Katrina Barry stood at the Kindlevan Café register, ringing up a student she knew by name. She joked with him a few times, her strong Boston accent shining through, and she asked how his long weekend was. As one of many food service workers at Tufts, Barry is well-connected around campus, known for her bright personality and intentionality to connect with students.
“I enjoy working with you guys. … I learn a lot from you guys from all over the world. I learn so much,” Barry said.
Barry, who goes by Kat, was born in 1961, the second of four girls, and was raised by her parents in Boston. She graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Recreation and Leisure Studies and a minor in Therapeutic Recreation.
After college, she worked in a mental health hospital in Brookline and then transitioned to become the first female chair car driver for Fallon Ambulance Services. When she married her husband in 1988, they moved to a house in Medford, just a ten minute walk from the Tufts campus. They’ve lived there ever since, raising two children, one who lives with them now and the other who lives just a block away with his girlfriend. Barry’s career took a pause when she had two children within two years.
“I just stayed home, and I was a full time mom until both of my kids were in school, and then I did mom jobs. I was a school crossing guard. I was president of the [Parent Association], a Girl Scout leader. … Everything that I did revolved around kids,” Barry said.
Barry then spent 15 years working at Saint Raphael Parish School in Medford, cooking for the elementary-aged students there.
“We cooked from scratch. I used all my own recipes when we cooked there. I baked for them once a week. I loved that job,” Barry said. Her favorite meal to make was the mac and cheese. “That was the favorite one the kids liked to eat.”
Barry has worked at Tufts for 14 years now. When she’s not working, both on weekends and over the summer, she camps in her trailer in Ossipee, N.H.
“I have been in the same campground for 58 years, if you can even believe that one. My sister has the trailer right next to me on the site that I grew up on, and then my best cousin is next door. So it’s a big family. I just get to spend all summer with my family. I absolutely love it,” Barry said.
This year, for Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend, Barry traveled to New Hampshire for the last weekend of the 2024 camping season. In the off-season, Barry cherishes family time. She spends every Saturday with her cousin, Karin, and ends her weekend with a Sunday reset day and a big family dinner that she cooks.
“It can be anything,” Barry said in reference to her Saturday activities with her cousin, who lives about 45 minutes from Tufts. Past activities have included a trail walk with their dogs, Chara and Raven, and driving two hours to share a meal at their favorite restaurant in New Hampshire.
“Last year, we did a whole run of ‘Let’s find the best apple cider donuts we can find.’… It’s just cousin time. It’s just whatever we can do to hang with each other.”
At the end of our conversation, Barry told me about her daughter who was diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s syndrome before the age of four. Despite her daughter’s difficulty connecting socially with people, she made a deep connection with one of the cafeteria workers at her college, Roger Williams University, even visiting the worker in the hospital when she broke her knee.
“[The worker] really made an impression on my kid. … That’s why I’m working, because I work here for the students. And I would like to be that kind of person. … It might be the first time anybody’s away from their parents for an extended period, and it’s hard.”
Because she holds deep roots in the Tufts and Medford communities, Barry attempts to help students with anything they might need locally. Additionally, though, Barry strives to be a familiar face and mentor to students.
“If [students] just need a hug, I’m happy to give hugs out. I love giving hugs out. And you know, sometimes they just need a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes they need a kick in the fanny,” Barry said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m here for the students. I mothered myself out of a job. My kids are 33 and 32. They don’t need me. I come here, where you guys need me.”
