Striking A Balance

Things at UNC are just right for Katie Welch - she likes the way her first semester is shaping up.

Her classes, her brother, her sorority, her plans. Everything is coming together.

And as she looks toward exams and Winter Break, Welch is optimistically gearing up to hit the books and excited about being around her family again.

Coming into her first year at college, Welch wanted to make sure that all the different aspects of her life were in order.

"I just wanted my life to be under control," Welch said, explaining that although she has no regrets about high school, she wants her time at UNC to reflect lessons she has learned in the past.

And for Welch, that means setting aside the right amount of time for everything from her friends to her studies - a common freshman balancing act that she is up to taking on.

Welch has a 14-hour workload this semester that she said is just the right speed at which to start her college career. "Fourteen hours is a good transition," she said. "I'm kind of just doing what it takes for now."

And with classes from Spanish and English to political science and even a class about the Air Force, Welch is taking it slow but trying to absorb as much as possible.

In order to do this and perform well academically, Welch knew that she'd have to adjust to the college test-taking mentality. "I definitely had to get more focused for tests," she said. "But that hasn't been a hard adjustment."

With exams right around the corner, Welch is gearing up to study but not letting finals stress her out.

"I'm not dreading them," she said. "But I look forward to them being over and behind me. I just plan to take them one at a time."

Welch said she will ultimately be pleased with her grades this semester because she knows the amount of work she put in. "I feel like I deserve whatever I get," she said. "Where I've worked hard it paid off."

One of the most beneficial thing Welch said she learned throughout the semester was when to study. "I feel like as the semester moves on and on, I'm learning about my learning environment. . What's conducive to it and what's not - and trying to weed out what's not," she said.

But Welch doesn't have her eyes focused solely on herself. Balance for this freshman includes time for service.

She joined Kappa Delta sorority this semester and is taking advantage of the outreach opportunities provided. "I just want to serve people," she said.

In order to continue this love of helping others, Welch eventually wants to end up in politics once she is done with her education.

For now, though, Welch is focused on making sure she maintains this distribution of time. This includes making sure her twin brother, Kent, is just as content.

"He's OK with being Kent," she said, noting that to her, he seems to be enjoying UNC and finding his place.

This Welch, however, said she knows the "real deal" about the twin relationship and how often they communicate.

"We talk every day," she said, whether it be in passing, going to grab a bite to eat or sometimes checking out the social scene.

And she knows this because every time the two come in contact with each other, it's something special for her.

"It's a treat for me to see him," she said. "Any time you see someone who you really like, it brightens your day."

But Welch distributes praise equally throughout her family and can't wait to reconnect with everyone when she returns home for Winter Break.

"I'm really looking forward to spending time with my family," she said. "It's important to me because we've all grown older. The times we're all together are few and far between. And that's what makes it all the more special."

And getting to spend time with her mother is also important to Welch because she and her brother were the last children to leave the house. "It freaked her out," she said. "For 25 years, her purpose to get out of bed was to provide for her kids."

Now, Welch said, "She's enjoying having the empty nest while realizing she's still a mother and we still love her."

But Welch said she and her mother are too much alike for everything to go perfectly. "We're both just really outspoken," she said. "We try to outspeak one another."

For now though, Welch is not trying to fine-tune any relationship but the one she has with herself.

She said, "It's been nice to have work and get it done, go out and enjoy my friends and have time for myself."

Just right.

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.