Katrina is a 16-year-old girl who attends Clay High School in South Bend, Indiana. She enjoys art in many forms, participating in drama productions, Mock Trials, and trying new things. Katrina stated, “I love meeting new people” and “I love the diversity at my school.” Katrina has a phenomenal outlook about her life and her future, and while she is not 100 percent decided, she has decided that she will be doing great things.
While Katrina enjoys drama productions, she does not enjoy negative drama between classmates or other individuals that she knows. To avoid these types of behaviors, Katrina stated “I am comfortable keeping to myself as much as I can.” Katrina does everything in her power to “avoid drama” unless of course she is on stage.
Katrina believes that the best part about being a high school student is being able to experience and try new things. She enjoys having the opportunity to engage in many elective courses at her school and thinks that this will help her when it comes to making a choice about college in the near future. Katrina attends normal classes at her school, and also attends internet classes that are offered at night to gain more experiences.
Katrina is also currently taking Criminal Justice classes at Ivy Tech Community College, which allows her to experience college level work. While Katrina loves taking many different elective courses, she is not always happy about the required courses that she must take. She feels that some classes are “unnecessary, especially if they have nothing to do with what she plans to attend college for.” At this point, Katrina is interested in attending college in Chicago, for a degree related to art, law, or possibly even both. Katrina would like to work while attending college, because she believes that “working hard allows you to enjoy your accomplishments more.” She also believes that working hard impacts her personal self-esteem and makes her feel better about herself.
Katrina has realistic goals and personal strengths, such as having a big heart and being charismatic, that will aid her in reaching and accomplishing her goals. Katrina feels that being “empathetic” and having the ability to “put herself in someone else’s shoes before giving advice” is a strong strength that she possesses. Katrina is a smart teenage girl who has the ability to go anyplace that her heart and mind desires in life.
This story originally appeared in Facing the Future Through the Voices of Teenage Girls, a publication of The Facing Project that was organized by Ivy Tech Community College and the Office of Mayor Pete Buttigieg in South Bend, Indiana.