Who I Am

Hello, I'm Katherine and I'm excited to be a part of the research community this summer. Haha yes. Really. Go UROP! 

I grew up in southeastern Michigan just thirty minutes outside Ann Arbor in a suburb by the name of Canton. The township is relatively large but mostly it consists of cookie cutter houses, strip malls, and elementary schools. Its most redeeming quality is the IKEA with its warm cinnamon buns, cheap modular furniture, and Swedish meatballs. That is where I grew up. That is where I have lived for the past 18 years of my existence... until recently.

Last September, I moved to another city in southeastern Michigan called Ann Arbor. The much larger city had a much larger school: The University of Michigan. Here is where things finally began to get interesting. I came into the school having a bit of an idea of what I wanted to do-- pharmacy and/or engineering and/or public health and/or economics, etc. I started off the semester getting to know people in my dorm and people in potential fields of study. I soon settled on engineering, after talking to other people who were going into it and seeing what they were doing. I excelled at math and science; I loved the process of putting something together logically and analytically. I knew it was going to be hard as hell but I had done hard stuff before. Narrowing down to the field I wanted to study was a bit more difficult, but I finally chose Mechanical Engineering for its versatility and its hands-on-ness. I just officially transferred two weeks ago.

As much as I enjoy studying calculus and physics (ha...) I also vow to try to learn as much as I can on other subjects. I enjoy reading and writing, sketching, painting, and listening and playing music. I fell in love with the Spanish language in high school, and after a year off, I am very happy to be returning to the language this fall. I also would like to call myself a runner (although not one of those bad-ass, ten mile runners. I'm not that cool). I love the outdoors and try to bike or walk rather than drive when possible. 

A special skill I have is my ability to communicate telepathically and verbally with most felines. I'm not sure if it's because my name is somewhat similar to their common name, or because I've always thought cats were adorable since I was little, or because I have three of my own. Most likely it's a combination of the three. If I see a cat on the street or something, I crouch down and look right in its direction and make a tck tck. The cat will then look at me, and we'll talk for a few moments (all in our heads of course) about how I am just trying to be friendly, I mean no harm, and I may or may not have treats. Soon enough, that cat will be in my arms in no time. 

I look forward to getting to know my fellow research peers soon!