Name:  Katie Denton

Title:  AmeriCorps VISTA

Company:  City of Austin Parks & Recreation

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1. How did you get to Austin?

I was born and raised in Austin/Dripping Springs in the southwest hill country which is my great love. I grew up telling people I lived about 20 min from the Salt Lick and now the city has expanded so much that I’m lucky enough to say I live right next to Jester King Brewery and a few other great breweries and distilleries which entices  more people to come out my direction now.

 

2. Why did you join the AYC?

I had moved back to Austin last fall from attending college and living in West Texas (San Angelo, TX) for 6 years and I really want to get plugged back in and involved in my hometown. Everyone I spoke to had wonderful things to say about AYC so I registered for every event they had on the calendar this past December and I was hooked. I get to work with like minded individuals that want to grow and make our city the best it can be and that is what it’s all about. My heart beats for the Leadership Service committee the most, but there are so many different ways to get involved with AYC and feel like you are apart of something bigger.

 

3. What is your favorite lunch spot?

I’m obsessed with two lunch fixes. First, is Thai Fresh because it offers get options for people who have gluten and dairy allergies. You need to try their yummy coconut milk ice cream concoctions! Second, is JuiceLand because smoothies are the best. Seriously I’ve been told I have a problem. You come to terms with it when you have a fanny pack and a bumper sticker of your JuiceLand love.

 

4. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and what would you use it for?

My superpower would have to be Pathokinesis, to control emotions. I really like making people happy and like to be a support for people and if there was a way I could do that even when those around me can’t for themselves I think that would be a pretty neat manipulation for good.

 

5. If you could have any celebrity live next door to you, who would it be?

It would have to be a musician because I want to have backyard jam sessions! Living would be Justin Timberlake because duh it’s a) JT and all those NSYNC lovers out there know and b) those dance moves are on point. Dead, would be Elvis Presley because well the same reasons I had for JT, it’s Elvis!

 

6. What are your top 3 things to do/see in Austin?  

• Go for a run or walk around town lake (Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail)
• Have a picnic at Zilker Park. The best time is during the Blues on the Green concert series where you get to hang with friends, munch on food and listen to live music.
• Volunteer! Finding something you are passionate about and helping keep it going. I most often am doing an outdoor volunteer event with Keep Austin Beautiful or the Parks Foundation to help preserve what we are so lucky to have here in Austin.

 

7. If you played hooky for a day, where would we find you?

You would find me in bed or on the couch, binge watching a Netflix series or lounging at Barton Springs Pool.

 

8. When people ask you what you do for a living, what do you tell them?

I tell them I’m serving the City of Austin as an AmeriCorps VISTA for the Parks and Recreation Department for one year to alleviate poverty and build sustainable programs for youth in the Northeast Austin area.

 

9. What do you think is the best invention in the past 50 years?

Emojis! I’m an avid user of them. You can’t just do a normal smiley face anymore, ya know? Haha!  But really, it would have to be the smartphone in my hand. I think it’s incredible that we get to have so many things at our fingertips. I feel like we take that for granted. I can still hear a dial up tone some days and I think I’m the only one that would admit to missing it.

 

10. Who was your first Facebook friend?

Oh gosh have no clue, how do you even find that out? I imagine it would have been my childhood best gal friend, Molly Primm. I remember getting Facebook in the late years of high school.  But what’s more memorable is that it was all about MySpace for a while pre-Facebook take over.

 

11. If you couldn’t live in Austin, where would you want to live?

In the Midwest! My heart yearns for seasons and I’ve grown up traveling to South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska to see family and I love the rolling corn fields, blankets of snow and lake culture.