40 Under 40 Celebration

Last week was the Pittsburgh 40 Under 40 awards ceremony. In a last-minute turn of events my family decided to drive from DC to help me, Dave and my one of my best friends, Ben, celebrate.

My family

Me and Dave

Me and Ben. You may remember Ben because he surprised me when I ran MCM last year and was my crew for JFK. Ben is my favorite.

It was at the Children’s Museum, which is an amazing venue, and after the awards ceremony they hosted a party. We got to explore the museum, including the original set of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, sample food from local vendors and enjoy a bit of wine- they even had a band.

It was fun to get dressed up and spend a night out. The highlights of the night were being with my favorite people and also getting to talk to some people about i2P. When they gave me my award they said a bit about each of us- that I was a graduate student who studied adolescent substance abuse, I coached school-aged girls and that I recently got back from leading 4 young adults on a 200 km trek through the Amazon. I thought I heard a collective gasp when they said that last part (I later confirmed I did!). I forget that what I do is so unusual to most people but hearing a few hundred people sound surprised was certainly a reminder.

Now that the Amazon and 40 Under 40 are wrapped up I’m back to being my “normal” Kat self with no big exciting events planned and to be honest I like it that way. People keep asking me what’s next but to be honest I’m not sure I want to know quite yet.