Katelyn
Deckard

    Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Growing up, my father instilled in me that failing was acceptable, but quitting was not. When he passed away in January of 2022, all I wanted to do was quit. I wanted to quit softball, my job, and at one point I even wanted to quit school. However, before my father passed, he said the one thing that he wanted more than anything was to see me graduate. In all reality, that’s what kept me going. Losing a parent at such a vital time in my life has brought out the worst in me, but most importantly, it’s brought out the best. It’s taught me things about myself that I never knew before. It’s taught me to not lose sight of the bigger picture even when faced with difficult times, it’s made me stronger in my faith, and it’s taught me that throughout hard times there are lessons to be learned. It’s made me stronger, and I’m no longer doing things for myself; I’m doing them to make my dad proud. 

    

   Growing up, my father was in and out of rehabilitation centers, due to him being a parapalgeic, which means he was paralyzed from the chest down. Due to this, I had exposure to the Physical Therapy field from a young age. Watching this growing up, I knew that one day I wanted to be a Physical Therapist. Because of the opportunities provided by Barren County High School, I have been blessed to co-op at H2Health. The connections that the co-op program provides and creates is very beneficial and has helped me tremendously with a jumpstart into my future career. I’m very eager and excited to begin my journey at Western Kentucky University in the fall with a major in Exercise Science, Pre-PT. I can confidently say that I owe my success to my father, and even though sometimes I fail and will continue to do so, it is because of him I will have the courage to push through and finish strong.