The original karate kid
Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Ill., Roin excelled in a variety of sports. When she was seven, however, a friend suggested karate, and Roin decided to give it a try-she was hooked indefinitely. "I'm ultra-competitive," Roin admitted. And with an intense regimen, which consisted of training more than four hours each day after school, the need to compete paid off. Roin made the Junior U.S. National Team at age 13. By her junior year of high school, Roin was leaving school at noon to train for 20 hours a week. When she wasn't training or in school, Roin was teaching karate to aspiring children and adults.
When it came time for college, Roin recalled that the choice was simple. She could either stay close to home to train with her coaches, or she could go to a school away from home and train by herself. "No one else goes to school away from home," she said. Deciding to go against the grain, Roin enrolled at Amherst, both her brother's and her father's alma mater. When asked what influenced that decision, Roin explained that although she found the open curriculum appealing, especially due to her training schedule, the sense of community ultimately won her over. Remembering her visit to campus, Roin said, "Everyone was so friendly."
Roin came to the College already well-versed in the field of balancing academic and athletic success. Going off-campus often to train with others, Roin admits, "was a tough adjustment," So, after her first year, she decided to train completely on her own.
On campus, Roin trains and lifts weights for two hours a day in addition to teaching. She uses the squash courts as her sparring ring, occasionally training with a male student from Hampshire College. Most days, however, it's just her. Roin's self-discipline and determination earned her a spot on the U.S. National Team, making her the youngest member of the four-person squad.
Globetrotter
Roin said she will never forget the remarkable experiences she has had and the friends she has made as a result of traveling all over the world for karate competitions. When she was at the Junior World Cup in Hungary during the conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s, Roin recalled the entire Kosovo Team chanting "USA!" when she stepped into the ring. "It was an extremely powerful experience," she recalled.
This past year at the Adult World Championships in Serbia, Roin beat her Serbian opponent in the finals, anchoring the U.S. women's national team to clinch the championship. The next day, Roin said, while competing in a separate event, all the 3,000 spectators in the stadium booed as her name was called to enter the ring. Afterwards, the female competitors from Serbia refused to shake hands with her as well. While the booing only made Roin smile, she noted, "Sportsmanship is big for me."
Perhaps her most meaningful memory of competing overseas, however, came while competing in Dubai, Morocco. Forced to get a second U.S. passport because her first was stamped by Israel [and Morocco is an Arab nation], Roin stated, "It was a phenomenal experience, culturally and politically." Treated unbelievably well by her Muslim hosts, Roin said that she never felt uncomfortable. Although she was the only person on the team that did not speak Arabic, she said, "Laughter is the universal language. You learn a lot by watching people."
With brains to match
Roin's ability to succeed extends outside the ring. Throughout her four years at the College, she has held herself to a high academic standard, never missing a class except when forced to for a karate competition. This year, Roin has missed approximately six weeks of school for karate, but she credits her professors for their enormous understanding. By letting her turn in her work early before leaving for competitions, professors here at the College have allowed her to balance both academic and athletic priorities. She recommended, however, that students should talk a lot in class and not "abuse the leniency."
During her last year on campus, Roin, a sociology major, has combined both her athletic and academic interests with her senior thesis on college athletics. "It focuses on female minority athletes at elite educational universities, and the crossover between affirmative action and athletic admits [recruited athletes] at a time when our country is questioning affirmative action and colleges are questioning athletic admits," Roin described. For her research, Roin, traveled around the country on an Alpha Delta Phi Grant, interviewing athletes, coaches and administration officials from Ivy League schools, some smaller Div. III institutions similar to Amherst and several big-name Div. I universities.
Friend and classmate Adam Lewkowitz '06 thinks her thesis might have a far-reaching effect. "From what I hear, presidents of various colleges and universities are clamoring to read it, and she is going to turn it into an article this summer," he said.
"The Eternal Optimist"
Classmate Rachel Hoerger described her admiration of Roin for not just her academic and athletic accomplishments, but as a person as well. "Kate is perhaps the most talented and accomplished person-not just as an athlete, but as a student, a thinker, a traveler and a friend-that you will ever meet," she asserted. "Yet at the same time she is one of the most thoughtful, modest and down-to-earth. I've had the chance to see Kate perform in her various arenas-the karate ring, the classroom and living in the room next door-and I'm always impressed by the discipline, commitment and energy that she brings to everything she does."
Lewkowitz also noted how remarkably level-headed Roin is, considering her tremendous success. "Kate is one of the best friends you could ask for," he said. "Despite being the busiest person I know, she always takes time to make sure you're doing OK, to lend a hand if you need any advice or help about anything that's bothering you, to motivate you to keep on going strong in whatever you're doing. She's the eternal optimist."
Roin has had so much success in every aspect that surely she would be forgiven for bragging a little. But she remains unfailingly modest. "She's accomplished so much in karate and academia that her laid-back humbleness is even more remarkable," said Lewkowitz. "Anyone else who has done half as much as she has would be the most cocky, elitist person you could imagine, but you have no idea what she has done until someone else tells you. She doesn't think it's her job to toot her own horn, and that is perhaps what I admire most about her."
On to the next round
After graduating from the College, Roin plans to focus all of her energy and attention on training. "For the next year I will, for the first time in my life, concentrate on training and competing without having to balance karate and school," said Roin.
Roin will be traveling extensively for tournaments, with her final competition being the World Championships next June in Florence, Italy. Academic priorities, however, have only taken a temporary backseat. True to form, Roin has "turned her work in early": She has been accepted to the University of Chicago Law School, but she deferred her admission until the fall of 2007.
When asked what she plans to do after that, Roin said smiling, "Well, I'll be a lawyer. I have always thought that doing something with sports and law would be a great blend of my interests, but that isn't a concrete goal, just a possibility."
"Concrete goal" or not, whatever Roin plans on doing, success is not a possibility-it is a sure thing.