by MELISSA LINDELL KOZAK
Sr. Director of Communications & Marketing, College of Business Administration
Kaylin “Katie” Plaza’s journey to becoming a CBA Business Maverick has been anything but conventional. Earning her Bachelor of Science in business administration with concentrations in marketing and international business in 2022, she is now on track to complete her MBA with a marketing emphasis in May 2025.
Plaza’s childhood was shaped by her stepfather’s military career, moving frequently across the U.S. She attended 15 schools before graduating high school. Initially drawn to foreign policy, she started college but soon left to enlist in the Army as a Human Intelligence Collector and interrogator, adding Korean language training to her skill set.
Excelling in her military training, Plaza graduated at the top of her class in interrogation school and spent 2.5 years mastering Korean at the Defense Language Institute (DLI). Her dedication earned her a prestigious opportunity to study abroad at Korea University in Seoul. Her connection to Korea was personal—her father, an immigrant from Seoul, had raised her in a culturally Korean household, though he never taught her the language.
After completing her training, Plaza joined the Utah National Guard and resumed college at Weber State, where she discovered her passion for marketing. “I found it so intriguing,” she said. “The idea that you can drive people towards something with a campaign, analyze data, and market effectively fascinated me.”
She re-enlisted in active duty with plans to expand her language skills to Chinese, but after six months at DLI, she struggled with mental health and questioned her purpose. Seeking a fresh start, she got married, transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas, and was medically retired from the military.
Plaza and her husband then moved to Omaha, where she enrolled at UNO. While pursuing marketing, she faced burnout and ethical concerns about consumerism. However, her perspective changed in Dr. Shana Redd’s Marketing Innovation course, where a project with Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium reignited her passion.
“I realized marketing doesn’t have to be about selling products; it can be about creating experiences and fostering a sense of belonging,” she said. “Organizations like the Zoo and St. Jude’s use marketing to drive community efforts and social good. That’s the kind of marketing I want to do.”
After she graduates and begins working in corporate marketing, she hopes to innovate more than just creative marketing campaigns for social awareness; she wants to innovate the workplace.
“I want to show people it is possible to be disabled, deal with mental health and be a mother while also being a successful worker who is making impacts in the right places. I took a rocky path to where I am, but it all came full circle eventually. I can’t wait to use my future skills and position to bring about real changes on a community level and hopefully inside the business environment, too. I want to bring change. Marketing and business are about connection. I want to focus on connecting with each other too, not just with consumers and businesses,” she said.
