Katy Columna ’26

Meet Katy Columna, a graphic design major with a marketing minor from Elkhart

Katy Columna ’26, comes to Goshen College from Elkhart, Indiana. A graphic design major with a marketing minor, Katy says she finally decided to come to GC after her mom convinced her to give it a try. Her initial goal was to become more independent by moving away for college, but after an initial visit, staying overnight with a current student and attending a class, Katy was hooked.

Katy says, “GC feels right. I’m used to a small community from my highschool, and I like the close connection with my profs, and having more interaction with my classmates. I’m a bit shy so living in a dorm where I need to interact with other people is so beneficial for me. The friends I made during the community engagement day invite me to do activities with them, and I’m even trying the e-sports club! I’m planning to go to Indonesia for SST! I already speak English and Spanish, and I’ve never had to study to learn a language. It will be interesting to get to know people with another language. I’m learning a lot and moving out of my comfort zone.

I was struggling talking about emotions, but it’s a safe space here and I can open up to others and feel like I’m heard. I didn’t think I’d be able to find that anywhere. I enjoy my ICC class, learning about who I am and who others are in a deeper way. Prof Brooke Lemmon helps us get through discussions about global citizenship and civic engagement. We talked about what we thought fit into that label and came to a consensus. It was really neat because we all came from different perspectives but we came together to figure it out and were happy with the results.

Thank the donors! It’s a big factor of why I was able to come here. I’m so grateful! I really recommend GC to others – especially to my brothers!”