When KITP’s visitors arrive at Kohn Hall before they dig into their science and collaborations, they wonder, “How do I get into the building? Where is my office?” And of course, “Where is the coffee?” The remarkable KITP staff member who is tasked with fielding these questions and many more is Bibiana Rojas, known by most as Bibi.
Bibi is KITP’s Visitor Services Coordinator, an important role with a variety of responsibilities to enhance the experience for visiting scientists and ensure the day-to-day operations at the institute run smoothly. Bibi does it all; assisting visitors throughout their entire stay, administrative office work, and miscellaneous but essential tasks that she calls “filling in the gaps.” Her days are full of questions and requests about anything from financial reimbursements to scheduling maintenance staff. On many occasions when other KITP staff members are approached by visiting scientists and don’t know the answer to their questions, the response is often something like “Let’s ask Bibi, she would know.” Or, when a perplexed physicist is wandering the halls in search of their office, they inevitably end up at Bibi’s desk.
KITP’s Financial Manager, Amy Burgard, describes Bibi as “a pleasure to work with and an essential member of the KITP team. She handles her role as Visitor Services Coordinator with efficiency and provides our visitors with excellent support. She never hesitates to offer help where needed, often going above and beyond without being asked.”
Bibi’s admirable work ethic is demonstrated by her long workdays between KITP and her other position at Michaels Arts & Crafts in Goleta. She skillfully balances her time between jobs, raising two children, and maintaining a social life. As a native to Santa Barbara, her family and friends are all local or close enough to see on the weekends, so she takes every opportunity she can to go to Dodgers games, concerts, or travel. When she goes to her favorite local restaurants, it’s more than likely everyone working will know her by name—she makes friends nearly anywhere she goes.
Her social, outgoing nature makes Bibi a great fit for her role, as does her ability to address concerns and solve problems directly with grace. Communication with visitors from such diverse backgrounds can be challenging when language barriers and cultural differences exist, “but we make it through,” Bibi says. On the other hand, she loves learning about other parts of the world through the scientists she meets and is always curious to hear about their interests or cultures. In most cases, they are out of the routines and environments most familiar to them. Taking the time to get to know KITP’s visitors is not only interesting for her, but it also undoubtedly makes visitors more comfortable and feel a greater sense of belonging when they’re at the institute.
Flip Tanedo, Associate Professor at UC Riverside, has been coming to KITP nearly every year since 2016. As the holiday cards from Flip that are pinned to the walls of Bibi’s office suggest, he knows the KITP staff and Bibi well. He shared that “Bibi is the first person who greets us and she always makes us feel welcome and taken care of. Her warmth and patience make it easy for us to feel at home at KITP.” As Flip conveys, Bibi treats people with fairness, kindness, and a playful sense of humor that gets a chuckle out of even the most serious of the institute’s scientific visitors.
If it isn’t her joyful laugh and friendly demeanor that scientists are drawn to, then it may be the fact that she is the person who keeps coffee and cookies flowing through Kohn Hall by managing an impressive stockpile. Bibi knows more than anyone that “coffee is essential when you’re visiting KITP,” and half-jokingly reminds people to also drink water sometimes.
Anyone who has ever visited or worked at KITP also knows about the infamous daily cookie tradition. Bibi is responsible for making sure a platter of cookies and large coffee carafes are set out for visitors by 3:15pm each afternoon. While they can access coffee any time during the day, the addition of a sweet treat brings scientists together to connect with anyone who happens to be in the building. When asked for feedback about their experience, visitors emphasize how many new projects, paper ideas, research directions, and connections have resulted from this informal gathering. It is a simple way the institute enables spontaneous, cross-disciplinary exchanges that often have far-reaching effects on science. Or sometimes it may spark new friendships between scientists who wouldn’t have otherwise interacted.
Like many of the comforts and conveniences enjoyed at KITP, staff and visitors of all kinds are grateful to Bibi for the extra fuel, laughter and connection that she provides.
by Demi Cain
KITP Development Coordinator