Photo: (MTV)
On last night's season finale of "BUCKWILD," Katie might have gotten served by not-so-truthful Tyler (After he met her mom!!!) but it didn't make her heart any smaller.
With Valentine's Day 'round the corner, we'll be introducing you to the sweeter side of the "BUCKWILD" girls. Last week, we talked to Cara, yesterday we got the lowdown from Anna and in this installment, get to know Katie a little bit better! 'Cause she's def more than just a cute face.
Katie had an easy course load at college last semester, so she used it as an opportunity to give back to the community. Getting involved with the West Virginia University's Office of Disability Services was especially personal to her because some members of her family have disabilities.
Continuing her education is waaay important to Katie, and she's totally aware that fame can be fleeting. "Although I do have this wonderful opportunity to be on a show with MTV, it's really important to me to finish my education and graduate to make my parents proud. Also, this is only going to last so long," she explained to us. Read on below to learn more about Katie, plus she shares a HILAR story about what happened to her on campus once the show started airing!
Photo: Katie pondering one thing or another! (MTV)
ACT: What makes you want to take action and give back to your community?
KATIE: I took a pretty easy course load last semester, and it just seemed like the right thing to do, to help others. I always really liked volunteering when I was younger. My mom and I would go to the local animal shelter and donate stuff and take the dogs for walks. It's just a good thing to do, to give back.
ACT: Tell us about West Virginia University's Office of Disability. Why that cause?
KATIE: It's basically a program at WVU that helps people with disabilities, whether it's a learning disability, it's a physical disability, it's temporary, or permanent. I did public relations work for them. I volunteered, making flyers and PSAs, basically spreading the word around because a lot of people on campus, especially with learning disabilities, might not be aware they have one. They just think that they can't keep up with the other students and stuff like that. So we offer testing and other services.
There are a couple people in my family that struggle with disabilities. My dad's actually legally blind. When I saw there was an opportunity to work with them, I grabbed it because it's a cause that's really important to me.
ACT: How do you convince friends and other young people to participate in volunteer activities?
KATIE: I have a great group of friends. We do like giving back to the community. Shae actually asked me to volunteer with her over the summer for a military wall they were building. It's not hard. Everybody wants to help and give back. You just have to ask them. Nobody's going to put up a fight about it.
Photo: Anna and Katie having fun in a convenience store. (MTV)
ACT: Why was it important for you to continue your education at WVU?
KATIE: It's very important to me to have an education. My mom and dad both were the first people in their family to get a college education. They've instilled in me and my sisters that it's really important. So although I do have this wonderful opportunity to be on a show with MTV, it's really important to me to finish my education and graduate to make my parents proud. Also, this is only going to last so long. It's important to me to have an education.
ACT: What's the response been to you being on the show?
KATIE: On campus? It's really funny because I'll walk around on campus and no one will recognize me, no one even looks at me. But then I'll look on Twitter and people will be like, "I just saw Katie at the student union." Or something like that. The other day in class I was sitting and these people were talking about some girl who had dropped out of school. They were like, "No, see on her profile. She's in college." Somebody else said, "No, I'm pretty sure she dropped out." I turned around just to see who was talking and they stopped. When I turned back around, one of the guys was like, "No, she's still here."
ACT: How do you handle the haters and negativity in general?
KATIE: Actually, I just don't read it. I know there are negative articles about the show out there, but I just haven't seen them. I don't look for them. If something is particularly bad, I know one of my friends will send it to me. And as for Tweets, I get mostly positive Tweets. I don't really look for the bad ones -- I don't read them. If something's really bad, it's something that's really personal, someone will send it to me. They have before. I've dealt with it.
ACT: What are your dating deal-breakers? Would you ever date someone who didn't volunteer?
KATIE: If they were somebody who would never volunteer and they make that apparent, that actually would be a deal-breaker. That's not cool. It's so easy to volunteer a couple hours to do something and really, really help somebody. If you don't want to do that, it kind of says something about your personality, that you're just not very nice of a person. But if it's someone who hasn't volunteered before because they haven't had the opportunity, then I don't think it's a big deal.
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