Katie Washington 2010 Notre Dame Valedictorian Poem by Luke Easter

What is in a university with a prestigious Catholic name?
Whoa! Quite a bit of you are speaking about Notre Dame,
A football powerhouse with academics not to be undone,
And this year the valedictorian is Miss Katie Washington.

Ah what’s so special? Colleges’ graduate a brain every year,
Yeah, however this is a never before occurrence do you hear?
It’s that this time numeru uno is a female African American,
Next is Johns Hopkins where her medical career will begin.

Baseball is normally the big news talked about every spring,
Which one’s, Yankees or the Red Sox’s, these kind of things,
Cy Young, MVP, home run king, no hitters, will have to wait,
This accomplishment can’t be concealed behind home plate.

For 161 years this university has been awarding degrees,
Now history is being made thanks to this racial minority,
Yet, only in her race because in smarts she is at the top,
As we used to say on the farm, “the cream of the crop.”

Majoring in Biology w/a minor in Catholic Teaching 4.0 GPA,
Hailing from Gary Indiana, just a hop, skip and a jump away,
The valedictory address during Commencement exercises,
Proudly presented probably with tears in her parent’s eyes.

Daughter almost wants to follow papa William's footsteps, a Gary Ind. MD,
Almost? Only because Katie wants a joint M.D./Ph.D. what & not 3? ,
I am no where near doctor material but this diagnosis is easy to see,
She has an incurable disease, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Brother Mark is at the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee,
(The whole family’s infected) & on the verge of completing his residency,
Mother Jean & sister Terry hold the title of nurse, brother Vincent’s at BP,
This came after honorably serving his county in the, “United States Navy.”

She’s conducted lung cancer research & genetic studies,
Along with Professor David Severson her research buddy,
Co-authoring a paper plus her work for Global Health now,
On the mosquito that carries dengue & yellow fever. Wow!

Katie also directs the Notre Dame Voices of Gospel Choir,
Reminds me of a song by Jackie Wilson, “Higher & Higher, ”
Mentor/tutor at a South Bend school helping others learn,
And student coordinator of the Center for Social Concerns’.

“Lives in the Balance: Youth Violence and Society Seminar.”
Ha! She sounds more like an angel from some distant star,
Whatever galaxy it cannot be brighter than your future here,
Mucho congratulations for everything accomplished my dear.