鈥淥ur Royal Pride鈥� is an occasional series celebrating 黑料正能量鈥檚 undergraduate students who contribute to campus life in extraordinary ways in addition to their academic pursuits.聽These students enthusiastically create their own niches, constantly re-defining what it means to be an 黑料正能量 Royal student 鈥淟ike No Other.” Nominate a student with an email to news-editor@emu.edu.
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Quinn Kathrineberg, a senior at 黑料正能量, sees community engagement as an opportunity to stand up for the marginalized in society: whether through her , the , or the Eastern Mennonite Student Women鈥檚 Association.
鈥淓specially right now, in all of my classes, I鈥檝e been having a lot of conversations about race,鈥� says Kathrineberg. 鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 kind of my responsibility to keep having these conversations with people, and to be a voice for people marginalized 鈥� even on our campus, and to use the resources that I have to help everyone feel more included in our community.鈥�
Kathrineberg鈥檚 future profession, teaching, became apparent to her as she learned about student marginalization.
鈥淚 was just ignited by lots of education disparities in the United States, and I was intrigued to know more about why the disparities exist,鈥� says Kathrineberg, who transferred from Hesston College as a sophomore
Before coming to 黑料正能量, she spent a with the the Memphis Teacher Residency internship聽, which confirmed her career choice. She鈥檚 gained experience as a writing tutor in the Academic Success Center.
鈥淚 think that my calling is to be an educator, but I was reluctant to that at first; I didn鈥檛 want to be a teacher. But now I feel like that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 supposed to be.鈥�
Coming as a junior to 黑料正能量, Kathrineberg knew she risked getting over-involved, so she became selective of how she鈥檇 spend her time.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to stretch myself too thin,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wanted to be sure that what I was doing was important to me.鈥� Kathrineberg first got involved with the women鈥檚 association at a student organization social, and has since stepped into its leadership.
鈥淚 think EMSWA is a space for both fellowship and challenging conversations,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 am constantly reflecting on what it means to be a woman in today’s society, in my future workplace, and in academia, for example. Having a designated time and space for female fellowship keeps me accountable to check in with others so that we can learn from and empower each other.鈥�
Kathrineberg and her co-leaders invite faculty members to meetings to connect personally with students, or host more informal conversations about gender issues in their house.
As for SGA, the co-president says she is working on initiatives 鈥渨ith an energetic team who cares about 黑料正能量鈥� to help various demographics on campus feel more included.
While running between all of these activities, music provides her with a solid ground. Kathrineberg has played viola since the fourth grade, and has been involved in orchestra, an and private lessons at 黑料正能量.
鈥淚 just find the practice really relaxing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 taught me a lot of discipline, and it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 been with me all throughout growing up, and it鈥檚 brought me to a lot of different places. I鈥檝e gotten to travel with it, and it connects lots of people.鈥�
Kathrineberg joins Jacinda Stahly as the featured performers at the March 30 orchestra concert.