Katie Kilnes’ Story Map

I have been fortune enough in my life to have an extremely unique and global upbringing, and I believe that this is a large contributor to who I am.

Being raised in Nassau, Bahamas was a child’s dream: PE lessons consisted of running to the beach for a swim, we played ‘capture the coconut’ instead of ‘capture the flag’ and school was closed if it ever went below 55 degrees. Although I don’t consider myself to be a Bahamian, the Bahamas will always be my home and where my roots were formed.

From the age of twelve I attended boarding school in Auckland, New Zealand hundreds of thousands of miles away from sunny Bahamas. I was completely alone and knew no one in the hemisphere let alone the country. The experience was frightening and thrilling at times but these three years were the most formative of my life. Needless to say, I quickly gained independence and developed a global perspective.

After thousands of frequent flyer miles and countless long distance phone calls home, it was time to move a little closer to home. This led me to attend the prestigious Hotchkiss School. Hotchkiss was a huge academic wake up call, and pushed me further than I ever thought was possible. I am eternally grateful that I was able to have this experience at a school where immense talent and knowledge was everywhere and anything was possible.

All three of these experiences have played a large part in getting me to where I am now and to who I am. I am so grateful that I have been able to have these unique experiences.