Catching Up With: Katie Welch

This might not be the case with exams right around the corner, summer plans yet to be nailed down and next semester still being worked out -- not to mention plans to study abroad and a search for a date and dress for a formal.

But Welch, a freshman from Winston-Salem, has a clear idea of when she needs to start concerning herself with everything from studying to dating.

First, academics. Welch said she enjoys the classes she is enrolled in -- Spanish, English, statistics, economics and a stress management class -- but is not letting them consume her every waking moment.

"I still focus on academics, I just don't make it my life," she said. Welch is more concerned with taking advantage of each of her classes for their unique qualities.

Welch's wireless English 12 class utilizes the fact that all freshmen are required to have laptops as a part of the Carolina Computing Initiative.

Students use their computers for the instant exchange of information from classmate to classmate in a classroom setting. During class draft workshops, students e-mail papers to one another and then give suggestions.

"You can readily communicate, and you're using the technology available," Welch said.

She and other students must fight to stay away from the temptation of instant communication on AOL's Instant Messenger. She tries to focus on class, not buddy lists.

Welch is definitely not being stressed out by her "awesome" stress management class. The class learns about everything from how stress patterns are formed to how to create a relaxing schedule.

"I've just learned a lot about psychology and stress," she said. "It's really laid-back, but it's exceptionally informative."

And while Welch can easily locate the life lessons she will walk away with from a class like this, she is also trying to find the same in her other classes like economics and statistics.

"I think it's more the concepts you apply to life, and that's what I think are important to learn," she said.

But Welch cannot concentrate solely on her immediate academic future because along with most students, she must also focus on her plans for this summer and next fall.

Welch said she hopes to be heading to Washington, D.C., this summer for a possible internship in politics.

"I feel like I need to go ahead and get started on this," she said. "I don't think I can dillydally around in the summer."

Next fall, Welch will forgo the walls of Granville Towers and reside in the Kappa Delta sorority house, where she will room with her sorority big sister.

And while she said no hassle-free habitat exists, Welch is looking forward to being a resident of the sorority house. "I'm sure there's not a 100 percent perfect place to live," she said. "But you can't really go wrong."

As far as academics for next fall, Welch has a thing or two to concentrate on as well.

Welch, who wants to major in political science and business, will try to get some of her business school prerequisites and more Spanish out of the way next semester because if all goes as planned, next spring she'll be surviving academia in Australia.

And even though she must zero in on and wade through the logistics of a semester abroad in the Outback before it becomes definite, Welch said she definitely wants to study abroad.

"I've never heard anything bad about going abroad, and I think I'd be selling myself short if I didn't go," she said. "I just enjoy being in new places and learning new things."

Studying overseas is not her most immediate concern. More pressing issues await here in Chapel Hill, such as finishing an English group project for Tuesday and finding a dress and a date for an upcoming formal.

But as far as the whole dating scene goes, Welch is not focusing on that either.

"Boys are great, but I don't necessarily need them at this point in my life, though," she said. "Dating is not my priority right now."

For Welch, her priorities are to devote time to her academics. She said, "I'm just trying to maintain focus, study and do well on my exams."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.