School of Medicine Alumna Honored as ‘Angel in Adoption’
Posted in GUMC Stories
A graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine who has devoted herself to caring for children in need has been selected as an Angel in Adoption awardee by Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Kate Arnold, who graduated from Georgetown this year and is now a resident in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Oklahoma, was awarded for having adopted three children as a single mother while balancing her medical education and training. She will be honored at a ceremony on Oct. 8 and a gala on Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C.
The Angels in Adoption program is the signature public awareness campaign of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, a nonprofit organization that works to raise awareness about the needs of children without families and to remove policy barriers to pairing children with families.
Arnold has long been passionate about providing homes to children who need them; she has worked for years as a mentor and volunteer with foster care organizations. She first encountered her children and their birth mother while volunteering at a home for teenaged mothers a decade ago. When the birth mother lost custody in 2011, she named Arnold as the person with whom she wanted her children to live.
Arnold did not hesitate. Having developed a very close relationship with the children, she made a difficult situation work and began adoption proceedings – all the while juggling the demands of medical school.
She says she is honored to receive this prestigious recognition and sees it as an opportunity to make a difference in an area about which she is passionate.
“To me, this award means my kids and I are part of the adoption community. As part of that community, I look forward to advocating for systemic changes to help foster children be loved and encouraged, as every child deserves to be,” Arnold says.
While still a medical student, Arnold said in an interview that she chose Georgetown because of the institution’s commitment to the mission of cura personalis, or care of the whole person, and to social justice.
“Kate is a bright, young physician who embodies Georgetown’s mission of cura personalis. After working with her for four years, I can assure you that she is exceptional — composed of about 40% courage and determination, and 60% heart,” says Stephen Ray Mitchell, MD, dean for medical education at the School of Medicine.
By Lauren Wolkoff, GUMC Communications