Apr 11, 2014 7:19 pm
Kate Starbird didn’t necessarily grow up with the dream of playing professional basketball. And even when she became the all-time leading scorer for Lakes High School, she never expected to make much of a career out of her talents. It wasn’t until the former Pierce College Running Start student was in her senior year in college at Stanford that she even realized a professional career in basketball was an option.
“It was a pleasant surprise, and an amazing experience,” she said.
She was drafted by the American Basketball League’s Seattle Reign after college, before entering the WNBA with the Sacramento Monarchs. She moved on to teams in Miami, Utah and eventually played overseas for five more seasons before eventually retiring. “I was not as successful in my professional career as I was at the college level, but I believe that kind of struggle is good for people,” she said.
As a professional athlete, it was always in the back of her mind that her career had an expiration date on it. “I got to the point in my life when I realized that it had been years since I’d slept in the same bed for more than six months at a time,” she said. “I was a very good player, but I wasn’t getting any better. I had always loved the idea of going back to school because there’s always a chance to improve in some way in academia.”
Starbird went back to school and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society Institute.
Today, as an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s Department of Human Centered Design and Engineering, Starbird studies the intersection of human behavior and technology. More specifically, her area of interest has revolved around the use of social media to spread information (and misinformation) during crisis situations.
“We look at thousands and thousands of tweets to determine how some people spread misinformation, and who attacks or spreads the rumors,” she said. “We have a number of students who work to visualize the data in different ways.”
In addition to her teaching and research work, she also spends a great deal of time reading admissions applications for bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. students. Her own experience at Pierce College has given her a unique perspective on students coming from community colleges around the state.
“When I see students in our application process who have Running Start or community college in their background, I know that the education they’ve received is good,” Starbird said. “There are great teachers in these programs who really pay attention to students. My Pierce experience gave me a better understanding of the whole education system and a better appreciation of the students coming from community colleges.”
In honor of their personal and professional achievements, four Pierce College alums will be recognized April 17 during an annual Distinguished Alumni celebration. Nominees are selected based on achievements in academics, business, community or humanitarian support or personal triumph over adversity. This year’s honorees provide inspirational examples of the impact Pierce College has on its students as well as the greater community. A celebration and banquet will take place in their honor on April 17 at Pierce College Fort Steilacoom's Performance Lounge at 6 p.m.