STUDENT SPOTLIGHT KAITLYN BOURGEOIS ‘23: Sisterhood Ignites Success

Katie Bourgeois uses one word to describe her years at IWA: transformational. “I really didn’t like school before I came to IWA. But today, I can’t even tell you which is my favorite class, every academic department is strong. Now I love history, I love science–and I’ve learned to appreciate math,” she says with a smile.

“Every single teacher here wants to see me succeed and so do my classmates. Students give each other quick pep talks as we walk down the hall before tests. This environment builds confidence, and so you think, ‘I don’t know if I can do this, but I am going to try!’”

One thing she ‘tried’ and flourished at is videography. “I took an elective from Mr. Adams–sort of reluctantly– but he’s such an inspiring teacher that I got hooked and tried to learn as much as I could from him.” Katie started filming videos for her friends’ college applications, and then last fall, she shot a series of six videos for the IWA Advancement Department’s “Giving Tuesday” Campaign. The campaign resulted in record fundraising, and the videos, which she shot, edited, and produced, helped meet the goal.

“Katie is awesome,” says Mr. James Adams, IWA’s Broadcast Journalism instructor. “She’s an outstanding videographer and broadcast student. She learned very quickly, and she creates at a level that only one other student I’ve taught has achieved,” he continues. “Katie understands how to use many shots and different shot combinations to make videos interesting, which most students have trouble with.”

In addition to her videography, Katie is also Executive Officer for Falcon Ambassadors, a member of the Environmental Club and Made4Medicine, and helps teach a Sunday School Class for young children at her church. Her ambition is to become a pediatric nurse. Next fall, she’ll attend Texas A&M majoring in Biology on the Pre-Nursing path. “Nursing is a vocation, and I want to serve others,” she says. “My dream is to help young patients and make a difference in their lives.”