The Women’s Fund Honors Wiatrak ’18 at Smart Party 6.0

Springs senior Katie Wiatrak ’18 was one of 11 local women recognized by The Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham at Smart Party 6.0, the organization's annual fundraiser that celebrates some of Birmingham’s most innovative and accomplished women while raising money to open doors for other women to succeed.

 

The 2017 Smart Honorees represented sectors including medicine, law, publishing, and nonprofit. Wiatrak, the first recipient to be honored in the new “Next Generation” category for current students (high school or college), was chosen for her efforts to promote gender equality at Indian Springs and beyond.

 

Alongside Springs’ first female head of school, Dr. Sharon Howell, and classmate Delaney Porter ’18, Wiatrak founded Indian Springs’ Gender Equality Club in 2016 in an effort to highlight the importance of equal rights and opportunities for all, regardless of gender. In less than a year, the club, which hosts movie screenings, after-school discussions, and fundraisers to highlight gender equality issues, has grown into the school’s largest student-run club, with more than 70 members.

 

The only female volunteer in the emergency room at Children’s Hospital of Alabama, Wiatrak hopes to join the next generation of women in medicine. Over the summer, she completed a four-week medical course at the University of Oxford through Oxford Summer Courses as a 2017 Andy Abroms Memorial Scholar.

 

At Springs, she is a founding member of Springs’ Girls Golf team and an officer for the Treble Chorus. She also participates in Springs’ Contemporary Music Ensemble program, teaches at her synagogue, and volunteers with Anytown Alabama and Peace Birmingham. 

 

“This is such an honor,“ says Wiatrak. “The Gender Equality Club has become a central part of my life, and I hope that through the club and my other interests, I can inspire other women to pursue their dreams and raise their voices.”