Freshman Kat Warner hopes to make her mark on Northview

Photo by Brandon Tung, Staff Writer

Carter Willis, Staff Writer

Freshman Kat Warner has invested her time in the pursuit of equality and justice. She is involved in several clubs at Northview that she believes make a difference in the world around her, such as Feminism Empowers Me, Gender-Sexuality Alliance, and the LGBTQIA+ club. Warner sees her participation in these clubs as a way to make tangible progress towards resolving societal issues rather than just observing them.

“I'm a really big activist for everything equality and acceptance, including LGBTQIA+ [rights], Black Lives Matter, and Asian lives,” Warner said. “I'm a big advocate for that, and I can definitely see myself doing something like that in the future.”

 Activism has always been something that came naturally to Warner due to her personality.

“Kat has always been outspoken since she was little. It was something that came naturally,” Shannon Warner, Kat Warner’s mother, said.  

Warner endeavors to continue being outspoken because it is essential to her passions. She also demonstrates the outspokenness and leadership that propel her activism in the classes she takes at school. 

“There are always a few students in each class or each year that kind of stand out and that you could label as one of the leaders of the class. Kat is definitely one of those people,” Chloe Grimes, Warner’s literature teacher, said. 

Because the transition back to in-person schooling has been daunting for many freshmen, Warner has tried to make struggling students feel accepted. In Warner’s eyes, efforts to be inclusive of everyone further her pursuit of equality. 

“I remember from day one with Kat that you could sense, when she walked in the room, that she carried an energy with her. She made [her peers] feel welcome,” Grimes said. 

Beyond high school, Warner plans to pursue a career that allows her to fight for equality, hoping to always be involved in some venture to make the world a better place.

“I feel like I’ll be speaking against inequality for my whole life,” Warner said. “I’ve been a really big activist for LGBTQIA+ acceptance and Black Lives Matter.” 

To better cope with the academic pressure prevalent at Northview, Warner started running cross country at the beginning of this school year. For Warner, cross country is not just a sport, but also a way to cultivate a healthier mindset. By engaging in this new sport, Warner has learned that it is more important to focus on self-improvement rather than competing against the people around her.

“My cross country coach, Coach Cianciola, always says, ‘Run your own race and don’t worry about anyone else,’ and I use that a lot in everyday life,” Warner said.

Though Warner tries to balance pressure to succeed academically with the extracurriculars she is passionate about, she still feels the inevitable pressure to succeed academically.

“I do feel pressure to succeed just because going into Northview, you hear how academically talented everyone is,” Warner said. “And also with me having an older sister, I do feel a lot of pressure with that. I’m just going to do the best I can. And that’s all.”

Despite the academic pressure surrounding her, Warner will continue to pursue her passions throughout her four years at Northview, whether it is through her involvement in school clubs or her efforts to make a peer feel accepted.