Chapter 57: Kaitlyn Christ

Since kindergarten, sophomore Kaitlyn Christ has attended Pleasant Valley. Her parents decided to move to Bettendorf the year before Christ started kindergarten and she has been a Spartan ever since. “I have really enjoyed growing up in the district. Everyone here is kind and I‘ve made tons of friends over the years,” she explained.

Christ said her parents have been the most impactful people in her life, “My parents have really shown me how to be a better person and to treat everyone around me respectfully. They’ve also really helped me when it comes to being a leader.”  

Christ’s schedule can get a little busy because she participates in band, piano and dance. Dancing since she was three years old, she couldn’t imagine her life without it. It was in fifth grade when Christ joined company dance and began competing, that’s when she really began to take it seriously.

She dances outside of school at Tina’s dance studio in Eldridge. Dancing there has allowed her to make many friends from other schools. Freshman year she made the JV Platinum dance team and this year she is the JV captain. Between Tina’s and Platinum, Christ has a huge dance family.

This year, in addition to being JV captain, she is a varsity alternate. Her role came into play when the team needed another person on the state floor. The coaches knew she was the best fit and Christ leaped to the opportunity. She took on the state floor with the varsity team on Nov. 30.

Amy Showers, senior and captain of Varsity Platinum, was proud of the hard work Christ put forth to prepare for state. “She’s been working really hard and I think it really paid off for her. I hope she’s proud of her own hard work and dedication since she started off as an alternate and then actually ended up dancing in both of the state routines,” said Showers.

“Being an alternate for Varsity and being able to dance at state was something I didn’t think would be an opportunity for me this year, but it was an exciting and rewarding experience,” said Christ.