HumAnes of UCLA: Jennifer Katsura, MSN, CRNA

Hi Jen! Thanks for agreeing to be featured as HumAnes. First things first, where are you from? How did you end up in LA?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share a little bit about myself! I was born and raised in San Jose, California. I moved to LA 5 years ago to work at UCLA and chose Southern California because I love the lifestyle. I love being able to run at the beach, grab a quick outdoor brunch or go watch the Sound of Music Singalong at the Hollywood Bowl.

Tell us about your family including any pets.
My parents were engineers who still live in the Bay Area with our family dog named Kuro (means black in Japanese because he is black, original I know). Both my brother and I decided against engineering and are both in medicine. He is an ER doctor who also lives in the South Bay near me. I also have a dog of my own who is 2 years old and her name is Yuki (means snow in Japanese because she’s white and was found in the snow, also super original).

What inspired you to become a CRNA?
As a nurse, I always knew I wanted to advance my degree in some way. Originally, I was contemplating medical school until I saw what my brother went through and decided against it. Then when I had the opportunity to shadow a CRNA as a nurse, I realized I loved it. I loved that as a CRNA I could gain more specialized and specific knowledge and that I could make my own decisions backed by own science-based rationale I learned.

How long have you been at UCLA? What's your favorite part about your job and/or working at UCLA?
I’ve been at UCLA for 5 years, I started here as a New Grad. My favorite part of working at UCLA is definitely the people I get to work with. I can genuinely say I work with so many people who are truly my friends. With UCLA being so big it’s always fun being surprised who you run into and get to catch up with. I am also so grateful for my friends/coworkers because I know I can rely on them for emotional support, they have gotten me through some rough days at work and I truly would not be where I am without them.

What are your hobbies and things you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love to snowboard during the winter, travel, run at the beach and read with my kindle and my kindle page turner.

You're quite the traveler. What is your favorite place that you've been to? Any fun trips coming up?
My favorite place that I have been to more recently is Niseko, Hokkaido because I was able to combine my two favorite hobbies – snowboarding and traveling. Unfortunately, I think I am done with traveling for a little while besides visiting my parents in Northern California. But I am more of a winter traveler.

If you could hop on a plane to literally anywhere right now, where would it be?
I would love to go to the South of France or wine tasting in France (another hobby – drinking wine).