By Kathy Cook Hunter
A 2008 graduate of Silverton High School, Katie Doerfler has traded attending class and doing homework for the grass seed fields of her parents’ farm near Sublimity. A daughter of Kent and Leah Doerfler, Katie, 18, has worked on the farm five years driving a combine. This summer, she’s a crew boss supervising five other combine drivers.
“We have a lot of high school workers 17, 18 and down to 14,” she said. “I lead the drivers to new fields and do maintenance on the machines such as greasing parts so nothing rubs together. If anything’s broke, you fix it. If you can’t, you call the (farm’s) mechanic for backup.”
Doerfler said working 14-hour days “is great for your character.” Doerfler participated in many high school activities while maintaining excellent grades. “I was really busy with Key Club. I went to the regional convention at Seattle. Eight of us went, compared to two the first year the club was chartered,” she said.
President of the service organization, she chose to do her senior project through the club. “It was called Operation Recess,” she said. Assisted by fellow Key Club members, Doerfler organized outdoor recess activities for students at Eugene Field Elementary School. “We did every type of tag known to man plus Pop the Balloon,” she said in her wry way.
Key Club is affiliated with Kiwanis and Doerfler helped the Silverton Kiwanis Club, cleaning up after its rummage sale. She worked on a “slave auction” held to raise Key Club funds. “It was a senior project of one of our members,” she said, adding Key Club helped six seniors with their projects. “All they had to do was ask us and we helped out.”
She was involved with the holiday toy drive at the high school and went to many sports events as well.
When looking at college options, she said, she was stuck between Humboldt in Northern California and Oregon State “but I decided on OSU.”
Doerfler chose to balance her academics and activities with fun. Her parents encouraged her to do so, “but in the end it was my decision. High school was supposed to be fun and not so much stress,” she said.
She attends Immanuel Lutheran Church, where her mother is the associate pastor. Katie enjoys participating in its youth group. “I go to lockups and once a month we conduct the youth service for morning church. I like doing mission trips and such but can’t see myself being a pastor. I’m not really sure what I want to do – I would like to work with children but want to explore what’s out there first.”
At OSU, she’ll enroll in Exploratory Studies. “I’m going to continue my Spanish; I figure it’s a good thing to have. I’m attracted to environmental science, but I just hate math. And I have looked at education some – I thought it would be a way to use Spanish in bilingual education. After college I really want to join the Peace Corps and take a few years off before I start a career.”
She feels rewarded by giving.
“I think it’s a warm fuzzy feeling inside,” said Doerfler. “I feel better doing for others rather than myself. I live such a privileged existence here in America, it feels right to give back.”
