SOLON- John Hatcher remembers buying his daughter, Kaitlin, a go-cart when she was in her early teens.
Like any other kid her age, she and a friend immediately took the new toy out in the back of the family’s property to test it out. After awhile, John began to worry about the girls, who had yet to return from their ride, and went outside to check on them. Seeing no sign of Kaitlin or her friend or the go-cart, he went into the brush to find them.
John what was surprised by what he found.
Instead of catching them racing around the property, he found the two girls crouched down with a homemade science kit John had made for Kaitlin when she was younger, collecting samples of toadstools and mushrooms they planned to examine later.
“Kaitlin was always very driven and curious,” John said. “She asked a lot of questions.”
That curiosity led the Solon senior to New Zealand this past January, where she assisted two University of Iowa graduate students with their biology studies.
The trio spent three weeks collecting snail specimens from various lakes around the small, mountainous country. The snails would then be used for several projects once they returned to Iowa.
Kaitlin began interning at the University of Iowa Neiman Biology Lab the summer after her sophomore year, primarily assisting a professor who was studying the reproductive patterns of snails. That summer, Kaitlin spent countless hours meticulously separating male and female snails, helping conduct experiments, and generally providing a hand wherever she was needed.
Dr. Maurine Neiman is an evolutionary biologist with the university and was Kaitlin’s mentor that summer. Dr. Neiman was so impressed by Kaitlin’s work ethic and maturity that she offered her a paid position as lab manager, a job normally given to undergraduates or lab technicians, for the following summer.
“She proved herself to be trustworthy and smart,” Neiman said. “Having someone who’s trained, well-liked, and integrated into the lab is not a resource to take lightly.”
As lab manager, Kaitlin worked wherever and whenever she was needed in the biology lab. She continued to help out with experiments while also being responsible for ordering and organizing supplies.
It was during one of her shifts at the lab where Hatcher learned that two graduate students, Katelyn Larkin and Laura Rice Bankers, had received funding to collect snails in New Zealand for separate studies they would conduct back in Iowa.
“It’s always nice to have extra set of hands when you go on these trips,” Kaitlin said. “I talked to Maurine about the possibility and everyone said it would be amazing to go.”
Kaitlin’s parents had previously agreed to let he go on a trip her senior year of high school, but they were a little surprised when talk turned from Disney World or New York City to halfway around the world.
“At first I wasn’t sure how financing was going to work out. But I think it’s a great opportunity for her,” John said. “This trip alone will pay big dividends into her future.”
John and his wife, Pat, had always tried to create an atmosphere that encouraged learning for Kaitlin.
John recalls taking Kaitlin on many adventures when she was younger to explore the nature surrounding their home. If they saw a turtle on the side of the road, they would stop, examine it and then carry it to safety. When Kaitlin had a question about the big cattails she saw in the fields, John would let his daughter touch and observe them, always answering any questions she had.
And when she got older, John continued to encourage Kaitlin to learn. Home is a no-texting zone and video games are strictly off limits.
“I would say ‘let’s go for a walk instead.’ You learn so much more with that,” John said. “Those were the things we’ve always tried to do.”
“My parents have always been really supportive of me and what I wanted to do,” Kaitlin added.
She will continue to work with the Neiman Lab when she enrolls in the University of Iowa this upcoming fall on a full academic scholarship. She plans to go into pre-medicine with the hopes of working in pediatrics, either in a lab or clinical setting. She also recently applied for another internship at a children’s hospital in Colorado.
Kaitlin hopes her ambition and drive will inspire other high school students to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be.
“It may take a bit of courage to stretch out of their comfort zone, but it will be one hundred percent worth it,” she said.
Besides, you just never know where a short go-cart ride might lead.