When Katie Marks tore the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in her knee as a freshman lacrosse player at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, she learned the importance of resiliency in coming back to play her sport after being out for 14 months.
But that experience also sparked her interest in majoring in kinesiology – the study of human body movement – when the member of Stone Ridge’s class of 2025 begins studying at the University of Maryland in College Park this fall.
The 18-year-old senior is the daughter of Jill and Jim Marks, and she has a younger sister, Aly, who is a freshman at Stone Ridge. After graduating from St. Mary’s School in Rockville at her home parish, Katie Marks was drawn to attend Stone Ridge, and one of the key reasons was its Social Action Program.
As a freshman at the school sponsored by the Religious of the Sacred Heart, she learned about the pillars of Catholic social teaching. Then as a sophomore, Marks experienced various community service opportunities, including helping to package food at Catholic Charities’ SHARE Food Network warehouse, and picking up trash and pulling up invasive plants in Rock Creek Park.
Then as a Stone Ridge junior and senior, she helped out at Children’s Inn at the National Institutes of Health, which is located near her school.
“It’s really great to get all the students involved in service… They do it in a fun way,” she said.
Marks said she appreciated the values she learned during her Catholic school education at St. Mary’s and at Stone Ridge, which emphasizes the goals of a Sacred Heart education, including “a personal and active faith in God,” and “a social awareness which impels to action.”
At Stone Ridge, she was a co-leader in campus ministry, helping to plan school Masses, where she sometimes assisted as an altar server, lector or usher, and she read prayers at assemblies.
“Getting involved with my faith at school has been awesome,” she said.
Marks also played shooting guard on the Gators’ basketball team. She praised her teammates at the school, saying, “Every team I’ve been on in Stone Ridge has been so close-knit, and we’re such good friends… You know these people are going to be there for you and uplift you.”
Lifeguarding has been one of her summer activities. “I like that it keeps you on your toes,” she said.
During her time at Stone Ridge, she also participated in Morgan’s Message, a group that promotes good mental health for athletes, and One Love, which promotes healthy relationships for young people.
As her June 5 graduation day approached, Marks said, “I’m excited to start a new chapter.”
Reflecting on her interest in studying kinesiology at the University of Maryland, Marks said that after her knee injury, she was amazed by the care and effort and time that doctors, nurses and physical therapists offered to her as she recovered.
“I got a better understanding of the human body,” she said, explaining that after majoring in kinesiology, she might be interested in preparing for a career in physical therapy or trying to go to medical school.
“I want to be able to help people, just as I was helped when I was injured,” Marks said.
Three days later, Marks played the attack position on the Stone Ridge Gators’ lacrosse team that won its third straight Independent School League championship.
