After graduating from Saint Joseph Academy in 2000, Katrina attended Texas A&M University where she was the proudest member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2004. She majored in Agricultural Sales with a minor in Public Relations. She worked in several industries that ranged from spa management to retirement planning, to aviation as a flight attendant. In March, she published a collection of poetry titled The Promise, which cover a broad spectrum of emotion including love, hope, betrayal, grief, acceptance, and growth. While her poetry is personal and representative of her own individual journey, her words capture the essence of what it means to be human, allowing any reader to understand her story from their own standpoint. Katrina hopes that by sharing her most intimate thoughts through poetry, she will keep the promise she made to her young self to publish her works.
By engaging in the collective conversation, she sets the intention that her words and perspective will bring some small solace and comfort to the reader, create space to heal, and uncover what it means to be bold in truth. Currently, she manages a corporate training and compliance department for a company that works to reunify immigrant children with their families; specializing in crisis-intervention protocol instruction.
"Working for a mission-driven organization is fulfilling in itself, but being able to work with people who are so aligned with purpose takes fulfillment to another level, and I am so grateful for where my path has led me,” she said.
Q: Did your experience at Saint Joseph Academy have an influence on you becoming a writer/author?
A: My experience of just being a teenager influenced my writing a great deal. Different people used different activities that came naturally to them to channel their energy, for some it was academics, athletics, or other extracurricular activities - for me, it just happened to be writing. The friends I had in school were really supportive of my writing and helped me sustain that space by gifting me journals so that I’d never have an excuse not to write.
Q: What is one achievement you accomplished while attending SJA?
A: Female Golfer of the Year in 1999 - my late father, an avid golfer, and former SJA coach, was SUPER proud of that one.
Q: In what ways, if any, has Saint Joseph Academy attributed to your success?
A: Being a well-rounded student was always encouraged by my dad. I was involved in a wide range of school-sponsored activities - band, choir, golf, leadership development, and academic competition - and I truly believe participating in such a variety helped me develop more holistically. As an adult, that translated to cultivating adaptability while working in different industries, sometimes simultaneously. That also meant when it came time to write, compile, format, edit, and publish my book, it was a project I was able to manage efficiently and I borrowed from my years of experience in varying fields.
Q: What advice would you give to future aspiring writers?
A: Write what you know; that will always come most naturally to you because truth can’t be hidden, at least not for very long - this is how you find your voice. It’s okay to start in the middle of an idea and build your work around that - creative processes are hardly ever linear. Be patient with yourself and afford yourself grace if you run into a block - change your scenery, walk barefoot in the grass, and drink some water (which is probably good advice for anyone, really). Find people you can trust, and grow with them; if you make life good for them, they’ll make life good for you. And never doubt yourself - it’s a waste of time.