Kate Kingsley Lund has proved that #LifeAfterWitt is what you make it.

A 1994 Wittenberg alumna with a bachelor's degree in psychology, Lund spent a couple of years working in public relations promoting programming for PBS and The Learning Channel before earning a master’s degree in clinical social work and a doctorate in clinical psychology.

Since that time, she has worked in a wide range of mental health, medical and university settings as a psychologist. More recently, while maintaining a private practice in psychology where she focuses on helping children and adolescents build resilience and maximize potential in school, sports and life, she has written two books.

Published in 2016, Lund’s first book, Putter and the Red Car: A Cross-Country Family Adventure, aims to foster flexibility and resilience in children, while making sure they know their possibilities are endless, all while moving across the country.

Her second book, Bounce: Help Your Child Build Resilience and Thrive in School, Sports and Life, was published this year. This book is designed for parents, teachers, coaches and community leaders who want to help children become resilient and realize their potential.

Lund has a passion for writing about resilience in children, a topic that is important to her both personally and professionally for many reasons. As a child, she faced some medical challenges that made it necessary for her to be resilient from an early age to keep up with her peers and realize her own potential.

These days, she is reminded daily of the importance of resilience in young children as she watches her 10-year-old twins navigate both the challenges and triumphs of life. Her work as a clinical psychologist for more than a decade has provided yet another angle on the true importance of fostering resilience early in life.   

After getting married, Lund moved to Boston, Mass., where she earned a master’s degree in social work at Simmons College. After working for a year as a staff clinician in a local hospital, she decided to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. During her training, she worked in a wide variety of medical and university settings. The two years she spent working as a clinical fellow at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston were far and away the most impactful. It was at Shriners that she saw and experienced resilience in its most real form as she worked with young burn victims through their acute, rehabilitative and long-term recoveries.

Lund now stays busy raising her twin sons, teaching at a local university near Seattle, and working at her private practice in psychology and writing. Looking back, she credits Wittenberg for preparing her for her journey.

“Wittenberg provided me with exposure to many different and meaningful experiences in numerous areas: psychology, writing, sports, extracurricular activities, and so many more. The strong foundation I built at Wittenberg has certainly influenced the way my life and career have evolved,” she said.

Today, she reminds everyone not to be afraid to think outside the box, and she encourages them to explore different ideas and interests along the way.

“Doing this has allowed me to evolve professionally and personally in ways I never would have imagined,” she said.

-By Jasmine Bryant ’20, Office of University Communications