General | 10/24/2019 10:00:00 AM
After two years at Corning Community College, two-sport star Catie Moore transferred to Houghton in the fall of 2017, but a knee injury limited the contributions she made on the field and court during her first year at Houghton.
She joined the softball team for the 2018-19 season and quickly became a key team leader even in limited on-field action. On the tennis court she found her way into the top-6 last year, winning five singles matches (4-2 E8) and five doubles contests (3-3 E8). That doubles record improved to a perfect 6-0 in E8 play (8-5 overall) this fall as Moore helped guide the Highlanders to the Empire 8 Tournament for the second time in program history.
Despite a hectic two-sport schedule and various community service activities, Moore has also made an impact in the classroom as a biology major. Her summer research experience this past summer has paved the way for her acceptance to a PhD program in biological sciences after she graduates in December.
Catie Moore - Tomorrow's Leader
Major: Biology
Minor(s): Psychology
GPA: 3.56
Class Year: Senior
Anticipated Graduation Date: December, 2019
Favorite Professional Team: New York Yankees
Favorite Professional Athlete: Aaron Judge
Various Academic Honors/Academic or Athletic Clubs: I’ve played both intramural kickball, and intramural volleyball during my time at Houghton, and I’ve also been involved with the prehealth professions club on campus.
Community Service Projects: About 15 minutes off campus in Centerville I met this great lady named Ms. Madelynne, who lives entirely off the electrical grid and heats her home and cooks her food entirely with wood fire. In the spring of 2019, I found out that Ms. Madelynne had injured herself bringing her wood inside and was struggling to keep warm in the frigid temperatures, and that she has no family to help her out. I went up to meet Ms. Madelynne and helped her move wood myself. After getting to know her a little more, I rallied both the Houghton softball and tennis teams to go with me. We were able to work as teams to move her wood inside and make sure that her house was nice and warm for the duration of the winter! Additionally, I’ve been active in my local high school since graduating, volunteering my time to accompany the school’s choir ensembles on the piano.
Plans After Graduation: I plan to attending graduate school in pursuit of my PhD in biological sciences with a concentration in stem cells/genetics/molecular biology.
What Do You See Yourself Doing in 5 Years: I see myself finishing up my research project and working towards defending my thesis.
What is Your Ultimate Professional Goal: Hopefully I will have completed my PhD, and will be supervising my very own lab, or working as a post-doc. My heart is very much in medicinal research. I want to be a member of the groups working to further medical technologies and helping to save lives through research and development of clinical treatments. I also hope to have started a family of my own and settled down at that point in my life.
Any Interesting or Exciting Internships You Have Done or Are Currently Working On: This past summer, I spent six weeks in Windsor, Ontario, Canada working with my teammate Caitlyn Cybart under Houghton College’s Summer Research Institute in conjunction with the University of Windsor. We worked with THP1 cells, exploring cell culture methods, and experimenting with their transfection capabilities. We also learned a lot about stem cells and their capability to eradicate many of the animal models being used in morphology, and toxicology testing in the world today. The University of Windsor has launched a new program called the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods [CCAAM], that is entirely devoted to stem cell research, including organoid technology, and bioprinting.
I have also spent the past few summers working as a marketing intern at Empire Access in Prattsburgh, NY. Although this is outside of my specific field of study, this internship has provided me with the opportunity to learn more about the world of business and how it functions, while also learning professional communication skills that will be vital to my success in the future. I also became very skilled at designing both T-shirts and advertisements!
How Has Playing Collegiately and in the Empire 8 Prepared You For Life After College: Playing Tennis and Softball at the collegiate level in the Empire 8 has truly prepared me for life outside of college in ways that I never would’ve imagined. I’ve learned how to be a good teammate, working cooperatively to achieve a common goal. I have also learned the significance of being dedicated to your team, team goals, and to your own personal goals, in addition to being humble, and the importance of hard work. These are all qualities that will prove beneficial to any career I might find myself in later and will serve me well in my everyday life as well.
Favorite Athletic Memory from Your Time in College: My favorite athletic memory from my time in college was in the Fall of 2018. The tennis team had an away match at Sage, and after stopping to eat at Chipotle on our way there, our bus promptly broke down. It was already 8 p.m. and we had to wait two hours for a new bus to come and pick us up. You would think that everyone would be in a bad mood, but the team made the absolute best of the situation! We played tons of games, played with Rosella (coach’s one year-old daughter), ventured to explore the Target across the road, and really got to know our teammates on a more personal level.
Biggest On-Campus Mentor: Biology professor Dr. Rebecca Williams, and both of my coaches, Tennis Coach Tonya McGraner and Softball Coach Katie Sinclair.
What Have You Learned About Yourself from Freshman to Senior Year: I’ve learned that it’s okay to make myself the top priority sometimes, that it’s okay to say, “no,” and that I can truly accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I’ve also learned the importance of having a community of true friends, great coaches, awesome teammates, and dedicated professors behind me, pushing me every step of the way to become the best version of myself.
What Type of Leader Are You: I am definitely someone who leads by example. Words can only go so far when it comes to leadership. I am not the type of leader who drags everyone along from the front, instead, I’m someone who comes up behind my teammates and says, “let’s do this together.”
One Thing Most People Do Not Know About You: I can solve a Rubix Cube in two minutes!
Advice for Freshmen Teammates or Student-Athletes: My advice for my teammates and other student-athletes is to make the most of your time as a student athlete and revel in every moment. I know it gets said a lot, but eight semesters flies by a lot faster than anyone realizes… take the time to get to know each one of your teammates, go on adventures, make a difference in your communities, encourage and build up one another, and support each other in the difficult times. You only get to experience college once, make the most of it! Don’t get so laser focused on the end goals of getting that 4.0, graduating with honors, and building a successful career, that you don’t enjoy the adventure that brought you to that point.
The Empire 8 Conference's “Tomorrow’s Leaders Compete Here” Series features a student-athlete from one of its member institutions who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram