Senior Spotlight: Katherine “Kat” Mulgrew Takes Debate To State

by | Aug 2024

Katherine “Kat” Mulgrew

Photo: Chris Emeott

The Class of 2025 is full of dedication, leadership and creativity.

This article originally appeared as part of the story Senior Spotlight in the August 2024 issue. Read the profiles of other inspiring Edina seniors here: Anoushka Jha, Natalie Mosakowski, Vihaan Shah, Drew Dillon, Audrey Castro, George Rerat

Katherine “Kat” Mulgrew, 17

Benilde-St. Margaret’s (BSM) Kat Mulgrew hasn’t always had an easy time in school. “I have ADHD and dyslexia, and school was challenging when I was younger,” Kat says. “It has been an uphill battle to get better grades. I have had to learn how to study effectively and create strategies that work for my brain, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. It wasn’t the most enjoyable journey, but I think I’m a stronger person for it.” That determination, dedication and drive helped her place at the state competition for public forum debate. “I feel like it encapsulates how much I’ve grown as a debater and the growth of our whole team,” she says. She joined the debate team in 7th grade. “I haven’t had a free weekend since.” She and her debate partner, Audrey Howell, were co-captains and spent countless hours working on cases, re-writing arguments and gathering research. “Making it to State has been especially rewarding for me because our team is on the smaller side, and we’ve had to compensate for having fewer resources,” she says. “When we were preparing for State, the team was just Audrey, our coach and me, but we were still able to compete against much larger teams. It really feels like our success is something we did almost entirely on our own.”

Activities
  • Debate team, co-captain
  • Speech team, co-captain
  • Model UN, member
  • Mock Trial JV team, member
  • Red Knight Volunteer Corp
  • Theater crew
  • Sustainability Club
  • Latino Student Council, junior representative
  • Boy Scouts of America, Life Rank
  • Boy Scout National Youth Training Camp – Grey Wolf Senior Leader – Scribe Role
  • Awards and Achievements
  • National History Honor Society
  • National Honor Society
  • Highest Honor Roll
  • Tenacious Engineering Award
  • Gold Award for Outstanding Leadership in Scouting
  • CompliMINT Award, Model UN 2023
  • MVP Debate Award 2023
  • Coaches Choice Debate Award 2024
  • Placed 16th at MN State Debate Tournament 2024
  • Qualified for National Individual Event Tournament of Champions 2023 and 2024

Edina Magazine extends its appreciate to the team at Mr. Paul’s Supper Club for its use of the restaurant as a backdrop for our Senior Spotlight feature photo shoot. Mr. Paul’s Supper Club, 3917 Market St.; 612.259.8614; Instagram: @mrpaulssupperclub

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