Talon Staff member and PALCS senior Kate Meade is a published author and Harry Potter fan with a passion for horses. Check out the interview below to find out more interesting facts about Kate.

1. Describe yourself using only 5 words.

Genuine, Enthusiastic, Passionate, Honest, Nerdfighter

2. Why did you decide to take journalism? What's your favorite article you've written so far?

Truthfully, I just wanted some sort of writing-based elective, and I’d taken all the other ones except the one about sports, which didn’t appeal to me at all. So, I figured journalism would be a viable path to take. My favorite article so far is probably the one I wrote about the fun. concert at Mr. Small’s in Pittsburgh. They’re a fantastic band and it was really great to me to be able to reflect on the concert that way.

3. You're a published author! Your book, Happenstance, released in 2009. Can you tell us a little about the book and how you ended up getting published?

The book was sort of a happy accident. I started writing to deal with the stresses of my life, and within a year Happenstance emerged. It’s sort of a character study about a group of four friends who end up living with one another, and how they deal with the stresses of their lives while learning to live together. I decided to try to get it published because it was something on my bucket list, and it just worked out that I found a publisher and had the means to make it happen.

4. Are you writing anything right now? Do you see writing as a possible career?

I’m writing several things right now. I sort of tend to take on projects and then work on them at random. I have another novel finished and in the publishing process that’s a sequel to Happenstance about the characters’ kids and is yet to be titled. I have about five different novels in various assortments of completion and I’ve been reacquainting myself with poetry. I don’t really think writing will be a career for me as much as a hobby. I don’t want it to be something I have to do, but something I simply enjoy doing.

5. What's your favorite class you've taken at PALCS and why?

I think it was probably my 10th grade creative writing class I took with Ms. Jacobson. She just gave us the most interesting topics to write about, and some of the most useful feedback I’ve ever received. It was really an inspiring course.

6. What are your plans for after high school?

I plan on attending the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to major in Psychology and minor in Queer Studies. I want to be a psychologist that works with people within the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) community.

7. What's your favorite quote and why?

My favorite quote is probably when John Green said, “Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness.’" I think the reason I love that quote so much is because it’s so true. People are so afraid to be genuine, and it’s so important to realize that there’s nothing insulting about genuinely loving something, it just makes life more enjoyable. I think that’s a powerful thing to express.

None of this is any particular order because these are really hard questions. I’m a music/book/media addict.

I guess songs would be:

1. She Doesn’t Get It – The Format

2. Dead End (Demo Version) – The Format

3. Dog Problems – The Format

4. Barlights – fun.

5. Annabelle – A Rocket to the Moon

For books I’d say:

1. The God Box – Alex Sanchez

2. Wide Awake – David Levithan

3. Looking For Alaska – John Green

4. Paper Towns – John Green

5. An Abundance of Katherines – John Green

Movies, well, I don’t particularly watch a lot of movies but I’d probably say:

1. Rent

2. Elf

3. The Princess Bride

4. I, Robot

5. Get Smart

9. If a movie were to be made of your life, who would star in it and what would it be about?

I really hope that people all have better things to do than make a movie of my life, but if there was going to be one, I’d say I’d want Charlie McDonnell, Daniel Radcliffe, John Green, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, and Sharon Gless to be in there somewhere. I mean, how much more awesome and Britishly tinged can we get? It’d really probably be about a girl who stresses herself out a lot and doesn’t really know how to have fun, but is surrounded by some of the most witty and enjoyable people out there. She’d probably run around trying not to be killed by her equine hobby and then spend a whole bunch of time with friends listening to music and singing badly, reading, playing Set, writing pointless things, dancing a lot, playing bingo with drag queens, pondering the complexities of the universe, eating tofu in dive restaurants, and attempting to teach themselves quantum physics.

10. Twilight, Harry Potter, or neither?

HARRY POTTER IS THAT A JOKE? Seriously, it should be. I have multiple sets of the books (some of which are falling apart from being read so much), every one of the movies, and also quite a few songs that have been written about it. It raises the alarming possibility that I might be a fangirl.

11. Is there a cause or organization you feel strongly about?

I’m very passionate about the work of All American Ponies Inc., which is an animal rescue in Parker, Pennsylvania. I’ve volunteered there for years and adopted a horse from there. It’s an organization truly dedicated to the animals’ well-being that goes above and beyond any other I’ve ever seen.

12. Where do you want to be in 10 years?

I think in ten years I want to be out of college, in a job I’m happy with, making enough money to support myself and having my horse. I’d like to just be happy, really, and helping others to be the same.

13. If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be and where would it go?

Truthfully I think if I could have dinner with anyone it’d be a tie between J.K. Rowling, John Green, David Levithan, Alex Sanchez, and Nate Ruess. So really I’d want a giant dinner with all of them that would probably take place at a dive restaurant that served good tofu. From what I’ve read/heard of their minds, they have to be some of the most fascinating people on the planet, and I would really just love to sit down and talk to them.