Katherine Kaminski knew she loved IHA even before she came here. “I was obsessed with IHA in eighth grade. All the smart and cool girls in my school always went there, and after visiting I realized it had everything I wanted.” Katherine definitely has shown her passion for her school in the past four years, excelling in a variety of activities, especially in music.

Katherine has been playing piano for ten years and participates in competitions and recitals every year. She has also played the clarinet in many ensembles, including the IHA Orchestra for four years, and after four years in the Tri-M Music Honor Society, she is a part of its executive board. She has been a part of Song and Spirit, the Woodwind Ensemble, and Science League for four years as well.

Her musical talent is only one of many.  Katherine is also interested in global affairs, and is on the Executive Board for Model UN and Culture Club. She is also a Tutor Coordinator for the National Honor Society and is a member of the National Art Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society. Katherine has also volunteered with a pediatric primary care physician and the pediatric critical care unit at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Katherine’s friends usually describe her as being very “easygoing,” and to this she responds: “It’s true that I definitely seem for the most part happy in school, and I think it comes from a conscious effort on my part to create a relaxing environment about me. I don’t make a huge deal about doing something by a certain time and I am accommodating to people’s ideas or requests.” But Katherine also states that she is in fact very driven and hardworking—“since at least middle school I was looking up what requirements I would need to get into medical school!”  She adds, “On the flip side, my strong suit is diplomacy. I am good at bringing people together and getting them to work together, resolving conflict. That doesn’t make me very good at confrontation but that helps me in everyday life and in Model UN.”

Her dedication outside of the classroom is only rivaled by her performance inside.  Katherine feels that Mr. Herold’s biology class her freshman year strengthened her childhood love of medicine and biology and that AP Biology only solidified this passion. She also credits Ms. McDonough for making her fall in love with history, which helped her to pick International Studies as her major. Continuing with Spanish and taking AP was “one of the best decisions she made senior year” because now she can hold conversations with her Spanish speaking friends and she is very interested in the Spanish culture. Mrs. Kim, Katherine’s AP US History teacher, says of Katherine, “Katherine is a student who makes every class exciting because of her genuine enthusiasm for the act of learning and the personal interest she brings to the subject under study. Over the course of two years, Katherine has grown into her own independent mature thinker and will most certainly shine at John Hopkins.”

Katherine has decided to pursue the premed track at Johns Hopkins University. Katherine chose an International Studies major because it includes some of her favorite subjects, including history, languages, and international affairs.  Upon reflecting on her IHA experience, Katherine says, “IHA has definitely been a tough school and I have had to make sacrifices and stay up late many times, but ultimately I’m happy I made this choice because the people and experiences I have had are amazing.”