Katie Mraz '09
Hometown: Apple Valley, Minnesota
Major: Psychology
What are your extracurricular interests?
Senate, Mortar Board, Up Til Dawn, National Residence Hall Honorary, Environmental Club
Why did you choose Coe?
Coe felt like a great place to continue to expand my horizons and challenge myself. Any school that offers non-major scholarships is one that wants to encourage their students to stay multifaceted, and I like that.
What do you like best about Coe?
The community really is what makes Coe stand out to me. It's a great place to try new things because the support group is awesome.
What do you do for fun on the weekends?
There are always campus-sponsored opportunities going on, so I'm always going to either a band or a sports event or something. Then, since we're a residential campus, people are always around to just do the typical hanging out. It's a dynamic and comforting atmosphere.
What is your favorite class and why?
I absolutely loved my Honors Composition course because it challenged me as a writer and helped me define my writing voice. We write so much in college and it was nice to have a class entirely dedicated to fine-tuning that practice.
What has been your favorite memory at Coe?
This year, my first-year seminar team during Orientation Week almost won the Dragonboat Races. It was SUCH an exciting and intense day...we had so much fun!
Who is your favorite professor?
It's tough to narrow it down to my favorite Coe professor because I've developed so many meaningful academic relationships in my two and half years here. Even so, I would have to say that Edmond Burke is my current favorite professor. He is just so engaging in the classroom; when a professor is passionate about the subject he is presenting he can't hide it, and that seems to be the case with Burke. It's contagious.
How was your transition from high school to Coe?
Smooth. My high school drilled into my brain the notion of getting involved, and so I did just that when I got here; that helped me find comfort quickly.
What do you like most about Cedar Rapids?
There are so many resources. I like have the choice of going to one of three movie theaters and given night, studying at any number of coffeeshops, seeing a show at at least four performance halls. Not to mention it's a great city to have a small college in because it does offer students some degree of independence when they want to go off exploring on their own, but it's not so big that a person could get lost very easily.
