Greater to Be a Raider: Kim Queri Published July 23, 2024

“The cool thing about college is that you get to be whoever you want to be,” said Kim Queri, Director of Student Housing. 

Queri says her parents recognize the value of higher education and instilled the importance of a college degree in her at a young age. She recalls them always saying, “It’s not if you go to college, it’s where you go to college.” 

After a serious injury playing soccer at a different university, Kim moved home to attend Rose State College, where she received her associate degree. She continued her education at the University of Central Oklahoma, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in Health and Sport Science. Additionally, Kim completed doctoral coursework in Adult Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma and is an All But Dissertation (ABD). 

After the prompting of a mentor in 1998, Queri became an adjunct professor at Rose State College. For the past 26 years, she has taught classes such as Introduction to Health and Sport Science, Concepts of Fitness, First Aid, Health and Wellness, and Legal Aspects of Health and Sport Science. 

In 2001, she accepted the full-time position as Aquatic Coordinator at Rose State impacting hundreds of people’s lives through lifeguard certification classes, swim lessons, youth swim teams, and a college swim club. 

In 2020, Kim became the Director of Student Housing. At The Village, Rose State’s on-campus housing complex, Queri helps students transition from living at home to living on their own. Kim enjoys mentoring and guiding students through the pivotal transition of the first two years of college. She teaches them how to budget time, study for classes, and stay involved in activities on campus. 

Kim told us about a former student coming back to visit and thanking her for her mentorship in public speaking. The student was afraid of giving presentations and initially dropped Queri’s class because of an oral speech assignment. The student re-enrolled in Kim’s class the following semester and conquered her fear of public speaking. With Queri’s mentorship, the student learned the skills needed to complete a bachelor’s degree and be successful in her career. 

Kim loves her roles on campus and states, “Having a college degree under my belt has allowed me to work in a job that hasn’t felt like work for the last 25 years.” 

To learn more about a Health and Sport Sciences degree, please visit rose.edu.