It’s been a busy year for Graduate Program Coordinator Christyn Klinck. Klinck joined Duke Econ at the EcoTeach Center last summer after working at the Fuqua School of Business. Although she had wonderful co-workers, she missed the day-to-day interaction with students. When the program coordinator job was posted, she jumped at the chance to apply. The EcoTeach Center assists in optimizing student experiences by providing educational guidance and helping them navigate transitions within and beyond the department. Students can visit their respective program assistants to ask questions related to courses, program requirements and processes, EcoTeach-funded positions, and any university resources they may require.
Klinck comes from a family of educators, and before working at Duke, most of her jobs involved working with youths on some level. She’s worked as a math and physics teacher, a summer camp counselor, and has raised four kids of her own. After she finished teaching, she worked part-time at a law firm, year-round, but soon missed that academic year schedule.
Klinck describes her job as “Parenting on a higher level, without the stress of day-to-day feeding and cleaning up.” She works with graduate students and faculty to make sure everyone is taken care of, whether that be deciphering Graduate School rules, keeping students aware of job opportunities, or helping students when they have a personal issue. No two days are the same, and the challenges and issues that come up keep her on her toes. Having a personal relationship with the students she works with, however, is one of her favorite parts of the job.
Outside of work, Klinck keeps herself equally busy. “Despite having college-age and adult children I have not yet managed to enter the empty nest phase of life, which I prefer to call ‘adult swim.’ My spouse and I escape on our slightly freer weekends—usually with an activity involving music, games, or food, produced/prepared by someone else or by us, often with friends and sometimes with the kids (because we enjoy them too).”
Overall, Klinck finds the job fulfilling, and is looking forward to working with her team for another academic year. “Each staff member in Economics has a unique position; so each is a necessary part of the whole, and we work together to make things happen, sometimes with food, often with laughter.”
Economics Department
