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Alumni Interview with Kate Swope, AWS 2003

By Catherine Ashton, Development Director

“I feel like I learned a variety of skills – actual skills – that I still use every day,” says Kate Swope, AWS 2003, of her time as a Waldorf student. “We were never just sitting in a classroom. We were sewing and doing carpentry, and learning geometry and trigonometry in a way that was functional and useful. As a student, I felt like I could take those skills into the world, and today I use what I learned as a Waldorf student every day.

After graduating from the Austin Waldorf School, Kate attended Kalamazoo College where she studied psychology and international studies. She went on to receive her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Texas Women’s University in Houston. Today, Kate is an occupational therapist working both with St. David’s Medical Center’s inpatient rehabilitation center and Rehab Without Walls.

“Every day I am helping people literally get back on their feet, and I use what I learned as a Waldorf student to help my patients regain autonomy and independence. One day I might be quilting with an elderly patient, and the next day I might assist a construction worker get back to work and use what I know about carpentry and woodworking to bond with them. My job is to be as familiar with as many activities that can help someone heal as possible, and the breadth of my Waldorf education really helps me.”

“Waldorf offers more than just a great education,” says Kate. “Students get life experiences that aren’t offered in any other educational setting, and that prepares them for any career they might want, as well as the changing world we live in. At the Austin Waldorf School I wasn’t just taught to memorize what I learned in class. I was taught to understand.”