“One Team, One Cause, One Cure” is more than just a logo on her car for this Campus Celeb.
Katelyn Kane, a junior Math and Economics Major and Accounting Minor, is one of the only female racers here in Syracuse.
I got to spend some time with this free-spirited girl, and learned a lot about her racing life and her past. She began racing in 2007 at Fulton, and says “I’ve grown up around it, and I can’t imagine living without it in my life.”
A few years ago, Katelyn was diagnosed with cancer, but she didn’t give up on her racing dream. Since she had grown up around racing, her family was involved and highly aware of this dream. When she was young, her grandparents, purchased a booth, an inclosed place to watch races, because she couldn’t be out in the sun. “They really supported me,” she said, “…the first year I was sick the track came up with a special award for ‘Most Dedicated Fan’ and gave it to me which was really cute. Also, my grandparents said when I recovered from cancer they would get me a car as a reward.”
Katelyn’s father passed away from cancer a year after she was diagnosed. Although he’s not here, he’s still in her life, she says, and he’s still holds a huge place in her heart and is her biggest role model. She says, “Seeing him struggle made me want to fight harder.”
That’s exactly what she did, and still does, every day of her life. She fights to stay strong and follow her dreams, no matter what stereotypes she comes to face. After the interview, I continued to walk with her where she had said that there will always be stereotypes because she’s a girl racer. Even though girls are becoming more involved with racing, there are still a few people that are not used to it yet and don’t completely accept it. But that doesn’t stop Katelyn. She proves the stereotypes are wrong, and races her heart out.
Obviously, with such an involved sport, like racing, it must take a lot of support to help Katelyn keep going forth with her racing dream. And that’s exactly how she does it. Her uncle, who is just as involved in racing as she is, has taken over as her father figure. On an interview of Katelyn this weekend at the track, her mother said, “She’s not afraid of anything”.
Good luck to you Katelyn!