Katrina’s Story of Small Acts with Big Impact
by Titash Choudhury
Katrina grew up in Elkford, a small mountain town in British Columbia’s South Kootenays. Like many, she left for higher studies and moved to Lethbridge to pursue a business degree at the University of Lethbridge.
After graduating, Katrina moved to Calgary to start her career at Suncor, even spending time in Germany through an exchange program. Three years in, she felt the pull of a different dream and left her corporate job to pursue a career in fashion. She earned a diploma in fashion design from Blanche Macdonald Centre in Vancouver. She then interned with a bridal designer and worked in the industry for a while before returning to Calgary, the city she realized suited her best, and financially, it made more sense to keep fashion as a passion on the side.
Calgary has been home since her twenties. She has always loved inner-city life, first Sunnyside, then Mission, and later Marda Loop, where she and her now-husband began building their life together. She loved the neighbourhood because she could bike downtown for work, walk to yoga, grab groceries, or treat herself to ice cream at a specialty shop. She and her husband, Nathaniel, share that love of cycling, swimming, and community.
Today, she works as an IT emergency response planning lead at Suncor, is married, and has a beautiful two-year-old daughter, Rowan. When it came time to buy a home, they wanted to stay close to transit in the southwest part of the city, so they chose Glendale, right next to Killarney. The location gave them everything they wanted: easy transit, bike lanes, shops, playgrounds, and a strong sense of community. Katrina laughs that while their address says Glendale, they spend most of their time in Killarney. Rowan loves the library, playgrounds, and pool at the Killarney Recreation Centre, where Katrina also took yoga and prenatal classes. They wanted to be in a neighbourhood that reflected their values.
Her husband, Nathaniel, is a lawyer and musician, serving some of Calgary’s most vulnerable communities through legal aid. Together, they’ve built what they call an urban, eco-conscious family. They try to live sustainably, avoiding meat at home, minimizing plastic, and buying almost everything pre-loved, from cribs and furniture to toys, through consignment or Facebook Marketplace. “Please don’t buy us anything new,” they tell friends and family during birthdays or Christmas.
Nathaniel’s commitment to helping others has inspired their whole family to stay involved in local causes, whether it’s environmental conservation, policy advocacy, or simply picking up garbage in the neighbourhood during the pandemic. That deep sense of care for their city is what led Nathaniel to take the next step: running for City Council. Life in Glendale and Killarney isn’t just about work and service. They love eating out, trying new restaurants, or stopping for a soft serve at Luke’s. Lusi is a current favourite for their pasta, and they love stopping at Food World to pick up South Asian Curry mix packs and frozen parathas.
When asked how she’d like to be remembered, Katrina doesn’t hesitate: “As someone who is kind, thoughtful, and makes the world a better place through the small things we can all do in our own capacity.” She believes that in a world that’s changing so quickly, kindness and care will matter more than anything. “If neighbours and all of us can each just do our small part, it will be more than enough.”
She’s been reading Humans of Killarney for a while and loves seeing how many different voices make up the neighbourhood. “It’s inspiring,” she says. “Everyone, in their own way, is doing their part, big or small.” And when Katrina isn’t working or volunteering, you’ll probably find her and Nathaniel exploring Calgary’s restaurants, grabbing pizza from one of the many great Killarney pizza places, or hiking just outside the city, all reminders of how much they care about the place they call home. If you see Katrina at the KGCA Park, the Killarney Recreation Centre, or the Westbrook Public Library, say hi.
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