Kat Thomas Senior Profile

DURHAM, N.C.- The Duke women's lacrosse team takes on conference foe Virginia Saturday, March 24, 2012 in Koskinen Stadium. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. Recently, GoDuke.com sat down with senior midfielder Kat Thomas to learn more about the Latham, N.Y., native.

GoDuke.com: What do you have DVR'd?
Kat Thomas: We do have a DVR that is mainly controlled by my roommates - Bridget and Rebecca. I personally watch a lot of Food Network, preferably Ina Garden or Giada De Laurentiis. However, recently I have gotten into The Bachelor; it's kind of a team bonding on Monday nights, so that's probably on the DVR. And then Caroline Keating has gotten me into The Voice, which is always a fun watch, so I've enjoyed that.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite movie?
KT: It just kind of depends on the genre, but a movie that I always love watching, and Maddy Morrissey knows this because we watch it on road trips a lot, is Miracle. Probably because of my history with ice hockey and I really love that story. I really like Denzel Washington as an actor, so a lot of movies he's in are really good ... like Inside Man I think is a really good action film. I also do like older movies sometimes. The Scent of a Woman I always used to watch with my family so that was always a good one. I'm really flexible though, as long as it's a good story.

GoDuke.com: Do you have any superstitions?
KT: I actually try to steer away from a ton of pre-game superstitions because if I can't execute on them, then I psyche myself out. I go out of my way to do things differently every time - so if I put on the left shoe, I put on the right shoe. I do, in regards to music, have to listen to Natasha Bedingfield 'Happy' and Matt White 'Best Days' because those are just two really feel-good songs that take me back to being in my back yard, where I'm most comfortable playing lacrosse. Other than that I try to change things up a lot. A lot of people probably think I'm really superstitious, but I'm not.

GoDuke.com: What's on your bucket list?
KT: I want to live in multiple foreign countries, so I'm accomplishing that by moving to London. I'd like to travel somewhere really far away. I'd like to go to Australia. I'd like to go sky diving. I went paraponting in Switzerland, but I'd like to go canyoning. I'd like to go to Africa and go to an orphanage. My sister did that and said it was awesome. I'd just like to travel and meet a lot of people and find some cool projects along the way and help some people. I'd like to drive on the Autobahn in an awesome car, like a Porsche 911 or maybe an Audi 8. I'd like to teach at some point in my life or be involved in education of some sort. I took a public policy course on education and was fascinated with it.

GoDuke.com: What's the biggest obstacle you've had to overcome?
KT: In the moment, I would say [my injury] just because of the timing of it. Fracturing your foot a couple weeks before your first game of your senior season is probably some of the worst timing you could have. In the scheme of things though, if this is the worst that happens to me in life, I'm very fortunate.

GoDuke.com: What's your favorite home-cooked meal?
KT: Mom's Caesar salad. I'd probably say Caesar salad, filet mignon and mashed potatoes. Mom's Caesar salad I could eat and eat and eat. And then she makes this wonderful almond torte, which you wouldn't think an almond torte would be good, but it's phenomenal. My dad usually does the grilling and Mom does the cooking. I love roast chicken with lots of vegetables, like carrots, onions, fennel. And that goes really good with mashed potatoes and some gravy. Mashed potatoes definitely have to be in there or dauphine potatoes. Either or, but you got to have potatoes.

GoDuke.com: What is your favorite class at Duke?
KT: I'd probably say my International Comparative Studies Senior Capstone last semester. It was taught by Cheri Ross, not only an awesome, genuinely kind, caring lady, but a really intelligent woman. Every class, all one hour and 15 minutes, went by so fast. It was just a debate between everyone, just like a discussion about what's going on in the world, obviously related to the topics of the readings. We would talk about globalization in general and social media and the internet and how that feeds globalization. We talked about sex trafficking or drug trafficking or even something like organ trafficking and she would supplement it with not only academic articles but with The Dianne Rehm Show and movies we've seen. She took George Clooney's Up in the Air and tied it to talking about theories of globalization and theories of time and space. It was just really interesting because it was really applicable to everything around us. I found myself not only loving the class and the topics but the people in the class also made it because everyone respected everyone's opinions. Everyone felt comfortable sharing what they legitimately thought. I was just kind of blown away by it.

GoDuke.com: Where do you like to study on campus?
KT: Von der Heyden. Von der Heyden at 7 or 8 in the morning is really quiet, a nice place to work. I'm a morning person, so I go there before my Russian class and study. I also like studying at a dining room table, any dining room table, just because I did that in high school. I like to have my own space and be able to get up and get some water. Or I'll drive to Barnes & Noble or Mad Hatter's. It really varies, but I'd say Von der Heyden or my dining room table and Mad Hatter's.

GoDuke.com: Who has had the most impact on your life and why?
KT: I'd probably say my parents because of their whole outlook on life. They're both incredibly genuine, caring people. I've always valued their work ethic, but also being able to balance that work with fun. As I was a younger kid, when I would do my homework and my friends were outside playing, my mom was the first one to tell me to go out and play, that it was more important. That was a really good lesson because we frequently, especially here at Duke, get really caught up in our day-to-day life and achieving everything we can academically, athletically and socially that we forget that the people in our lives are really the most important. I think that's a lesson my parents have instilled in me, which I'm extremely grateful for and I probably don't thank them enough for it.

GoDuke.com: Describe your coach in one word.
KT: I'd say committed. I think commitment falls into so many categories, whether it's a commitment to the school, a commitment to the team, a commitment to the people, a commitment to achieving excellence, a commitment to mentoring us. She's just committed in all areas. She legitimately cares and I think that carries over into how she coaches. She's committed to making each team she's handed the best team that it can be. She respects that each team is different and is committed to finding what works for that particular group, and therefore getting them in the best position to win.

GoDuke.com: Can you cook?
KT: I love to cook. I don't know when I started cooking; it was probably in middle school or high school and I just started experimenting with stuff and trying stuff on Food Network. I love to cook so many things, whether it's trying different things with steak. At home I'll do steak au poivre and then I'll do steak with a Béarnaise sauce or try different sauces. I'm always trying to perfect the mashed potato recipe, so the garlic mashed potatoes versus the regular mashed potatoes versus if you rice them and use clarified butter versus using cream cheese and sour cream and whole milk or cream. I love making my own salad dressing whether it's balsamic vinaigrette or a home-made Caesar, which is a team favorite. Bridget Nolan and Emma Hamm and Casey Beyel, we always end up drinking the dressing on our plates when we finish eating the chicken Caesar salad, so that's a big favorite. Christie Kaestner, who graduated last year, used to be a big fan of chicken pot pie so I found that I had to make that for her quite a few times. I try a lot of things.

GoDuke.com: I wish I knew how to ...?
KT: Break dance. When we're getting ready for games and have these weird dance parties, I think it would be so cool to do something and actually legitimate break dance and do front hand springs and stuff. Or it would be really cool to be able to sing, to have an unbelievable voice. Those would be the two I would pick.

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