Identity, Values, & Politics: Katina Bays ’01

As part of our Identity, Values, and Politics series Katina Bays ’01 spoke at an Upper School Assembly this fall. This series, organized and hosted by Dean of Equity, Justice, and Belonging Louisa Egan Brad, brings speakers to Westtown to talk about their work and life experiences especially as they relate to these topics. Bays is Deputy Director of Outreach and Engagement at the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, serving under a Republican governor, Mike DeWine. Originally from New Jersey, Bays enrolled at Westtown in ninth grade. She was a two-season athlete and was involved in Service Network. After Westtown, she earned a B.A. from Spelman College, then went on to earn a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University. She is also a licensed independent social worker. 

Bays presented an engaging assembly and Q&A session where she described her roles, what inspired her to pursue work in social service, and both her positive and negative experiences at Westtown. She noted that regardless of the political party in office, the issues remain and their department’s mission is to serve the children and families of Ohio. “I think that red, blue, independent aside, many of us in helping professions, get into it because we want to make a difference and help families thrive…And when we put the politics aside and look at the fact that African American babies in the state of Ohio are dying at two times greater rates than their white counterparts, that has absolutely nothing to do with politics and everything to do with the social determinants of health. And so I think that it is very important that as we are having these discussions and that we are starting to frame them in a different way.”

Bays also visited the Peace and Justice class and hosted a drop-in session in the South Room where a steady stream of students talked with her individually. She says that she was impressed by the students. “In both Jonathan’s [Ogle] classroom and as well as my time in the South Room with students, I just felt like [students] were wise beyond their years,” she shared. Some of the questions they were asking were very forward-thinking, and oftentimes I think that we sometimes have misconceptions of who and what teens are. But these students were ones that you knew were going to go out and do great things. For me, it was energizing, it was invigorating, and it was a reminder of how much Westtown pours into students… I left thinking that there are so many budding leaders that I was able to engage with that I know will make a difference in many of the professions that they choose. I felt excited to be a part of the Westtown family and the legacy that Westtown is continuing to make.” 

After her visit, Bays and Egan Brad spoke more extensively. Bays says being back at Westtown made her feel nostalgic and like “coming home” in many ways. While it was great to see some of those same things, it was also so encouraging to see the increased diversity in the student body and staff population, much of which I had not experienced, at least to that level, during my time.” 

Egan Brad asked Bays what major points she wanted to students to take away from her talk. “That everyone’s journey is unique,” she replied. “The time you have at Westtown is a special time to find yourself, and you have the ability to explore who you are and who you aspire to become. It was my hope that individuals would take away that not only was my experience unique as is everyone else’s, but it was also important for me to use that time at Westtown to explore who I was as a young African-American woman. I also wanted people to take away that it wasn’t always rainbows and butterflies, and that there were some challenges that I experienced. I don’t think that my challenges were abnormal, but I also wanted to make sure that I was telling a very accurate story. Despite the highs and lows, Westtown helped me be very intentional in my decision for my next phase in life, which was college. I made the decision to attend a historically Black college because I knew that for some of those pieces that I had not yet fine-tuned at Westtown, I needed to be in an environment in which I would be able to cultivate those and grow. I really do hope that students took away that you can still have a great experience that may have some valleys that are a part of it, but that it is important to take away all that Westtown has to offer and use that as you are making your next steps into adulthood.”

Finally, Egan Brad asked Bays how she felt her Westtown education set the stage for her subsequent education and career. Bays says that there were so many ways that Westtown prepared her for her future, noting discipline first. “If I think back to study halls from the age of 14, I got used to having the discipline to study at my own pace and make sure that I was prepared,” she says. “The other piece is just the level of independence. I was active on campus at Westtown, so it was a lot of me having to put myself out there, and also go into places and spaces where it may have been a little bit uncomfortable. I think that played a huge role in my life because now, oftentimes, I am the only one that looks like me in a room. I also know from Westtown that although I may be the only one in the room that looks like me, I’m in that room for a reason, and so my value is the same as everyone else that’s in the room. I think that Westtown also allowed me to speak up for marginalized groups. Westtown made me confident and made me feel like the sky was the limit.The other piece is how important community is, and how important having a firm foundation is. As I just noted, after my visit I went back to my closest Westtown friends, and we’ve been together since our time at Westtown. In many ways, those ladies have grounded me and have kept me sane through highs and lows in life. But all of that began on what was then Girls Third [dorm]. We were all just young girls from New York and New Jersey and we needed each other throughout our time there.Westtown gave me so very much and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. At fourteen, when my mom told me I was going to apply to the Wight Foundation, it was met with apprehension. I wanted to stay home, I wanted to stay in a world that I knew well. But going to Westtown completely set me on the trajectory of where I am in life, and I am forever grateful for everything that I received from Westtown. Even the lows, because I think it helped to shape me into who I am today.”