It’s an understatement to say Katarina Jakimier has accomplished a lot in the past four years. As a Longhorn, she spent her time on the Forty Acres working as lead research assistant for the Developmental Behavior Genetics Lab in the College of Liberal Arts, on stage performing and in dance studios teaching for Texas Ballet, and as part of a clinical trial at Dell Medical School looking at Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for adolescent depression.
“I came into UT really knowing exactly the path that I hoped to take,” Jakimier said. “I’m very proud, looking back, to really have achieved everything that I set out to do and more.”
Although originally from Dallas, Jakimier grew up all over the world. She started doing ballet when she was 12 years old, and by 14, had been invited to study full time in Moscow at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. After graduating, she pursued ballet professionally at the English National Ballet in London and then the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
Transitioning to academia from ballet had always been Jakimier’s goal, but after sustaining a career-ending injury while at Joffrey, the transition came more quickly than originally planned. Studying at a large university was a bit scary for her at first, but Jakimier had specific goals that she started pursuing right away.
“What made me most excited to attend UT were the opportunities available from day one to get involved in clinical research,” she said.
Now, as a senior, Jakimier is graduating with a double major in psychology and religious studies, has been published in journals and co-authored posters accepted to psychology and neuroscience conferences, and plans to pursue a Ph.D. to study adolescent psychosis.
But the thing she said she’ll remember most from her time at UT is the confidence she gained and the relationships she built while on the Forty Acres.
Whether it be the research opportunities, her steadfast mentors, or the ballet community on campus, the College of Liberal Arts senior says the Forty Acres will stay with her long after graduation.
“The lesson I’ve learned at UT that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life is that if I pursue my goals with the most effort that I can, everything will fall into place,” she said.
