Q-and-A With Award Winners

Katya Andresen

Where did you grow up? The conventional answer to that question is Chapel Hill, N.C., though that’s not the whole story. “Tar Heel Heaven” is where I spent my childhood. I feel that I grew up as a professional in the developing world. I lived and worked in Cambodia, Madagascar and Ukraine, and the experience of witnessing abject poverty, extreme personal struggles and incredible incidences of success amid hopelessness is what’s shaped me more than anything else. It made me think beyond myself, appreciate the broader world and gain an urgent desire to make a difference, however small. I try to retain that outlook most days, though I am still not always grown up enough to succeed all the time. It’s so easy to get sucked in by the small stuff.