
4 Questions For Kate Kolonja
Each month we will highlight a different teacher, student, or alumni in our 4×4 section.
What is a favorite memory from your time at CCA?
My favorite memory from my time at CCA was during the fall of my junior year. I played on the soccer team all four years of high school, but the junior season was by far the best. It was the first of two seasons I was able to play with my younger sister, and playing with her was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far. While the team had the most success in that year than any girls soccer team has had in Calvary’s history, there was so much more that went into the joy I felt during the season. I have never felt more connected to a group of girls as we sat together each Friday chapel and as Coach Matt shared incredible devotionals that brought us closer through our walks with God. With each victory, we celebrated with such excitement as well as consistently encouraged each other through the ups and downs. During this season, we won the district championship, were league champions, and advanced to the second round of state playoffs. Although I have many great memories from CCA, this one tops them all.
What are your plans for after graduation?
After graduation, I will be attending Georgetown University in Washington D.C. as a nursing major. Since I was little, I have wanted to serve the world through medicine, and I am overjoyed to be able to carry out this dream at a school whose mission is also to serve the world. My current hopes are to complete my four years of undergrad at Georgetown to receive my BSN, serve through nursing abroad for a few years, and then return to school to become a pediatric emergency nurse practitioner. However, I am open to what the Lord’s plans are for my life and am learning to follow what He wants for me.
Who is one of your favorite CCA teachers and why?
Mrs. Feather is one of my favorite teachers at Calvary. My first class with her was honors biology freshman year, and I have her again this year for AP biology. While there are many amazing qualities about Mrs. Feather, her best quality is that she understands a student’s drive to succeed and will do anything she can to help a student achieve their aspirations. She listens to our requests and challenges, and goes above and beyond to solve our problems to make our hopes a reality. Mrs. Feather’s class, however, is not an easy one because her greatest priority is making sure that we are well educated and ready for our futures. I have learned great studying and student skills through her class, as well as how to combat secular scientific beliefs with Christianity and creation.
What is something the Lord has been teaching you recently?
Through this difficult year, I have been told by many people that I should be learning a lot from what I am going through, which frustrated me more than a little bit. I did not want to have to learn something; I just wanted to enjoy my senior year. However, the Lord has been teaching me that this was the completely wrong mindset. Hanging on my bedroom wall is Esther 4:14 which says, “Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Although it has been hanging there for two years, I did not fully grasp the meaning until recently. The Lord has created me for His plan and purpose, and I am not here to live for myself. I am chosen by Him to be born in this time and place, so rather than being angry or ignoring His calling on my life, I am to live everyday listening for His instructions with a ready heart. I am not my own, so I am learning to be open to His leading, even if it sometimes feels impossible to do.