My
name is Katherine Suzanne Maria Bittner, born of Norbert and Barbara on August
6th, 1991. I am the eldest of six siblings and was baptized and
raised Roman Catholic since infancy. My closest sibling is my sister, Rachael,
followed by four younger brothers; Nathan, Daniel, Matthew and Peter. Since I
was old enough to do so I have helped my mother, a Pediatrician, to care for
and raise my younger siblings, especially when she went back to work during my
high-school years. This responsibility created in me a great seriousness and
sense of accountability for younger children and gave me the skills I needed to
care for my siblings. It also gave me a good work-ethic and prompted me to
enter the work force at a young age.
My education has shaped my
intellectual and emotional development profoundly. I went to St. Mark’s
Catholic Grade school from first to fifth grade and was home-schooled during
sixth grade due to bullying problems. At seventh grade I enrolled at Trinity
School at River Ridge, a two-time Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence school, and
my experiences at Trinity have shaped what I believe the ideal curriculum and
musical program should be in high school.
I took piano for seven years in
grade school, was involved in dance and gymnastics in middle school and played
volleyball in junior high and high school. I took recorder in seventh and
eighth grade and it has remained a personal passion of mine ever since. In high
school I was involved in art, drama, Latin club, speech club, Chamber Choir and
Concert Chorale and took voice lessons from David Jorlett. I participated in
the state music competitions and received one excellence rating and three
superior ratings. I also participated in the National Right to Life Oratory
Contest and took first place at the regional level and fifth place at the state
level. In college I have been involved in Concert Chorale, Concert Band, swing
dance, art competitions, ministry, Jam for the Lamb, tutoring, and was named
President of Chamber Singers in the fall of 2012.
Almost all of my work experiences
have been involved with caring for and serving others. My first formal job at
fifteen was as a junior counselor at Servant Camp, a church camp in Minnesota
where I helped care for the youngest group of children at the camp. In 2007 at
sixteen I took a long-term position as a dining and activity aid at Minnesota
Masonic homes. That summer I also served as a PCA for a young woman with
Downs-Syndrome and helped take care of her, received her at home from her summer
classes, and fed her. After coming to Benedictine I took a summer position in
2011 at Interlochen Arts Acadamy as a counselor and lifeguard. I served St.
Mark’s Lutheran church in Atchison as its choir director for the spring
semester of 2012 and that summer I served as a cook at Prairie Star Ranch of
the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. Since the fall of 2011 I have served at
Benedictine College as a music tutor and as a life-guard.
My interactions with children have
taken place all around the United States. In Minnesota my work as a junior
counselor, a mentor at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, and as a PCA all concerned
children. In Kansas I have observed at Atchison High school, the Middle school,
the Alternative High school, the Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Atchison, Atchison
Catholic Elementary and the children in the choir at St. Mark’s Lutheran as
well as when I served as a cook at Prairie Star Ranch. In Missouri I have
observed at West Platte Elementary. In Columbus Ohio I have also observed at
St. Mary’s Catholic Grade School, St. Francis de Salles High School, Our Lady
of Peace Catholic School and Immaculate Conception.
As a person, I am an incurably
artistic character who finds no greater satisfaction in life than in the
creation and admiration of beauty. Since early childhood I have been involved
in music, art, drama, sewing, pottery and every form of art known to
civilization. My philosophy of life may be summed up as a search for beauty,
pure and endless beauty. My faith is an integral part of my self-concept; so
much so that neither can I remember a time without belief nor imagine a future
without it. It shapes how I think, what I do and how I do it. Differences of opinion
and world-view, however, are not hard at all for me to accept and work with;
indeed I relish the opportunity and have had much experience working with
diversity at Minnesota Masonic homes and at Interlochen Arts Acadamy. I
consider music and teaching to be vocations to which I am called. I intend to
devote my life to teaching music to people of all ages.
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