Short questions with Dana Perino for Katie Pavlich

You've seen us on screen, but have you ever wondered what we're like off-camera? 

For the last few months, I’ve enjoyed checking in with some of your favorite Fox personalities to learn more about who they are behind the scenes. 

What's the one thing Jesse Watters couldn’t live without? What's Bill Hemmer’s favorite Halloween costume? And what's sitting on Greg Gutfeld’s nightstand? 

But that's not all! The fun is just getting started.

This week, we're excited to shine the spotlight on Katie Pavlich. She joined FOX News Channel in 2013 and currently serves as a rotating panelist on FNC's "Outnumbered" (weekdays 12-1p.m./ET) and as a network contributor, providing political analysis and commentary across FNC's daytime and primetime programming.

In addition, Pavlich is the news editor for Townhall.com, a contributing editor to Townhall Magazine and the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller "Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up."

P.S. We have so much more in store for you. Stay tuned each week for new editions of "Short Questions with Dana Perino" — and if there’s a question you want answers to or a suggestion for the person I should interview next, leave a note in the comments section below. 

In this week's "Short questions with Dana Perino," Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich reveals the most valuable career advice she's ever gotten — and her favorite places in America to visit.  (Fox News)

Q: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

KP: All kinds of things. A weather woman, a country music singer and "an office lady."

I used to play office with my mom's old glasses, rolodex cards and folio agenda. I still use a paper planner. 

Q: Favorite fast food restaurant? What's your go-to order?

KP: Dana with the tough questions! I'm going with Taco Bell. Two hard-shell tacos with extra mild sauce (I like the flavor, but wish it were spicier). In-and-Out a very close second with a protein style burger.  

Q: I once saw this awesome photo you posted on social media of you as a kid wearing your grandfather’s WWII Army helmet. I, too, was very close with my Grandpa Perino — he taught me so much about life. What is one of the most valuable life lessons that your grandfather taught you? 

KP: Although I sadly never had the chance to meet Grandpa Pavlich, I've still learned so much from the example he set throughout his life: toughness, grit, determination, resolve. He wore that WWII helmet liner fighting with the U.S. Army's 158th Infantry, known as the Bushmasters, in the Philippines. 

He got malaria and was transferred to an Australian hospital for treatment. 

During his stay, he took notice of my grandmother, who worked at the hospital. They eloped, she shipped out from Sydney to the middle of nowhere in Arizona, while he went back to the war. She waited and they eventually reunited when he made it home. She was also one heck of a woman. 

I learned about him through my dad and other family members, but also from the people he impacted in the small little town of Globe, Arizona. 

"I've learned so much from the example he set throughout his life: toughness, grit, determination, resolve."

To this day, I still get emails from folks asking if I'm related to Coach John Pavlich, whom they played football or basketball for back in the day. He's an Arizona legend with a spot in the Northern Arizona University Athletics Hall Fame of (he was quite the football player himself) and in the Arizona High School Athletics Coaches Hall of Fame. 

His parents were immigrants from Croatia (former Yugoslavia) who came through Ellis Island to work in the mines of America. All three of their children, my grandpa included, wasted no time in their pursuit of the American dream. 

Q: How old were you when you first learned to shoot a gun?

KP: I don't remember exactly the year I first learned how to shoot a gun, but for my 10th birthday my dad gifted me my first hunting rifle. It was immediately put to good use. 

Q: You were able to take a small break from politics last year and take a few weekends to go do an amazing project with Fox Nation called "Luxury Hunting Lodges of America." You went to Honey Brake in Louisiana, Highland Hills in Oregon, Three Forks Ranch in Wyoming, and Gray Cliffs Ranch in Montana. If you had to pick, which of these lodges was your favorite?

KP: Everywhere we went the people were so hospitable, but Three Forks Ranch was my favorite. It's the palace of Wyoming. Just spectacular. 

The owners and staff are wonderful people. 

Q: Beyond the four lodges mentioned above, what is your favorite place to visit in America and why?

KP: Arizona because it's home and gorgeous with so many different kinds of terrain and environments. 

However, the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in Wyoming are a very close second. 

It's still so wild, rugged and wonderful there. I'm a mountain gal.  

Q: What's the most valuable career advice you've ever received, and who was it from?

KP: A longtime family friend once said to "run your own race." 

That has stuck with me and served me well.

Q: You have a wonderful marriage — any tips to pass along for long-lasting love and happiness?

KP: Marry someone secure with themselves and always operate from a place of kindness. 

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To read all of Dana Perino's earlier "Short Questions" interviews for Fox News Digital, check out this (long) list!

For her interview with Guy Benson, click here. 

For her interview with Pete Hegseth, click here. 

For her interview with Sandra Smith, click here. 

For her interview with Nicolas Yannicelli, click here. 

For her interview with Abby Hornacek, click here. 

For her interview with Elise Bitter, click here. 

For her interview with Brian Kilmeade, click here.

For her interview with Kennedy, click here. 

For her interview with John Roberts, click here. 

For her interview with Janice Dean, click here. 

For her interview with Charles Payne, click here. 

For her interview with Trey Gowdy, click here. 

For her interview with Johnny "Joey" Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Bill Melugin, click here. 

For her interview with Jimmy Failla, click here. 

For her interview with Tyrus, click here. 

For her interview with Ainsley Earhardt, click here. 

For her interview with Lawrence Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Dr. Arash Akhavan, click here. 

For her interview with Martha MacCallum, click here. 

For her interview with Bret Baier, click here. 

For her interview with Kayleigh McEnany, click here.

For her interview with Harold Ford Jr., click here. 

For her interview with Shannon Bream, click here. 

For her interview with Jessica Tarlov, click here.

For her interview with Leo Terrell, click here.

For her interview with Geraldo Rivera, click here. 

For her interview with Clay Travis, click here.

For her interview with Bill Hemmer, click here. 

For her interview with Greg Gutfeld, click here. 

For her interview with Benjamin Hall, click here. 

For her interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro, click here.

For her interview with Jesse Watters, click here. 

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.