Kendra Kroll

What was your first step after undergraduate graduation & how did it impact your career path?

I've always been a creative person but right after graduation I didn't exactly know which direction to take. I was simply trying to get my bearings and think about what type of jobs would be the best fit, potentially in advertising. I moved home to my mother's suburban Chicagoland house and concentrated on looking for work while at least being in familiar surroundings. Over that first spring, I noticed a job posting in the Chicago Tribune (yes, newspaper help wanted ads actually used to be a thing ;) so I applied to Sears for a copywriting position. Sadly I didn't hear back, so proceeded to pick up some other work as a restaurant server while taking some supplementary art courses (in typography and design) at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. I kept my feelers open for things that would enhance my skill set, and soon I was fortunate to pick up a summer internship at A. Eicoff & Co, the broadcast arm of J Walter Thompson ad agency. It turns out that some months later (in Nov) I got a call back from Sears after all, and accepted my first "real job" out of school to work in the (what was then called) Sears Tower as an advertising copywriter.

After 2.5 yrs in that corporate world, I got married (the 1st time ;) and ended up doing all the planning for my wedding myself. In so doing, I realized how much I loved special events and just happened (again, in the Trib!) to stumble across an ad for a job at a tenting company in the city. I ended up transitioning out of the big corporate scene to a small and nimble company where I could wear many hats and have more of a personal impact. Once I got that job at A to Z Party Center, I ended up staying for over 12 yrs, culminating in my role as a Director of Marketing there, and being able to put my stamp on the business as was instrumental in its name change to Events Chicago with a full blown logo and showroom re-design. Soooo hugely gratifying and a ton of fun. Eventually, personnel issues prompted me to move over to a competitor event company where I was an Account Executive for 3.5 yrs. The only reason I left that job and the industry in general was because I had a daughter and was forced out of the business (which honestly could have been a discrimination lawsuit, but I had more on my plate than time to deal with, back then). Instead, I decided to switch gears and move into real estate as that was always an interesting sphere for me (especially after buying our 1st home, plus it offered flexible hours. I stayed in residential sales for Coldwell Banker for 5 yrs. But of course, my timing was terrible as that was when the stock market crashed and business dried up.

What are you doing today?

For the last nearly 16 years I've had a company called Undercover Solutions, LLC, which creates and sells a patented wearable called PortaPocket.  As a fellow human on planet Earth, you probably realize that pockets in clothes are often woefully inadequate to safely and effectively carry what we need. Especially in this age of cell phones. At the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing, but just soldiered on and figured it out. After 3 years in development I had a 2nd gen product to sell, 2 registered trademarks (plus FINALLY an issued patent!) and the line has expanded to this day.  If you ever travel, walk, exercise or go out, I know you'll find these modular/interchangeable solutions (that fit everyBODY) super useful. See the demo on home at portapocket.com to see what I mean. We're still a best kept secret but hopefully one day PortaPocket will be a more known name. After all, it took Velcro over 20 years to hit critical mass, so seeing that we use a lot of that in our line, perhaps we're on that same trajectory (oh my)!

How do you use your psychology undergraduate experience in your work?

Every job I've had has been about working with or convincing people to think of solutions to a need, and persuade them to seek and desire the answers we provide. That's really the heart of psychology... understanding what makes people do what they do. What makes them 'tick.'

What inspired you to enter that field/job/profession? What excites you most about the future of your profession?

Rather a funny story about how my business all started... I developed the PortaPocket system after a rather embarrassing moment at the gym which changed the course of my life.  While I was doing a set of flat bench flys back in 2007 (still during my real estate days), my (spare) tampon decided to roll out (of my useless pants pocket) and skitter across the room and landed in the middle of the free weights room floor. Of course I didn't even see it for 10 min, and I was the only female there (nice!). THAT was my epiphany and the reason I designed my product line.

What's exciting is that PortaPocket is evergreen, meaning I don't see a way it will ever be obsolete in our lifetimes. There are too many small & important things people need to carry and this is a way to do just that, hands free and worry free, without the need to lug around a separate purse or bag (the latter items of course have inherent risks for theft /loss. Why burden ourselves when we needn't?)

What advice do you have for students getting a degree in the UM Psychology Department or considering your profession?

Always be curious about new things and try to experience them yourself. Doing this with frequency helps you to grow into your own skin and add to your capabilities. Just get on the horse and ride it. You never know what you'll like &/or be good at until you try.  I liken it to the first new car I bought out of college. Which was a stick, and which I had no idea how to drive. But I just figured it out....and fast! (Thankfully I wasn't living in San Francisco at that time. Phew. lol!!)

One more thing to offer too... if your work really doesn't sing to you, then you're probably in the wrong job. You have to really enjoy and find purpose in what you do. If you're not in that spot yet, keep looking.

What was your favorite experience while studying in the UM Psychology Department?

There were many enjoyable psych courses I took while on campus, but one I remember distinctly was working with kids off campus at a facility for those with health challenges. It was a big eye opener about how, on a daily basis, some families deal with major problems involving seemingly simple tasks. Often these basic skills are ones the rest of us can take for granted and overlook. Little things do mean a LOT.

Now that I have my product line all these years later, it is gratifying to be able to serve many individuals with a variety of conditions ranging from wheelchair users, to autistic folks, to those who have life threatening allergies, or need medical devices to survive.