In the future, senior Kate Collins hopes to have the opportunity to experience different communities and immerse herself in every culture she is around.

Currently in the process of applying to several colleges, Collins already has her heart set on what she wants for her future. “I hope that I get the opportunity to study abroad,” Collins said. “I would really like to become fluent in Spanish, so that in my career as a nurse I can speak Spanish, as well as English.”

This year Collins is taking Spanish 5, the highest level of Spanish that La Salle offers, which is her favorite class. 

Although some students found last year’s online school format to be difficult, Collins thrived in the digital learning environment. “Online school was good for me last year,” she said. “I actually really enjoyed being online, I think it really helped me to learn to manage my time better. I liked the independence of being on my own schedule. I felt like I had a lot more free time, not having to be at school all day.”

Soccer has been a huge part of Collins’ life for as long as she can remember. She looks back on the memories and friendships she has made playing soccer with immense gratitude. Collins says that the biggest lesson that she has learned from playing is dedication. “It requires a lot of dedication to grow as a soccer player,” Collins said. 

Participating in a varsity sport on top of the workload that Collins’ advanced classes demand hasn’t been easy for her. A piece of advice she has for balancing sports and schoolwork is to get all of your homework done on practice nights, when there are no games, so that you don’t have to stress about it when you get home from a late night. 

Collins has participated on the girls soccer team at La Salle since her freshman year. “I chose La Salle because my mom went to La Salle, and my brother and sister both went to La Salle,” Collins said. “It just felt like a community that I was comfortable in already.”

Even though the La Salle community is something that Kate holds dear to her heart, she has many hobbies outside of school. “I like to play soccer,” Collins said. “I like to go shopping. I like to hang out with my friends.”

She also enjoys working at Fetch, a new, local coffee shop near her house. She spends a lot of her weekends there, and said she genuinely enjoys showing up to work. 

If Collins could meet anyone in the world, she would meet Michelle Obama. “I feel like she would really empower me, and she’s just a really strong independent woman who does a lot of cool things and I could learn a lot from her,” Collins said. 

Similarly to her role model Michelle Obama, Collins is passionate about several different social justice issues, which she has advocated for through attending Black Lives Matter protests and youth climate strikes. 

“I think really good advice is to lead with compassion and empathy because you never really know what’s going on in other people’s lives,” Collins said.