26 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM her professional golfer cousins took to the green and her sister sank baskets at Seattle University. Katie’s persistence paid off, earning her a spot on the basketball team at California State University, Northridge. Though she didn’t know it at the time, Katie was the first female amputee to compete at the NCAA Division I level. “I just want to be treated like everyone else,” she says with a shrug. Looking back, the professional athlete notes, “College basketball was … a lot.” Katie makes an expression somewhere between a grin and a {punchline} that time of my life.” That doesn’t mean sitting volleyball didn’t take some getting used to. Accustomed to toughlove coaching, Katie didn’t know what to make of all the positive reinforcement. During basketball practices, “We would miss a shot and we’d run … you’d be half effort and we’d run. I am haunted by the word baseline.” Volleyball on the other hand? “It’s like, ‘Out of those 10 balls, you did eight well. What did you do right?’” she describes with a chuckle. “That was hard to get used to!” But adjust she did. Five Paralympic games later, Katie is at the pinnacle of her sport. “In the first part of my career, we were chasing down gold and we were the underdogs. I’ve always been an underdog, so I feel like that’s a really good place for me to be mentally,” she notes. After winning silver medals at both grimace. “I’m very proud of playing at the D1 level, but also, every day, hated it.” She pulled through thanks to daily calls to her family. “I also walked away with lifelong friendships and knowing how much I could withstand,” she reflects. It was also at Northridge where Katie fell in love with an entirely different sport involving a court and a net. The U.S. sitting volleyball team only spent a brief stint training on Katie’s college campus, but it was just long enough for her to get hooked. “It found me,” Katie says of Paralympic sports. “There were women like myself who were amputees who loved exactly who they were … it transformed my life.” Thoughtfully, she adds that it happened at just the right moment. “I was very moldable in PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE / KATIE HOLLOWAY BRIDGE {punchline}
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