Sophomore Ian Katz is a leader, student, teammate and much more. According to many of his friends, he is hardworking, funny, organized and talented. He is an amazing student who challenges himself with the hardest coursework Hudson High School has to offer. Not only is he a scholar, but also a four-sport athlete. Besides all of that, Katz is a very positive person and a leader in our school.
Katz is a very good student in advanced coursework as only a sophomore. He takes the hardest classes at school and does exceptionally well in each of them. “Katz saved my grade in AP Physics. He definitely helped me learn the content,” said Senior Luke Bliefer. Senior Ben Kinast stated that “Katz is an academic weapon.”
Katz is quite talented in the athletic world. He is currently a winger for soccer, a kicker for football, a midfielder for lacrosse, and a part of the swim team. His favorite from the impressive list is soccer. “I love playing soccer. I’ve been playing for twelve years, since I was three years old.” Katz is also highly skilled at soccer and plays a huge role in the success of the Varsity soccer team. Last season, he had nine goals and six assists. In addition, he came up big in the game against Brecksville-Broadview Heights, registering three goals against them. Also during the 2023-2024 soccer season, Katz was named two times MaxPreps player of the game against Wadsworth and Twinsburg.
Another thing that Katz is also involved in is Student Government, where he serves as the sophomore class Vice President. Katz explained the process of becoming a leader for Student Government. “It all starts in the spring by submitting a Google form. Then you have to create a video saying why you should be in a leadership position in Student Government. Also in the video, you have to say what qualifications you have to bring to the position. I found out that I became the class Vice President in May. Also I show up to the Student Government meetings every Tuesday morning and every Friday I show up to the elective board meeting with all the student advisors. We talk to the principals about what our plans are, especially with our plans regarding the school dances when it’s a few weeks prior to them. For example, I volunteered to set up for the Homecoming dance on Saturday morning.”
He is also involved in a boatload of organizations including Hudson Community First and Academic Challenge. Academic Challenge “is kind of like a trivia or jeopardy club. I enjoy it and it’s run by Mr. Bolin. We get asked trivia questions at competitions and it’s very fun.” The Academic Challenge team travels around Summit County and other cities, competing against other teams and schools in trivia, academic knowledge and general knowledge. They compete in a team format in a game similar to Jeopardy. The team competes in groups of four on Saturdays.
Katz is involved in so many things not only because he knows that it’s important but also because he is inspired by a world-class athlete, Michael Jordan. Katz said Jordan was, “a winner, six and zero in the National Basketball Association finals. A winner.”
Outside of school, Katz is very passionate about traveling. He is about to become a member of the All Fifty Club. The All Fifty Club is a club for people who have been to all fifty states. “I have traveled to forty-nine out of the fifty states. If I could go anywhere, I would want to go to Alaska; that is the only state I have not been to. I want to go there and go to the National Parks and see what it’s like. It would be amazing to go to Denali National Park.”
Katz has a very bright future ahead of him. He stated, “I want to graduate from Hudson High School and go to college. I hope to attend Purdue University and get a degree in engineering. I hope to become an engineer one day.”
Finally, Katz had some very important news for the future junior class. “I want to run for class president and beat Graham Nye. I will get there by thinking of some ideas and listening to the student body’s ideas as well. Hopefully, I win the election in May.”
Katz can be a very inspirational person to many. He wants people to “be yourself and not care what others think.” He hopes that this idea will get more people involved in different clubs and express themselves in new ways. Also, he is hoping for your vote in May for class president if you are a current Sophomore.
