soccer and basketball, parents and in-laws and sister’s family and sister-in-law’s family close by)
Random facts/interests: My first “teaching job” was in summer camps at UWGB as a TA for and graduate student mentor under Dr. Donna Ritch in the RCMS program (headed at the time by Scott Ashmann!)
(Answer any of the following):
– Any favorite line from a movie? My favorite movie is Casablanca, so any line from that movie
– Are you messy or organized? Organized
– Best vacation you’ve been to? Honeymooned in Cancun – it was more about the company though
– Describe what you were like at age 10 – I’m not unlike my 9 year old and 11 year old kids: I liked to read but I also liked to play soccer and in the woods in the back yard. That and my 8 year old sister at the time was my BFF.
– Do you recall any embarrassing moment at work? When I worked in banking, I was sometimes the first one in…and I may have forgotten to unarm the alarm once or twice or…? (at least I didn’t have to spend time in jail)
– Favorite travel spot? A lake cabin in northern WI, but I am also a huge fan of short stay-cations and binge watching movies series
– If given a chance, who would you like to be for a day? I’d like to break a tie in the U.S. Senate as the Vice President
– If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see cast as you? It certainly wouldn’t take a top professional actor to play me, but my favorite is Humphrey Bogart – bring him back from the dead
– If you could be anyone from any time period who would it be and why? Can I be human me but in the future during the robot or zombie apocalypse?
– If you could change one thing about working here, what would it be? Entrepreneurial students might need a cool collaborative interdisciplinary space…
– If you could interview one person (dead or alive) who would it be? Jesus
– If you could witness any historical event, what would you want to see? So many good options but I like to see what’s coming next – can I bank this for an event yet to come that I might not be there in attendance for?
– If you had to eat one meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? Breakfast foods like oatmeal with fruit and nuts, eggs benedict…stuff like that
– If you were an animal what would you be? A bat
– If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it? A fairly ordinary life
– If you were to write a self-help book, what would the topic be? Networking
– If your house was burning down, what’s the one non-living thing you would save? My smartphone is backed up on the cloud…so…nothing
– Least favorite Food? Sauerkraut
– Motto or personal mantra? When you give, do not let your left hand know what you’re right hand is doing
– People would be surprised if they knew: my major at UWGB was human bio, I have 3 UWGB intramural volleyball champ t-shirts, and I played in jazz ensembles and combos when I was a student here
– Tell us a little about yourself. I was born in NJ (I have my neighbor’s license plate in my office), and I grew up in Manitowoc.
– Tell us a little bit about your family. I met my wife here at UWGB, and we have 4 kids ages 6 to 13.
– Top 3 life highlights? Marriage, births of my four kids, graduating from here, graduating from grad school
– What advice would you give to recent new hires? “Blend” your life – “balance” is b.s.
– What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far? Do what you are passionate about, volunteer for everything that you can, and it’s not 100% about you (which you will only learn by volunteering or having kids)
– What are your hopes for our industry/school? I want it to be here for another 50 years
– What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most? Getting to know a student’s story
– What book did you read last? I re-read Business Model Generation
– What books are at your bedside? Bible
– What children’s character can you relate with most? Why? I always liked Peter Pan – he could fly, he had a wide variety of friends and acquaintances, and he was a master swordsman
– What did you want to be when growing up? A medical missionary
– What do you always want to try and never did? Fly
– What do you like most about your job? My colleagues are mission driven
– What do you like to do in your spare time? Read, hang out with my family, grill, listen to podcasts
– What do you like to do on your days off? Usually something family related, watch a sporting event
– What does a typical day look like for you? get up by 5am or 6am, go to a community meeting, teach, go home, sleep, wake up in the middle of the night for an hour or two, back to sleep
– What else do you do for fun? My wife and I enjoy going to ball games and searching for a pizza we have not eaten yet
– What is an ability you wish you had? Flying
– What is the first concert you attended? Other than school concerts, U2 at Camp Randall
– What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery? I’d buy my mom her yellow convertible ’66 Mustang back that they sold when they moved back to WI
– What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years? There’s nothing better at work than working with people and hiring people who are smarter than you are
– What is your biggest pet peeve? Assumptions
– What is your family like? I think we’re a fairly “normal” family of six
– What is your favorite movie and book? Movie: Casablanca, Book: To Kill a Mockingbird
– What is your favorite sport? College football
– What kinds of hobbies and interests do you have outside of work? I like to learn from the best teachers
– What one food do you wish had zero calories? Pies
– What phobias do you have? I really don’t have any major ones
– What places have you lived in? WI, and I’m very Ok with that
– What tv show/movie are you ashamed to admit you love? Not all that ashamed of it, but I could watch Perry Mason or Law and Order for days without taking much of a break
– What was your favorite book, toy, or outfit as a child? Batman and Spiderman comics
– What would people never guess you do in your role? I don’t think I do anything in my lecturer role that people wouldn’t guess that I do…
– What would you like to be famous for? I have no desire to be famous
– What’s on your bucket list? For the Cubs to win the World Series
– What’s the one thing, you can’t live without? Other than biological answers like food, water, etc., I would rather not live without my family, but I could if I had to
– What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? A scorpion in a lollipop – I have three left in my office – they’re strawberry
– What’s your favorite thing to do in Green Bay? Eat
– Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Here
– Where is your favorite place to eat? I like local restaurants, probably with a lean toward Italian (for a pizza or seafood pasts dish)
– Where is your home town? I call Manitowoc my home town though I was born an Army brat in NJ
– Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? I’d like to take my family back to Disney and I’d like to attend a soccer game in the U.K.