Davis spreads positivity and kindness
Oftentimes, the kids most talked about have received an outstanding award or are star athletes. However, junior Katlin Davis stands out for her bubbly personality and easy connection with others, always putting a smile on someone's face.
Davis has been at Rose for three years and has had Kim Williams as her teacher since day one. Davis has developed her identity in many ways since her start at Rose and Williams has been a testament to this.
“She has lots of friends in the classroom, and she enjoys her friends also, outside at [Physical Education] and her [Student Government Association] friends,” Williams said.
Williams has enjoyed watching Davis bloom over the last couple of years. She has witnessed this transformation not just academically, but also socially.
graphic by Anna Porter
“She has grown in her leadership,” Williams said. “She was really shy when she first came, and she has kind of blossomed since being shy.”
One reason Williams cherishes Davis in class is because of her bright personality, which is like no other. Where an ordinary student may not seek a connection with their teacher, Davis always comes to school happy and ready to engage with Williams and other teachers that she sees.
“I like Ms. Guam, I like Barbee, [they’re both] very sweet,” Davis said.
Teaching is not always easy, and even though Williams has taught for over 20 years at Rose, she still seeks advice from her peers.
“We collaborate in our [Professional Learning Teams] once a week, and my colleagues are right in this area,” Williams said. “If we need each other, we cross-reference where we are able to share employees if one of us is down, so we have a nice bond back here.”
Williams is grateful for her time at Rose because she enjoys seeing her students’ development as the year progresses. She values getting hands-on experience with them because there are only roughly 10 students in her class.
“My favorite part [about teaching] are the rewards,” Williams said. “I enjoy seeing my students grow, and I enjoy meeting new students as well.”
As Davis has gotten older, she has started to think about her future. She is interested in careers that involve beauty, specifically hair. During her free time, she practices hair in hopes of one day being a hairstylist.
“I want to do hair when I grow up,” Davis said. “I’ve been looking on YouTube for how to do hair, [but] I’m still learning.”
As the school year comes to a close, one event that Davis most looked forward to was the Pitt County Special Olympics. On this day, students from multiple high schools around Pitt County gathered to compete for first place. While bringing home a medal was the goal, this day allowed students to build relationships with other peers and also get to participate in sports they had not gotten the chance to.
“I know we have jumping, throwing and running… I think the running is [my favorite],” Davis said.
At Special Olympics, Davis is joined by her Exceptional Children buddies, with her favorite being Maggie Jarman. Jarman and Davis have developed a connection from the fun they share every Friday during refresh.
“She’s a bundle of sunshine,” Jarman said. “I love that Katlin has the opportunity to be so well spoken and that time with her [on Fridays] is really great.”
Through those special afternoons spent together, Jarman and Davis have developed a bond for the thing they love most: beauty. Jarman loves beauty products, and Davis loves doing hair, so together they get to talk about their dreams in the field of beauty.
“I love that she loves girly things,” Jarman said. “She loves her pinks and her purples and her lip glosses, and she is always talking about the new [ones] she gets.”
Not only does Jarman enjoy her time spent with Davis and her classmates, but Williams and the other teachers of Davis admire the students coming and setting aside their time to work with their students.
“I enjoy their engagement with the students, and my students enjoy them as well,” Williams said. “They look forward to those activities on Fridays.”
Williams and Davis’ connection has only strengthened over the years, because of Davis’s effort to show up with a positive attitude and benefit those around her. Williams enjoys Davis’s personality, and this part about her students is what keeps her going.
“Oh, she has a bubbly personality, and she meets no strangers; she is very polite,” Williams said.
With Davis’s personality standing out among those around her, she makes for an overall great student and fun person to be around. Not only is she loved by her teachers, but her peers also enjoy spending time with her and look forward to more time with her in the future.