A week before her 17^th birthday, Katie was paralyzed from the chest down after the car she was a passenger in hit a moose, resulting in T4 paraplegia. A hockey, softball and volleyball player from the age of 10, she applied the discipline learned as an athlete to rehab at Craig Hospital. There, she met fellow Minnesotan and SWM alum Mason Branstrator, who told her about the scholarship. Through vigorous therapy, Katie has regained movement and is able to walk with a brace and trekking poles and continues to work on endurance.

A member of the National Honors Society, she began taking college courses online while simultaneously attending Rock Ridge High School and Minnesota North College during her junior and senior years.  She graduated with a 3.9 GPA, accruing 60 credits toward her college electives. Katie is eager to start the next chapter at University of St. Thomas studying Psychology and Neuroscience. She has a desire to learn how the brain and spinal cord work, an interest sparked after becoming paralyzed. She would like to learn how to golf and enjoys knitting and reading.