Cate Boyette reclaims love of learning at Centre

At 16 years old, Cate Boyette, class of 2028, faced an epilepsy diagnosis that challenged her educational path. Seizures, chronic migraines and long stretches spent homebound made school nearly impossible — even requiring her to repeat her junior year.

These experiences ultimately deepened her appreciation for education, classmates and teachers. 

“I really craved classroom time because I love learning, but I was physically incapable of doing it for a long time,” Boyette said.

During her senior year of high school, Boyette found a treatment plan that made attending college possible. She hadn’t expected to attend school outside her home state of North Carolina or choose a small college, but her visit to Centre changed everything.

“When I toured Centre, it just felt like home,” she said. “I really like the community aspect, especially because I have a chronic illness, and I knew I needed people who could look out for me and have professors who know my name. I wanted to feel like I’m more than a number.”

Once on campus, Boyette discovered an academic environment where she could thrive. Personal attention from faculty and flexible accommodations allowed her to fully re-engage in the classroom — something she once feared might never be possible.

Participating in Centre’s rigorous academics has been a welcome challenge, giving her the chance to explore new subjects and uncover a wide range of interests.

“The coursework here is challenging but manageable at the same time,” she said. “I’ve never felt overworked, but I have definitely been pushed to explore what I want to do. I didn’t realize how many things I was interested in until I started taking the variety of courses that Centre offers.” 

Encouragement from faculty and an exploratory mindset led Boyette to pursue creating her own major in museum studies. Her passion for history, education and research has also grown through her work with the Boyle County Public Library’s Story Center.

Created to preserve and share local stories throughout time, the Story Center collects, digitizes and makes Boyle County’s history accessible through exhibitions, programming and other digital initiatives.

“I love working with the Story Center,” Boyette said. “Figuring out what I wanted to do and be involved in was huge for me. Public history initiatives like preservation, presenting it and sharing it with others is what I want to do. It’s been great career-wise but also has given me a great community.”

Community service has always been important to Boyette, and Centre helped her reconnect with that passion. Through the Office of Civic and Community Engagement, she served as a CentreEngage Ambassador her first year and helped coordinate fundraising for communities affected by flooding.

Those connections eventually led her to officially join the Bonner Program at the start of the 2025-26 school year — an opportunity that expanded both her support network and her understanding of public service.

“Community service is a really important part of my life, and I think Centre has helped me both rediscover that and really pursue it,” Boyette said. “I’ve really enjoyed it and being able to feel like a Kentuckian through working within Boyle County and learning more about the community.”

Her community service has strengthened these bonds and allowed her to continue exploring a topic very close to her heart: public education policy. Coming from a family of educators and administrators, she knows North Carolina’s policies well. Her time at Centre has presented a plethora of opportunities to explore Kentucky’s systems.  

Along with researching Kentucky education policies in her classes, she also attended the Smithsonian National Youth Summit at the Kentucky Historical Society with Marlene & David Grissom Associate Professor of Education Ellen Prusinski.

“It was a perfect combination of things I’m interested in because I’m really passionate about education policy and that was the theme of this year’s event,” Boyette said. She connected with Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman ’04 at the summit and asked questions about Kentucky’s public education policy.

Boyette plans to attend graduate school after Centre to pursue a master’s degree in museum education or a public policy track. She hopes to increase accessibility to quality public education for future generations, keeping her own experiences and growth at the forefront of her mind. 

“Education and knowledge are such an important way to grow as a person. You develop both interpersonal skills and learn more about the world around you,” she said. “Education is such a pivotal part of life.”