Katarina Moye has participated in many extracurriculars throughout her years here at Terrace, including tennis (school and club), Girls Who Code, NHS, TSA, STEM, and Jazz Band. Some of these even require many hours of extra commitment after school.
The leadership roles she has had are that she has been the president of Girls Who Code for the last two years since they started the club. “Since it’s a new club, it definitely took a lot of work, especially in the beginning when we had to figure out how to really reach out to the people we wanted to join. I typically plan the topic of each meeting and make the slides as well as present them for the club, and I stick around in order to help anyone who needs it. I also reach out to the rest of the leadership and make sure they know what’s going on for each meeting.”
She also has been treasurer for the NHS(National Honor Society) this past year, and her main responsibility is making sure everyone pays their dues in order for them to get a cord. She also showed up to each meeting and helped with the presentation slides. “Overall, it’s mainly about keeping everything organized and staying on top of things in order to make sure everything goes smoothly,” Moye said.
Some of the challenges that come with being a leader: ”It can sometimes be a little intimidating. I didn’t take on any leadership positions until my junior year, and it took me some time to settle into them. I had to learn how to be a better communicator with other members of leadership and how to really stay organized and on top of things so no issues arose. I also had to build up some confidence in order to be a good public speaker. The environment that I helped create in Girls Who Code really helped me become a better public speaker because it felt like a really comfortable and safe space, and I felt like I wasn’t even talking to a large group of people.”
(©HAWKEYE image credit: Efrata Solomon)
When asked what some of the pros of her clubs were, Moye said, “I love all the extracurriculars I do because I chose them based on my interests. So I’m always happy to be doing them and they give me lots of fun experiences, skills, and knowledge. However, it can get a little overwhelming throughout the year when I have to balance all of them as well as do all my schoolwork and I can get pretty busy.” Moye said her favorite club is Girls Who Code because she was a founder of the
club, and she loved seeing the club grow and flourish throughout the last couple of years. “I have a really strong connection to the club, and I also have put a lot of effort into it, so it always makes me happy to see the community we’ve built and everything that we’ve been able to do that I would’ve never guessed could happen.”. “As for least favorite, I don’t think I really have one because I chose my extracurriculars so I would have fun and learn new things and there isn’t one that I don’t enjoy doing.”.
Her high school journey had a lot of different turns and bumps along the way. She started out not really participating in anything after school and really only focusing on tennis and her classes.
Until her Junior year, when she decided to try some stuff out because she knew she needed to build her college application,” I also saw a lot of my friends having fun in their extracurricular activities.
Once she joined clubs and even started her own, she realized how much she had been missing out on and she is really happy that it wasn’t too late for her. “It was a little overwhelming at times, but I’m really happy with the choices I made and I’ve learned so much from everything I’ve been involved in.”.
The bumpy road still leads to high success some of Moye’s biggest accomplishments are starting Girls Who Code, getting into UW for Comp Sci, getting into Jazz 1 then going to New York for Essentially Ellington, getting a CTE award for Comp Sci, being a valedictorian for the class of 2025, and being Singles 1 on the tennis team.
Over the summer, she did an internship at Lynnwood City Hall, where she helped in the IT. Department. She was able to get it through CTE and it was a really fun and memorable experience. She got to experience what a real working environment was like and got to meet people who had so much knowledge and education in the field. It really inspired her to see how much everyone around her knew, and it made her realize that she wanted to go into a similar field and work in an environment like that again.
Apart from that, she also does a lot of volunteering and she likes to help out around the school whenever help is needed. Sometimes she helps set up events with ASB or does other volunteering activities for STEM and various clubs.
Usually, she stays after school for a while, so she can help with whatever’s going on. Sometimes she helps set up events, helps present for STEM events, and helps with selling items for clubs in order to earn them funds.
In general, Moye helps because “I enjoy helping out and I have a lot of free time after school, so I just hang around and help with whatever’s needed” she said. Volunteering helps her learn how to work in a group and how to sell items and attract customers (which are great skills to have).
After high school, Moye plans on going to UW and getting a master’s in Computer Science and going into the industry, and hopefully not being homeless based on how the job market is now.
Some advice for underclassmen/new incoming freshmen, Moye has is: “Get involved as early as you can. It’s so fun to be in different clubs, and there are so many clubs at the school that you will definitely find something that you can be yourself in. Always give stuff a chance and don’t be scared of change because it’s going to happen. It might seem a little overwhelming at times, but in the end, it’s super rewarding and you won’t have regrets.”
