New Staff Hires and Promotions: October 16, 2009

Posted 3:17 PM, October 16, 2009, by jaruiz

Kim Ko joined our Department on August 24, 2009, as our new human resources administrator. Born and raised in O'ahu, Hawai'i, Ms. Ko moved to California a few months ago. "I knew I always wanted to move to the Bay Area," she said. "So, I was really excited when this opportunity to work at Stanford came up. There are certain comforts of home that I miss, of course, like my family and friends, but I'm really excited to begin this new chapter in my life."

For her undergraduate education, Ms. Ko attended . . .

the University of Hawaii, graduating in 2004 with a bachelor's in business administration and with majors in both the management of information systems and marketing. After graduation, she worked briefly as a communications analyst for Linda Lingle, the current governor of Hawai'i. Lacking a passion for politics, Ms. Ko left after five months and began working at Norwegian Cruise Line America (NCLA) as an administrative assistant in the Honolulu land office. On her first day, she was placed in the human resources department (HR) and began her career by conducting phone interviews and hiring crewmembers to staff NCLA's second cruise ship, the Pride of America.

Working her way up the ranks at NCLA, Ms. Ko held many different positions in the HR department, which included working as an HR manager onboard each of the three American-flagged ships (the Pride of Aloha, Pride of America, and Pride of Hawai'i). "Each position was a very interesting and different experience," Ms. Ko commented. "Ship life definitely created some very interesting stories to tell! Through my employment with NCLA, I was able to take a 19-day cruise last year from San Francisco down to South America. I visited Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. I was able to go to Machu Picchu for a three-day adventure, and it is one of the most amazing and beautiful places I have ever been. I have also traveled to different parts of China, and visited the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. One of my life's goals is to travel to all seven continents."

Ms. Ko's spare time is mostly devoted to surfing on the Internet, which includes keeping in touch with people on social networking sites, shopping, and learning things through Wikipedia. Back in her home state, she also used to participate in a modern dance group called Giinko Marischino, which performed at various venues across the state of Hawai'i. She hopes to find a similar group in the near vicinity to continue in the performing arts, and to refine her skills in belly dancing.