Name: Jo S. Kittinger

Class Year: 1977

What is your profession?
Author of Children’s Books

What made you choose this profession?
A lifelong love of books and creative passion

How did Montevallo affect your career path?
I majored in art which fueled my visual perception of what illustrations might accompany my text.

Please tell us about your educational foundation:
BFA in Fine Arts from UM

Share some of your professional achievements, awards/honors:
I have published over 30 books for children with traditional publishers. Awards received include a Crystal Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators for Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights, and several awards for another picture book, The House on Dirty-Third Street, including a Social Justice Literacy Award, from the International Reading Association, and a Carol D. Reiser Children’s Book Award. But the award that has meant the most to me is a Christopher Award for The House on Dirty-Third Street. Christopher awards are presented by the Christopher Society to books, films and television shows that “affirm the highest values of the human spirit.”

What is your favorite Montevallo memory from your time as a student?
I don’t have a specific memory of one event, but rather just the expansive memory of hours spent in the ceramics studio throwing clay. But perhaps the group experience of firing the raku kiln is a favorite memory.

What is your favorite Montevallo memory as an alum?
It was exciting to attend the opening reception for the new art center.

What would you tell a prospective student who was considering UM? 
UM offers the feel of a private liberal arts college for the cost of a state university. A diverse student body allows for everyone to feel welcome and small classes allow for interaction with faculty and fellow students. College Night is a unique opportunity for involvement in an event including sports, theater, music and art.

Is there a specific skill or piece of advice you learned on campus that seemed small at the time but now plays a massive role in your life?
I took an Oral Interpretation class with did wonders getting me past my shyness and fear of speaking in public!

Share with us a few Montevallo connections that impacted your life: (Faculty, staff, alumni, fellow students)

Ted Metz was a wonderful instructor in pottery and sculpture. He is the reason I focused on those media for my degree. If I had known I was gong to become a writer of children’s books, I would have taken more in the line of illustration, drawing and painting! Dr. Philip Beasley in Biology (my minor) and Dr. Milton Foley in English were also impactful in my education, always encouraging and making me feel I had the potential to succeed.

Finish this statement: “Montevallo Means More __________________________”
… now that my daughter shares my alum status.

What is the best advice you have received?
The race goes not to the brilliant, but to the disciplined, to those who persevere. ~ Kate DiCamillo

Share your favorite quote or motto:
Here is one of many! “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

Is there anything else you would like to add? (Hobbies, etc.)
I enjoy photography and each week I post a photo prompt on Facebook and invite people to post photos to fit the theme. It is a joy to connect with others in a positive way in the midst of the stress and negativity of the world today.