LIFESTYLE
r
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 30, 2016
Kl
Former cross country
star becomes high
school chaplain
Lilly Blomquist
Contributor
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With long strides and a
determination to succeed, Katie
O’Dunne Kilpatrick ’12 bolted
through the grassy fields of North
Carolina during her first cross
country race at Elon University
in 2008.
Her positive attitude and pas
sion for running propelled her
onward, but the more distance
she covered, the more she felt
an excruciating pain develop in
her foot. Upon crossing the finish
line, Kilpatrick struggled to walk.
Much to her dismay, she discov
ered that a stress fracture was
responsible for the pain.
As someone whose college
career was supposed to revolve
around running, Kilpatrick was
devastated.
“I had put absolutely everything
into running,” Kilpatrick said. “It
was all I cared about at that point. I
literally thought my life was over.”
said. “I have been a part of the
church and service my whole life,
and that is really where I felt the
most joy, and it was this incident
that made me think I should really
pursue this.”
Even though Kilpatrick once
regarded this stress fracture as an
unfortunate event that stalled her
running career, she soon viewed it
as a blessing in disguise.
And through it, she found her
call to ministry.
Following a calling
Today, the Rev. Katie
Kilpatrick has been the acade
my chaplain and comparative
religions teacher at Woodward
Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, for
two years.
Kilpatrick teaches, provides
pastoral care and promotes the
religious studies program to the
2,800 students at the school.
As a comparative religions
teacher for the Upper School of
the academy, Kilpatrick teach
es four different sections of the
course throughout the semester.
In this class, students choose
a specific topic of interest and
explore that topic across different
religious traditions.
THE OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY DIFFERENT
TRADITIDNS UNDER THE BEST PRDFESSORS I’VE
EVER HAD MADE ME REAEEY PASSIONATE ABOUT
INTERFAITH WORK. IT WAS EEON AND REEIGIOUS
STUDIES THAT MADE ME REAEIZEI AM PASSIONATE
ABOUTTHECHURCH,
REV. KATIE KILPATRICK
RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND HUMAN SERVICES '12
Despite this standstill, she
refused to let a stress fracture
prevent her from getting involved
at Elon. So, she decided to explore
other interests, such as her faith.
Local community church mem
bers heard about Kilpatrick’s run
ning impediment and asked her to
preach about that struggle to the
congregation.
“It was when I was preaching
about that experience that some
thing really clicked for me,” she
Kilpatrick expressed her joy
that the students have already
begun to grasp the learning objec
tive for this course.
“My students at Woodward all
really love each other and try to
understand and respect the tradi
tions of one another,” Kilpatrick
said. “It gives me a lot of hope for
our world.”
Kilpatrick also works to expand
Woodward’s religious program,
which she helped initiate.
She visits the Primary and
Lower schools to discuss empathy
and understanding, teach religious
traditions for an interfaith club for
the Middle School and conduct
interfaith prayer services with the
Upper School.
Peggy McNash, academic dean
of the Upper School at Woodward
Academy, said Kilpatrick has made
a significant contribution to the
school through her new and excit
ing initiatives.
“She has lots of great ideas and
relates very well to the students,”
McNash said. “The interfaith
prayer group fulfills a great need
among the students and staff.”
In addition to being so involved,
Kilpatrick has a wholehearted love
for the students at Woodward and
her ministry work.
“I love what Tm doing so much,
I am so passionate about these kids
and everything here,” Kilpatrick
said. “I just love Woodward.”
Learning from her roots
Before working at Woodward,
Kilpatrick attended Elon where she
obtained a bachelor’s degree in
religious studies and human ser
vices and graduated with a GPA
of 3.98.
Though Kilpatrick said her
call to ministry was clear after
her preaching experience, she was
uncertain about what that call
would entail after graduation. But
with her Elon professors’ guidance,
she was reassured.
“The opportunity to study dif
ferent traditions under the best
professors I’ve ever had made me
really passionate about interfaith
work,” Kilpatrick said. “It was
Elon and religious studies that
made me realize I am passionate
about the church.”
She said these Elon professors
offered her opportunities and
internships that enhanced her faith
and confirmed her decision to pur
sue ministry work.
One of Kilpatrick’s most
prominent mentors, Jeffrey
Pugh, professor of religious stud
ies, largely shaped her outlook on
religious traditions.
“[Kilpatrick] was always one of
the leaders of the discussion and
was always respectful of others’
opinions,” Pugh said.
To this day, Kilpatrick said she
quotes Pugh to her students at
Woodward.
With her professors’ advice and
leadership, Kilpatrick received a
full scholarship to the Candler
School of Theology at Emory
University.
Running with religion
In the midst of her studies and
after recovering from her stress
fracture and other various inju
ries, Kilpatrick continued to run
on the cross country team all four
years at Elon. On the team, she
won academic awards as a student
athlete and was selected to be the
team captain her senior year.
Former cross country coach
Christine Engel and teammate
Christine Pacewicz ’13 said
Kilpatrick made a commitment
to improving, had supportive
interactions with her teammates,
was enthusiastic at practice and
had a cheerful disposition. They
said Kilpatrick epitomized the
ideal student athlete that they all
strived to be.
“She was always the one we
turned to for support no matter
what,” Pacewicz said. “She kept the
team upbeat.”
“When she was at practice,
she was present and excited to be
there,” Engel said. “That mental
ity definitely rubbed off on her
teammates. As a coach, having
someone like that on the team
was just amazing.”
With a natural ability to run,
Kilpatrick said she utilized her tal
ent to further her relationship with
God. Running brought her peace
and clarity, an ideal environment
to facilitate her faith.
“Running became a spiritual
place for me,” she said. “Being able
to go out and run was a place that I
could talk to God.”
Today, she still pursues her
love for running as a triathlete
who competes with the United
States’ team.
From all she has learned about
respecting others’ differences as
an athlete, student, intern and
chaplain, Kilpatrick hopes future
generations will likewise learn to
embrace individuality and strive
for global change.
“My hope for the future is that
we can all live alongside each other
in true appreciation for the beau
tiful distinctions that we have,”
Kilpatrick said.