I met Laura at The Harvard Club, after previously meeting her at the “We
Love New York Day” event.
AskaNewYorker: This is a gorgeous room. Why are we meeting at The
Harvard Club ?
Laura: Well, my father is a Harvard graduate; hence my mother and I are members.
Ask a New Yorker: What did your father study at Harvard?
Laura: Architecture and engineering.
Ask a New Yorker: Any notable building of importance on his resume that we
would know?
Laura: Lots of buildings of importance. The Katen name is infamous. His company
did Rockefeller Center. He personally did The Children School at the UN (United
Nations). He’s done a lot of lighthouses and a lot of really prominent
buildings. I’m very proud of my father. And I love the Harvard club because
it takes you out of New York and takes you to a whole different world. Look
at the tapestries and the animal heads on the wall and all the books and the
library and the gigantic ethereal ceiling. The place is gorgeous. Where can
you find history like this in New York?
Ask a New Yorker: Any little gems or secrets you can tell us about?
Laura: Well, there’s one on the second floor here in the library. There’s
a secret door where John F Kennedy use to go with his mistresses. You would
never know unless the concierge took you and pushed the door. It was the strangest
thing when he told me about it.
Ask a New Yorker: So what do you do to de-stress in the city?
Laura: I’m a runner. . I did the New York City marathon. I ran with my
Dad right after Sept 11. It was an amazing experience. If I ever ran another
marathon it would be New York. The crowds are amazing. I ran 26 miles and the
crowds where cheering you every step of the way. I wore my name on my shirt.
They were calling my name. But it was very funny because my Dad and I were running
together and all the ladies where calling his name. It was an awesome experience.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s the dating scene like in New York…are
you dating anyone?
Laura: I’m single. I hold myself to very high expectations. So I hold
the people that I date to very high expectations. And I think some guys are
intimidated by an independent, strong-minded woman. On the other hand, I want
that total balance of a great guy, good heart, trustworthy, sweet and yet edgy
and good looking. I want that balance.
Ask a New Yorker: Good luck. What do you do for a living?
Laura: I teach skill-building to young adults in New York and Westchester.
Actually, Maryland and Pittsburg too. Eleven to 22 are ages of the young adults
I work with, teaching them professional development skills so that they can
succeed in life and avoid the gangs and violence and better their circumstances.
So I work with a lot of economically disadvantaged youth, as well as just regular
young adults.
Ask a New Yorker: What’s the curriculum like?
Laura: Actually having taught all these workshops has transpired into a whole
curriculum, with cd’s, flashcards, books etc. There’s a whole series
called “Enhance your Chance”, meaning we want to enhance the personal
growth of young adults as well as increase their chance for professional achievement.
So the whole workshop series is “Enhance Your Chance”, and that
will be published in 2007.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you have a web site?
Laura: Yes, we do have a web site http://www.katenconsulting.com.
It highlights our areas of expertise in areas of not only young adults, but
new hires and the novice job seeker. We deal with the whole novice level job
seeker, college pursuant and so forth.
Ask a New Yorker: Alright….so would you rather be deaf or blind living
in NYC?
Laura: Absolutely deaf. I think living in New York blind would not only be
a travesty because you miss out on some on some of the most amazing architecture
in New York . I would be afraid to be blind because I don’t trust very
easily and though I think New Yorkers are fabulously wonderful people, you’re
going through New York City, one of the most rigorous, intense cities in the
world, and you have to navigate on your own. I would be so scared to have to
rely on people t o get me from point A to point B. And if I may add, if I was
blind I would never be able to see my father’s architecture, which I’m
very proud of.
