Katie Scott (2015-2016)

Full Name: Katie Scott 

Education: B.A. History, Political Science, Globalization, International Affairs, Minor in Economics, Public Administration (2016); M.A. International Development w/ concentration on International Education (American University, 2018)

Year Elected: Junior 

Involvement: Honors Program (Honors Advisory Council), Kappa Alpha Theta (Member, Alumni Relations Chair, Chief Marketing Officer), EKU GURU (Economics’ tutor)

“Those who knew Katie (Scott) Siakhoohi, ’16, as an EKU student remember her as a natural leader with a servant heart. They also marveled at her intelligence, preparation, communication skills, passion and, yet, humility.

So, no one on the Richmond campus is surprised at her meteoric rise with World Food Program (WFP) USA, which she joined in 2017 while finishing her master’s degree in international development at American University. Just two years later, she was tapped to launch the first private foundations fundraising program at WFP USA, a non-profit working on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme.

In less than four years, she increased fundraising from approximately $500,000 to nearly $15 million to benefit more than 120 countries. Last year, the program fed nearly 90 million people by providing 15 billion meals. “Building the program from scratch and watching it thrive has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” she said, “especially so early in my career.”

Ms. Siahkoohi’s success did not go unnoticed. Today, she is senior manager of institutional partnerships with WFP USA, which she said is “making a real impact for people who need it most. From the time I was a teenager, I wanted to put my talents and passions toward an organization that worked to make the world a better place, especially at an international scale.”

Growing up in Madison County, she spent time on both the EKU and Berea College campuses, both environments fueling her curiosity for learning and desire for travel and intercultural understanding. Once at Eastern, she quickly immersed herself in campus life and governance. In her senior year, she served as Student Government Association president and student regent, and then graduated cum laude as an Honors Scholar with dual degrees in globalization and international affairs and political science and history.

Her experience with SGA and the Board of Regents gave Ms. Siahkoohi “the confidence to walk into any room and know that I had a right to be there.” The Honors Program gave her “the experience to travel the country and world.” As a junior, she attended the Salzburg Global Seminar on Human Rights in Austria, which expanded her comfort zone more than she thought possible. “I truly believe in the EKU saying, ‘Come Here, Go Anywhere.’ Because of my time at EKU, I can go anywhere knowing that I belong and am part of something much larger than myself.” 

- 2022 EKU Young Alumni Award Recipient Bio