Kathy Stolhanske: The Glue Holding the Center Together

Spotlight | November 4, 2019

Extended Family. This is how Kathy Stolhanske, Director of Endless Journey Child Care in Rochester, Minnesota, describes her role with families she has worked with over the years. “I just love being a part of the lives of young children as they grow and develop. I also enjoy being part of the ‘extended family’ of the children, as we involve the whole family in our program.”

Kathy’s favorite part of working with families is “just getting to know each child and family, to be a part of their journey. It’s a real blessing to run into the families long after the children have grown up and seeing how well they are doing!”

Growing Her Career

Kathy’s love of child care started at an early age while helping in her mom with her child care business. “I would watch 2-3 children at a time, and many times I was only three or four years older than the child! My senior year in college I took my first child care center job, and just loved working with the children.”

With 30 years of experience in the Early Childhood Care and Education field, Kathy believes her various roles in the field have shaped who she is today as a director. “When I was working in a classroom with 4-5-year-old children, I had many different directors over the years. The directors who had classroom experience and showed compassion and understanding were much more supportive and helpful than the directors who had no experience as teachers and had no empathy with the struggles that come with long periods of bad weather, days after holidays, etc. When I started as a director in 2007, I made mistakes that came with being new at this role. I like to believe that each mistake I made then (and those I make now) are opportunities to learn and grow.”

Kathy’s work does not go unnoticed. According to Brandon Bennett, Assistant Director at Endless Journey Child Care, “Kathy is the hardest working person I know in the child care industry. She is truly the glue that holds the center together, always doing her best to not only assist current families but goes above and beyond to help her fellow staff members.”

Advice to Those Considering a Career in Childhood Care and Education

“This is the career for you if you truly love children and enjoy all of their many personality traits,” Kathy advises. “Qualifications go beyond a degree – you need patience, kindness, compassion, and lots of energy! Working with children and their families is wonderful, fun, frustrating at times, crazy at times, but in the end, very satisfying!”

If you would like to nominate someone working in the Minnesota Childhood Care and Education Workforce to be spotlighted on the Achieve Blog, complete our short spotlight nomination form. Nominations can be submitted anonymously.