{"id":47277,"date":"2024-10-17T12:30:29","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/materials\/?post_type=news&p=47277"},"modified":"2024-10-17T12:30:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T16:30:29","slug":"qa-with-matsci-freshman-and-dnc-delegate-kathryn-prather","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/materials\/news\/qa-with-matsci-freshman-and-dnc-delegate-kathryn-prather\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with MatSci Freshman and DNC Delegate, Kathryn Prather"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kathryn Prather was only a few weeks into her freshman year when she found herself <\/span>making headlines<\/span><\/a> as West Virginia\u2019s youngest delegate at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) held in Chicago in August. She describes her journey to materials science and engineering at Hopkins and her civic involvement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When did you first become interested in materials science and engineering? Do your interests in engineering overlap with politics at all?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love that question because some might think they’re two separate spheres, and they’re not.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve wanted to be an engineer since around first grade; I always enjoyed solving problems and building things. Two summers ago, I had an internship at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. and I was working in materials research. I thought it was super interesting and fun.\u00a0 It made me think, \u201cWait, maybe I should do this with my life.\u201d I started to feel passionate about that type of research, so I chose materials science and engineering at Hopkins.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think engineering and politics are interconnected because policies affect everyone. Since my summer internship was through the government, I was indirectly paid with taxpayer money, so policies are surrounding my work as an engineer. I also think it’s important to be educated about politics and understand what’s happening behind the scenes and how things work. Why are they working? Why aren’t they working? Having an engineering perspective is incredibly important to the political sphere.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What impact did your interest in politics and civic involvement have on your choice of a college?\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I would say that it did impact where I chose to apply and where I chose to go to college.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

West Virginia is a red state, although my hometown Wheeling is a moderate area politically. I wanted to go to college somewhere where we could have an open discussion. I know so many people whose beliefs about things are very different from mine. I\u2019ve learned that more than one thing can be true and that we can come to an understanding. So that’s a significant reason why I chose to come to Hopkins; I felt like the culture here promotes open discussion amongst peers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you plan to stay active in politics during your time here at Hopkins?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

While enrolled, my priority is my own education and preparing for my future, but I want to get involved in some groups on campus. I went to the debate party that was hosted by Hopkins Votes and attended volunteer training for them. I am already involved in politics because I’m here, at Hopkins, and I vote. I think being a part of the process is valuable.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What excites you most as you head into your freshman year?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Generally, I’m just excited to meet so many people. I grew up in a smaller area and I’m excited to make friends and get to know professors and other members of the community. I\u2019m looking forward to having fun in Baltimore!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-47277","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-student-experience"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nQ&A with MatSci Freshman and DNC Delegate, Kathryn Prather - Department of Materials Science & Engineering<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/materials\/news\/qa-with-matsci-freshman-and-dnc-delegate-kathryn-prather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Q&A with MatSci Freshman and DNC Delegate, Kathryn Prather - Department of Materials Science & Engineering\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kathryn Prather was only a few weeks into her freshman year when she found herself making headlines as West Virginia\u2019s youngest delegate at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) held…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/materials\/news\/qa-with-matsci-freshman-and-dnc-delegate-kathryn-prather\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Materials Science & Engineering\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Q&A with MatSci Freshman and DNC Delegate, Kathryn Prather - 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