First year profile: Kat Cantelou

RELEASED: October 2, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—For some, searching for the perfect college can be a deliberate, carefully planned process that leads to a predictable choice. However, for first-year student Katherine Cantelou of Chattanooga, Tenn., the decision to attend Centre came quite by surprise.

“For practically my entire life I knew that I wanted to go to this one school…Even in 8th grade I told everyone that I was going to that school for college,” Cantelou says.

However, at the urging of her dad, she thought about looking at other institutions as well—which eventually led to a change of heart. “I began to rethink my desire to go to the school of my dreams…I couldn’t go there and have the college experience I wanted.”

After looking into other schools Cantelou applied for, she took notice of a postcard she received from Centre about an online series called “My Centre Life.” The web series chronicles the lives of six students as they experience their first year of college at Centre. Cantelou said when she began reading the series in January of last year, she was immediately “hooked.”

“I know that the My Centre Life stories were what made me want to come to Centre.  That may sound cheesy, but I was not initially interested in the College at all. I didn't even know that I wanted to go here until February. And so far, my Centre life has surpassed my expectations.”

Cantelou says that Season 3 “My Centre Lifers” Sam, Maureen, and Gary especially stuck out to her, but all of the entries had something she could identify with.

“Through My Centre Life I saw a school unlike any other; I saw diverse people getting along with one another. I saw interesting classes, I saw cultural opportunities. I saw people who could speak their minds and be respected while doing so. I saw a school where I felt like I would fit in, be changed and grow. I loved the fact that there were things to do on the weekend other than party.  People at Centre looked like they worked hard, but never took themselves too seriously. “

Sam Yates ’11, a Season 3 My Centre Lifer, recounts what the process of writing about his experiences meant to him: “"My Centre Life was a fantastic opportunity to not only share my first-year experience with prospective students, but it also helped ease the social transition into college.  I had five immediate friends, and several other peers and professors who knew me through the website.  What’s really rewarding is having current freshmen tell me how reading our entries helped them make their decision to attend Centre College."

Cantelou plans to create a self-designed major in religion and public relations. Although Centre offers many traditional majors, self-designed majors allow students the opportunity to customize their education to reflect their individual interests and abilities.

Season 4 of My Centre Life debuts this week with a special new feature—video. Each of the participating students has been equipped with a digital video camera to document classes, sporting events, plays, personal thoughts, residence halls, campus life…and other aspects of Centre. Audiences across the world can tune in online to scope out Centre, and who knows, perhaps discover the college of their dreams.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.