I'm Kate, a junior at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in North Carolina, and I run Blooms & Blessings for Hope — a flower-based fundraiser that supports survivors of domestic abuse through the Abuse Prevention Council of Cleveland County.

I live in Cleveland County, where my mom taught me that flowers are one of the most direct ways to say: you are seen, you matter, you are not alone. That belief is the foundation of everything I do with Blooms & Blessings.

Outside of Blooms & Blessings, I run cross country and track, which has taught me more about showing up on hard days than almost anything else. I plan to study medicine — specifically surgery — because I want to spend my life understanding how things heal and using that knowledge to help people who need it.

The farm, the flowers, and the operating room are not as different as they might seem. They are all about restoration.