Meet a Colleague: Katherine Dau ’19 Katherine Dau ’19 serves as the director of annual giving.

W&L News Office
October 16, 2024

Q. How long have you worked at W&L?
I have been working at W&L since February of 2022.

Q. What do you like most about W&L?
I like it all! I love my team, and I love how everyone at W&L supports each other’s work towards our common goal. It’s also wonderful to work somewhere that is so incredibly beautiful.

Q. Where is your favorite location on the W&L campus?
It’s hard to pick just one, but I love the back-campus gazebo and the atrium in the Lenfest Center.

Q. Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Dallas, Texas.

Q. What advice do you have for students?
Get out of your comfort zone and try new things! Go on an Outing Club trip or spend Spring Term abroad. And get to know as many people as you can — fellow students, faculty and staff. You never know what opportunities will come from the connections you build.

Q. What is the most adventurous thing that you have ever done?
When I was living in Vienna, I went to Kiev for a week. It was my first trip to a country that didn’t use the Roman alphabet, and it was very cold! It ended up being a fabulous adventure where I fell in love with Georgian food and discovered one of my favorite books, “The Master and Margarita.” It’s hard to imagine how much everything has changed since then.

Q. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
I love to travel, read and cook. Recently, I’ve been on a quest to master baguettes at home, so that’s what you can usually find me doing on the weekends.

Q. If you could live anywhere, where would you build your dream home?
I would probably build on the coast of Spain or Italy.

Q. What book are you reading now?
Right now I’m reading “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie. I’m also always reading a cookbook, and my recent obsession has been “More Than Cake” by Natasha Pickowicz.

Q. What music are you listening to these days?
It’s been a Chappell Roan summer, but I’m looking forward to a Sierra Ferrell autumn.

Q. What is your favorite film (movie) of all time?
If we’re going by the number of times I’ve watched it and how readily I can quote it, then the 2005 version of “Pride and Prejudice” or “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

Q. What is the website you visit most often and why?
New York Times Cooking! I love to cook and bake, and the NYT comments section is not to be missed.

Q. If they made a movie about your life, who would play you?
My mom has always said Amanda Seyfried, and I’d love for the movie about my life to actually be “Mamma Mia.”

Q. If you could have coffee with one person, who would it be and why?
It would be so amazing to meet Julia Child. It seems like she had such a full life both professionally and personally. Plus there’s no way “coffee” with Julia would only be coffee!

Q. What is your desert island food?
It does depend on how long I’d be on this desert island. If it’s a short stint, then definitely Nachos Locos and a perfect margarita.

Q. What is your secret talent?
My secret talent is paper engineering. I had a small stationary business in middle school and loved making pop-up cards, paper architecture, etc. I recently subjected friends into crafternoon of paper mache.