An Olympian Task

"So I Could Figure Myself Out"

A San Antonio native, McKnight came to The University of Texas at Austin in 1998 as an undecided major in the College of Natural Sciences. "Honestly, going to UT was a bit of a shock because I went to private school all of my life, with much smaller classes." Coming to a big university felt freeing. "I just wanted to be in the mix. I didn't want anybody constantly watching what I was doing, so I could figure myself out."

After one semester undecided and another as an engineering major, she started her sophomore year in the business school, where she graduated with a marketing degree and a minor in Spanish. McKnight lived for two years in Jester Center (shoutout 13th floor), where she also worked at the Career Center. She enjoyed the Hispanic Business Students Association, going to football games and playing intramural soccer.

"I remember just walking a lot around campus and just feeling like anything was possible because there were so many options my freshman year," she says. "At UT, I learned how to be independent, to hustle, to figure out what I wanted to do. I loved being at UT. It was great, and all my best friends are still from my UT days."

Long before her Foreign Service globetrotting, her freshman year at UT might have been her first real encounter with unfamiliar cultures. "A lot of my initial friends were former homecoming queens from these small towns. I remember every weekend I'd go with them back to these tiny towns, and it was a 'Friday Night Lights' experience. That is real! Those are probably my warmest memories of my freshman year - going to see other people's high school experiences. I really enjoyed seeing how other people were raised in different parts of Texas."

She volunteered in the community often during both of her stays at UT, mentoring middle schoolers and high schoolers in East Austin. "They taught me a lot about perseverance," she says. "At UT, there was always this sense of giving back, and I still greatly appreciate that."

Her decision to go into public sector work was assisted by the crash of energy giant Enron. "Their sign was in the business school, and a couple of weeks later, it wasn't," she remembers. The great recession soon followed, casting doubt on a business career. An internship further convinced her she would rather work in the public sector.

"I joined the Peace Corps because I really wanted to travel. I thought, having a minor in Spanish, they would send me to a Spanish-speaking country. But I said I was OK to go anywhere, especially if it's hot." The agency obliged, assigning her to Mauritania in the Sahara Desert.

After her two-year tour of duty, she recalls, "I knew I wanted to go back and work for the government, so I applied to the LBJ School and received a fellowship." She earned a Master of Public Affairs at UT in 2008.

Her first State Department post was in the Democratic Republic of Congo. When she arrived, she began playing soccer to stay in shape and meet people. It worked, as that is how she met her future husband. McKnight is now a mother of three, a girl and a boy at home - 8 and 10 - and a young man now in college in the U.S.

The kids have learned Italian and eat Italian food every day, "so I try to do tacos on Tuesdays. I remind them they're really from Texas," adding that she returned to San Antonio to have both younger children. She intends to take the kids to a USA women's hockey match during the Games.

Her advice to Longhorn students includes looking into the Diplomatic Security Service, "especially if they're interested in a job that'll take them around the world. "It's been awesome," she says. "The State Department is wonderful."