Dr. Katherine Arenz

Dr. Katherine Arenz’s family was torn apart by alcohol and drug addiction when she was very young. According to Katherine, that was “the start of my nightmare.”

By the time she was 14 years old she was living in a shelter and emotionally broken. With the help of counselors at the shelter, Katherine slowly started the healing process. She was taken in by foster parents in Berea, where she developed a desire to learn. After being reunited with her family, she attended Glenville High School and met a dynamic geometry teacher who encouraged her to attend college. In 1996, as a mother of two, Katherine graduated from Cuyahoga Community College with an Associates of Arts degree. Earning her degree was a huge accomplishment that showed Katherine she could “go as far as I want.” She transferred to Ursuline University and in 2004 received her bachelor’s degree in biology, earned a diploma in recombinant gene technology from Concord University, and finished medical school at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

When asked how Tri-C helped prepare her for her career in medicine, Dr. Arenz replied, “I had long given up on becoming a physician, but the counselors and professors at Tri-C helped me realize dreams do come true.”

Dr. Arenz works at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky as an emergency medicine physician. “God has put helping people in my path and now I’m able to help others.”