Katie Katro, an Abington Senior High School graduate and a reporter for 6ABC Philadelphia, recently paid a visit to her alma mater to talk to students about her professional experiences.
According to the district’s Facebook post, Katro spoke to Ms. Katz’s and Ms. Bowles’ classes.
The Temple University grad was born in Athens, Greece to parents who grew up in communist Albania, and went on to live in England and Belfast, Ireland before immigrating to Philadelphia. She joined 6ABC in 2018 and was inducted in the district’s Hall of Fame in April.
In high school, Katro self-produced and edited produced news pieces for Abington’s cable channel. During her senior year, she was the editor-in-chief of her high school’s newspaper and was awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal for completing more than 400 hours of community service.
Photos from past visits to ASHS
In October 2021, the Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region (ANCA-ER) honored Katro with their inaugural Excellence in Media Award. From ArmenianWeekly.com’s article:
“On behalf of the ANCA-ER gala committee, we are looking forward to recognizing Katie for her incredible work in building awareness for the Armenian cause among the broader community. Reporters like Katie are able to spread our message to a wider audience. Her efforts are integral to the success of Hai Tahd, and that is what makes this award so meaningful,” said Phil Nigon, ANCA-ER gala committee member.
Photos from Katro’s visit to ASHS on September 29
From her biography on 6ABC.com:
Katie is living the American Dream as an immigrant in Philadelphia. Katie was a world traveler by the age of 2, having been born in Athens, Greece, to parents who grew up in communist Albania. Katie and her parents lived in England and Belfast, Northern Ireland before immigrating to Philadelphia. Katie first lived in Mount Airy and East Oak Lane before moving with her parents to Abington.
Through naturalization, Katie became an American citizen at 14 years old.
Katie speaks fluent Albanian and is very involved in the Albanian community in Northeast Philadelphia. Her diverse background led her to want to pursue a career in journalism to tell people’s stories who need representation.
Katie grew up watching Action News to learn about American culture and traditions in her new hometown of Philadelphia.
Katie is a proud graduate of Abington High School (go Ghosts!) It was through Abington’s strong communications program that she was able to dive into journalism, producing news pieces that she shot and edited for Abington’s cable channel. During her senior year, she was editor-in-chief of her high school’s paper, The Abingtonian, and was awarded the Congressional Award Gold Medal for doing more than 400 hours of community service.
Katie majored in journalism at Temple University, where she graduated with 15 competitive internships across New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.
Immediately after graduation, Katie began working at 5NEWS in Fayetteville, Arkansas as a field reporter and fill-in anchor. Katie then worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut where she also served on the Communications Advisory Board for Manchester Community College, mentoring college students.
Katie loves giving back by helping student journalists get their foot in the door. In her free time, you can find Katie cooking Albanian dishes or watching the English Premiere (football not soccer). She is very interested in learning about other cultures, which is why she has visited more than 15 countries!
Katie is very active on social media and loves connecting with viewers there, where she develops and enterprises many stories.
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Photos: 6ABC, Abington School District, Instagram