Hi! My name is Katarina Elizabeth Elsner but everyone calls me Katie. I am 15 and turning 16 on February 3rd. I am a grade 10 student at the wonderful Oak Bay High School.I was born in the beautifully quaint city of Owen Sound Ontario and 4 short years later my family moved to Sudbury Ontario for the next 7 years of my life. I had just started grade 7 when my father got a job very far away in Victoria British Columbia. Since moving here I have fallen in love with the beautiful surroundings and west coast lifestyle.

I love being active and playing sports. I instantly fell in love with basketball at a very young age and I still continue to play today in and out of school. Since moving to BC I started to play rugby and I’ve started to get into rowing. I have played basketball since I was around the age of 7. I have played on amazing teams such as the junior provincial team in Ontario, club ball, regional ball and school ball. I started playing rugby in grade 8 but didn’t really fall in love with it until last year. I played on the school team and we ended up winning BCs. This year I decided to play CW and I’ve been loving it. I plan on playing for Tide this upcoming summer along with playing SVIBA (south Vancouver island basketball association). This year I decided to join the rowing team here at Oak Bay. I absolutely love to row and did really really well during the season.  The main reasons I love playing sports is because I find a passion and love for the sport but I also find people who share the same passion I have for the sport and you instantly find a friendship that lasts a long time. I’ve played tons of other sports over the course of my life such as volleyball, soccer, golf, sprint kayaking, rhythmic gymnastics, softball, track and field, synchronized swimming and figure skating.

I absolutely love to travel. I love to see new places. I would love to travel to Fiji, The Maldives, The Galapagos Islands and Antarctica. This past summer I spent the summer in Europe with my family. It was absolutely beautiful and I’d love to go back one day. We have trips planned to visit my uncle in Asia coming up! I’ve had the amazing opportunities to travel to: Florida and the Keys, Walt Disney World, New Mexico including Roswell and Santa Fe, New York State and NYC, California, Minnesota, Washington, Yellowstone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, London, France and Germany, All over the Caribbean including Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and Mexico and Hawaii. During my adventures I’ve been waterfall rappelling, paragliding, zip lining, scuba diving, surfing, snorkelling, white water rafting and rock climbing. I love to adventure around the world and discover new things. 

I adore animals, I have a dog named Deutschy he is a schnauzer mix and I absolutely love him. I’ve have an eclectic bunch of pets over the years, I have had another dog named Baron he was a boxer and he was amazing. I’ve had dozens of fish, frogs, hermit crabs and even cray fish. In my life I have had amazing opportunities with animals. Such as; swimming with sharks ,dolphins, sea lions, fish, eels,  I got to hold baby tigers and  kangaroos, monkeys, lizards, birds and probably more. I’ve even got to  ride elephants.

Finally, I want to tell you about my amazing family. I’m in a family of 5, that includes Myself, my dad Frank, My mom Sue, My older sister Haley and our dog Deutschy. My family is extremely important to me and I wouldn’t be who I am without them. I’ve had amazing opportunities because of them like meeting 2 gouverneur generals because of my dad’s work or even just simply moving here. My sister is my half sister and I never lived with her until her grad year in High school. My sister and I have a very special and different relationship than other siblings because we didn’t grow up together. When we do see each other it’s very special and full of love. My mom is my best friend and she shaped me to be who I am today. My dad is very special to me because all he cares about is my happiness. My grandma was a huge part of my life until she died in the summer of 2015 on August 3rd from cancer. I adored my grandma and love her very much. My papa is still with me and he is a huge part of life and love him so much. Although we all don’t see eye to eye all the time I couldn’t ask for a better family.

Thanks for sticking around!