Alumni Memory: Kevin Barta ’06

Kevin Barta '06 and Katherine Stillings '06, of St. Paul, Minn.

My most cherished UW Oshkosh moment was when I was first introduced to my wife. At the start of the fall semester 2003, and incidentally only two days before I left for a semester study abroad in Paris, I met up with a Japanese friend of mine to check out the student org day event going on in the plaza.

As we walked towards the library I saw the most beautiful girl tabling for the Model United Nations (MUN) organization. She waved to my friend so we walked over. I learned that they had taught English in Japan together the summer prior, and she was actually the same major as me … International Studies, we just had not had the same classes yet. Well, talking led to a trip to the Red Granite quarry to go swimming, then back to Lake Winnebago to do some sailing and then one more very long day hanging out with each other before I had to fly to Paris.

Over the next few months, we stayed in touch with the occasional random phone calls from the Eiffel tour and the Louvre, and then when I returned to UW Oshkosh, we started dating. Before graduating in 2006, we managed to travel everywhere together from London to Istanbul. Following our studies at UW Oshkosh, we moved to Australia for a few years to complete our masters degrees in International Politics then moved on to Ann Arbor, Michigan and Washington D.C.

We were finally married on July 3, 2010 at the Oshkosh yacht Club on Lake Winnebago. We’re currently living in Saint Paul, Minn., and even though we no longer live in Wisconsin I’ll never forget our days at UW Oshkosh and always be grateful for how I not only received a great education that changed my life but how my studies there also gave me that one chance to meet the love of my life.

by Kevin Barta ’06, St. Paul, Minn.

Tags: alumni memory Model United Nations