Biography: Kate-Yeonjae Jeong

Kate-Yeonjae Jeong attends the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts with a concentration in creative writing. A communicator and community-changer at heart, Kate seeks to utilize her writer's voice as a way to spark and amplify necessary conversations. Her creative works and essays have been recognized by the New York Times, Scholastic Arts and Writing, and more. 

Kate is the Editor-in-Chief of Kinder HSPVA's school newspaper, paper*, and is also the elected President of Student Council, for which she launched the school-wide newsletter, the Synopsis. Her nationwide community project, Light Up Network, furthers her mission of using writing as a way to foster intergenerational connections, and has a forthcoming anthology, 'The Joys of Me', authored by adults with intellectual developmental disabilities. An avid artist and photography enthusiast, Kate serves on the Guild Council of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and her photographs have been published by PhotoVogue.

Performances

A Texas Legacy- The One Ann Only

written, performed, and copywritten by Kate-Yeonjae Jeong, Poet-in-Residence

witty, feisty, quick to deliver.

those words were what they described

Texas Governor Ann Richards to be.

such phrases, however, are too confined

to truly expand upon her legacy, so allow me to say in

the Governor’s own words:

“I have very strong feelings

about how you lead your life.

You always look ahead,

you never look back.”

to surge forward as she says,

this Women’s History Month, we must

reflect on the momentous foundation she has set,

fighting for the rights of women.

the strength of a ‘she’ is unlimited

and Governor Richards saw to it,

allowing ‘her’ to be a Texas Ranger.

and for our great state of Texas,

on which she paved a visionary path:

creating the “new Texas”- a land for all.

include the minorities and increase the power,

a policy in politics that celebrates

the infinite possibilities that Texas can build.

with her resounding remarks, Governor Richards

awakened much conversation, stirring something anew

and planting seeds of progress,

creating fiery blue fields

to light up the open lands of Texas, setting a true legacy.

 
 

Happy Birthday, Houston - Kate-Yeonjae Jeong, our Poet-in-Residence

Along the curves of the bayou and above the peaks of one of the biggest, gleaming cities of skyscrapers, Houston’s story was just beginning centuries ago.

Deep beneath the heart of Texas, Houston began in 1836, as the pioneers of the new age arrived to create the foundation of a lasting landmark. 

The city was not complete without its founders, heroes whose names are sung in every area of the lands: Sam Houston, whose bold spirit guides not only the city, but the state of Texas; the Allen Brothers, whose vision oversaw six thousand acres; Charlotte Marie, the mother of the city, who aptly named it to embody strength.

Beneath the grand Texas skies, Houston began with humbleness and humility, bound together by the togetherness and unity of its people.

Along the bends of the bayou and the freedom of the buffalos, Houstonians gathered like a melting pot of cultures.

Such diversity has continued into the modern day, where we celebrate multitudes of backgrounds and differences; yet we are all connected as proud Houstonians.

Together, we only make our city stronger and ameliorated, marching together with a promise for the future.

Houston is the direction towards dreams that are sky-high like the glass skyscrapers, as valuable as its natural resources, as innovative as the expanding medicine and technology, as victorious as the Astros.

Beneath the bright sun and the dancing lights at night, Houston’s rhythm is a never-ending, lively symphony of life.

So, here’s to Houston, a city of courage, dreams, and heroes, on this August day, we will carry on our city’s never-ending legacy.