Name: Katye Brock
Age: 18
Hometown: Tullahoma, TN
College: University of Tennessee (GO VOLS!)
Major: International Studies
Favorite food: Peanut butter. I am addicted to peanut butter.
Favorite TV show: The Office…or Food Network…Or One Tree Hill.
Favorite movie: The Little Mermaid
Favorite Olympic sport: Ice Skating
Favorite Christmas/holiday tradition: I’ll do a birthday tradition. Every year, my mom makes each of her children chocolate waffles—with ice cream and all the toppings—for breakfast on our birthdays. Chocolate waffles are a Brock family staple.
Current #1 most played song on your iPod: I’ve been rocking a lot of Phil Wickham lately.
Favorite quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
Most hated household chore: I really hate doing the dishes. I am OCD about how my hands feel, and I can’t stand having them pruny.
Favorite time of day: I love crisp mornings and sunsets.
Favorite time of year: This one is hard. I kind of love something about every season, but if I have to choose, I guess summer. Or Christmastime!
Plan ahead OR procrastinate: I used to procrastinate, but believe me, in college, you plan ahead, or you don’t get it done!
Paper OR plastic: Paper. It’s more rustic.
Glass half-full OR glass half-empty: Half-full! Being positive can prevent a lot of unhappiness.
Introvert OR extrovert: Extrovert, definitely. I love meeting new people and being loud.
Cats OR Dogs: Dogs. My current number one desire is a puppy.
Morning person OR night person: Morning person.
What would I find in your refrigerator right now (if you have one)? My fridge is always stocked with the following: hummus, carrot sticks, Laughing Cow cheese wheels, milk, orange juice, grapes, hot sauce, mustard, turkey, and ginger ale.
What is your biggest fear? I have some irrational fears. I have a fear of getting locked in the garbage room on my floor at school. I also have a fear that my wedding (whenever that happens) will be a disaster. Oh, and I HATE spiders.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you about college life that you had to find out on your own? Do NOT be afraid to leave your high school life behind. All of my friends rushed a sorority, and there is nothing wrong with that! However, I just didn’t feel right there and wanted to get involved with the Baptist ministry on campus. It was just really hard to leave my old friends and that old life behind.
What is one goal you have set for yourself and achieved? What is one goal that still remains to be achieved? It sounds silly, but I REALLY wanted to win a Fitness award at Nationals. I worked myself insanely hard all year to prepare. It was just something a lot of people didn’t think I could do, so I wanted to prove people (and myself) wrong. As for something that has yet to be achieved, I want to perform as a princess at Disney World before I get too old. I am going to do my best to make that happen!
What do you want to be when you grow up and why? Besides a Disney Princess? Well, I have always had a heart for children in 3rd world countries…Well, really anyone who doesn’t have the same opportunities as we do in the United States. So, I decided a long time ago that I wanted to do something that works internationally. It was a year or so ago that my brother talked to me about International Law. I was hooked from there. With an International Law degree, I will be able to work in all sorts of places where I can serve my global community.
Describe your single-most favorite moment from your Distinguished Young Women experience.
This is a really difficult question. Girls who have yet to go through the program probably will not understand why. See, ALL of the moments of my time with Distinguished Young Women have been priceless. From the amazing to the amazingly frustrating, when I look back, I see that each moment helped me grow and mold me into the woman I am now. I look back on who I was during the local competition, and it is seriously incredible to see how much this program has encouraged me. It has given me confidence I NEVER had before, friends from all across the country, discipline to reach my goals, and an understanding of the world around me. This program has enriched my life, and I constantly see it doing the same for other girls. I have so many favorite memories from my two years with the program. My Nationals roommate, Rianne Jones—possibly the sweetest girl I have EVER met—and our host parents, the Fespermans; Be Your Best Self day in Mobile; my AMAZING state chairs, Charles and Traci; the Veteran’s Day parade in Mobile; beach tennis with Allii (Rhode Island) at Orange Beach; my first Oyster with Danielle’s (Alabama) instructions; elbow licking; back scratches with Kasey (Missouri)…This list could go on and on. However, I think my favorite memory of this program doesn’t come from a time when I was participating. When I was giving away my local title, I had to pretty much create the program. I did the choreography, created the theme, helped get sponsors…It was extremely stressful. However, I really wanted to make the EXPERIENCE the priority, instead of the show. So, I had all the participants over to my house for a sleepover. Now, these girls weren’t enemies or anything, but they definitely were not all best friends. That night, I got to watch 14 girls develop a bond that they will never share with anyone else. That is what this program does. One of the winners of that program (We have two.) began her experience as a shy, nervous competitor. She gained the confidence to stand on stage and present herself like everyone else saw her. Distinguished Young Women does that for girls all the time; it did it to me. It was just this time that I sat back and noticed. This program will change your life. Whether you walk away with the National title or no title at all, you will discover things about yourself that you never knew. It’s amazing, really.
This is a really difficult question. Girls who have yet to go through the program probably will not understand why. See, ALL of the moments of my time with Distinguished Young Women have been priceless. From the amazing to the amazingly frustrating, when I look back, I see that each moment helped me grow and mold me into the woman I am now. I look back on who I was during the local competition, and it is seriously incredible to see how much this program has encouraged me. It has given me confidence I NEVER had before, friends from all across the country, discipline to reach my goals, and an understanding of the world around me. This program has enriched my life, and I constantly see it doing the same for other girls. I have so many favorite memories from my two years with the program. My Nationals roommate, Rianne Jones—possibly the sweetest girl I have EVER met—and our host parents, the Fespermans; Be Your Best Self day in Mobile; my AMAZING state chairs, Charles and Traci; the Veteran’s Day parade in Mobile; beach tennis with Allii (Rhode Island) at Orange Beach; my first Oyster with Danielle’s (Alabama) instructions; elbow licking; back scratches with Kasey (Missouri)…This list could go on and on. However, I think my favorite memory of this program doesn’t come from a time when I was participating. When I was giving away my local title, I had to pretty much create the program. I did the choreography, created the theme, helped get sponsors…It was extremely stressful. However, I really wanted to make the EXPERIENCE the priority, instead of the show. So, I had all the participants over to my house for a sleepover. Now, these girls weren’t enemies or anything, but they definitely were not all best friends. That night, I got to watch 14 girls develop a bond that they will never share with anyone else. That is what this program does. One of the winners of that program (We have two.) began her experience as a shy, nervous competitor. She gained the confidence to stand on stage and present herself like everyone else saw her. Distinguished Young Women does that for girls all the time; it did it to me. It was just this time that I sat back and noticed. This program will change your life. Whether you walk away with the National title or no title at all, you will discover things about yourself that you never knew. It’s amazing, really.
