Katy Waddell, the new Community Coordinator of 3rd North, started her NCSSM career just this month. She’s already well-adjusted to dorm life, having been a boarding student during her high school years. Her greatest goal in being a CC is to be a “dorm parent” (as she calls it) to the students of her hall, and to make a positive impact on the Morganton campus and community. I am honored to have been able to sit down with Katy and interview her.

Katy Waddell was born and raised in Acworth, Georgia — a small town right outside of Atlanta. She stayed in Acworth until high school, where she boarded at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At Baylor School, Katy excelled in lacrosse, but unfortunately sustained nine total concussions. With her unique perspective on the condition, she created a concussion rehabilitation program in virtual reality, which is now in use for Tennessee football athletes.

“I wanted to carry that [research] on at UNC, but I was a COVID freshman. So there was no research going on. The only research going on was virtual, and it was health humanities.”

Eventually, Katy went off to UNC Chapel Hill, where she was awarded the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. She originally wanted to study neuroscience, especially with her background in concussion research, but instead graduated with a BA in both Psychology and English Literature.

“[In] English, I had a medicine, literature, and culture concentration. So, I did a bunch of health humanities research, which was really interesting.”

At UNC, Katy was part of almost everything you could imagine. Not only was she a Morehead-Cain scholar, a certified EMT, and a rowing coach, but she was also involved in UNC Project-Malawi. She lived in Malawi for a brief stint, and “was a global public mental health research assistant.”

Katy is overall very interested in mental health, suicide prevention, and mitigating risks from a high stress environment like NCSSM. She hopes to contribute positively to the mental health of the students of NCSSM — whether through being a “dorm parent” or in other ways.

She enjoys a wide variety of sports, including UNC football & basketball, field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, paddle boarding, hiking, and (more recently) skiing! Additionally, she enjoys drawing and listening to music, “I do love listening to music… My music taste is kind of all over the place.”

So far, Katy has enjoyed being a CC. She found out about NCSSM through a few college friends, and had thought about working here ever since. If you see Katy, make sure to say hi, and express your love for the Tar Heels!