It’s been a little over a year since I met junior Katie Mencke. I wasn’t sure about her at first. My dry sarcasm didn’t seem to really mesh with her energetic, loud personality. However, as time wore on it became evident that while Mencke may be loud, she was the best support system you could have. She was the type of person to show up at your front door with a handful of cupcakes whether or not it was a good day, with a smile on her face. She’s the kind of person who will make every moment with you seem like it’s the best part of her day. It’s been a blast knowing her and she’s really proven that you can make it through anything if you just put your mind to it (and have some cupcakes on the side). As it turns out, she can be sarcastic too. Read on for more fun information on Mencke!
A Seminole through and through
Major: Early Childhood Education
Year: Junior
Graduating: May of 2015
Single or taken: Single
Birth Sign: I was born in October and am a Libra! Funny, because I never feel as if my life is completely balanced out :)
Her Campus (HC): Are you superstitious at all? If so, about what?
Katie Mencke (KM): I am not the most superstitious, but a weird thing my mother has said I have always done is if I did not eat the birthday cake at a party, I always thought the birthday person would have a bad year. Also, I can’t pop the champagne bottle first, because then someone is bound to get hurt.
HC: What would be your dream date?
KM: Honestly, to have a man bring me a stuffed crust pizza in the middle of my favorite baseball field, Fenway Park in Boston. It would also be great to have a foot rub. Being an almost teacher, I’ll take what I can get.
HC: What would you like to do when you graduate?
KM: Since the first grade I have wanted to move to Boston and become a teacher!
HC: What is you favorite FSU memory?
KM: Standing in the Rose Bowl, watching the Seminoles win the National Championship with all of the Nole fans in California!
HC: What’s the best place you’ve ever traveled to?
KM: It was never the destination, but the journey. A few of my sorority sisters and I traveled to California for the BCS Championship Game, and drove cross-country. Beignets in New Orleans, Tex-Mex in Texas, Green Chiles in New Mexico, slots in Vegas, and so many state line pictures! Not to mention, the Hollywood Sign and a Championship win topped it off amazingly!
HC: What organizations are you involved with?
KM: My sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi, has taken up most of my time on campus due to being the philanthropy chair. I am always doing my best to participate in other organization’s events and supporting the FSU community as much as I can.
HC: What’s it like being in a sorority?
KM: Being in a sorority has shown me that I can rely on any of my sisters at all hours of the day. We are the founding sisters of AOII at FSU and have progressed so much in the last year. I would have never imagined having so many great people in my life so late in my FSU years.
HC: Who do you look up to?
KM: My mother, as cliché as that sounds, is the person I look up to the most. It was always both of my parents, but after my father passed, my mom is the one who hugged me at all hours, called me when I needed it, and wiped my tears away when I felt as if I just couldn’t get through school, or get over a heartache. She works 2 jobs, supports 4 children and takes care of everyone in her life more than I could ever imagine. She’s my role model, even if I don’t tell her enough.
Mencke relays for her father.
HC: You’re involved pretty heavily with Relay for Life, tell me about that. Why do you do it? What is it like?
KM: Relay for life is a 12-hour event this year going from 6 pm-6 am. It is an event we participate in to celebrate those who have passed, those who are fighting, and those who have won the fight. Relay-ers are welcome to stay all night, walk laps, participate in games/activities, and support other organizations relaying. We stay the entire night to experience what it is like for a cancer patient going through the grueling process of cancer. We start the night rejuvenated like a cancer patient is at the beginning; as the night goes on, our spirits are waning, just as a patient feels as chemo is causing them to slow and feel like they can’t make it. BUT, as the night goes on, you always have a fellow relay-er to be there to help you through it. As 6 am approaches, everyone feels so happy and excited to be able to make it through the night, just as a cancer survivor feels when they have won the fight! Relay is near and dear to my heart after I lost my father to terminal lung cancer my junior year of high school. My dad would take me to school every day, would help me with my homework, and would tuck me into bed, even when I told him I was too old. He treated me like a princess and apologized so many times that he had to leave me forever. My dad was and still is the strongest person I have ever met. I hope other girls understand that your parents, no matter how much they may get in our business and on our nerves, are the forces that always remind us who we really are.