Princess Katie Frederic has participated in sports for as long as she can remember.
“I don’t think I’ve ever not done a sport,” she said. “I’ve done track and field my entire life and played volleyball.”
She and Princess Amanda Raymond have coached volleyball together and Frederic recently won a district track championship in the javelin.
Her interest in sports led to her field of study, kinesiology at Oregon State University.
She already is attending Linn-Benton Community College to get a head start and complete prerequisites.
“I’ve always wanted to know exactly how my body works and I can help my friends if they say, ‘Oh my shoulder hurts’ or something, I want to know how to help them,” she said.
“I don’t know if physical therapy is exactly what I want to get into but definitely something in that field.”
Frederic was on the receiving end of therapy when she injured her back last year.
“I got new javelin spikes and I didn’t break them in first, which was my bad, and I had a really big meet last year and I decided to throw with them anyway,” Frederic said.
“My foot kind of got stuck in the runway as my body kept moving forward. I kind of pulled my hips out of alignment which messed up my back. I was out for the whole summer.”
Now Frederic balances sports, education and her Strawberry Princess schedule.
“It’s a lot to juggle, but if I can manage my time correctly, then it works out good,” Frederic said – though she added that her parents say they hardly see her.
Frederic has lived in Lebanon her entire life and being a Strawberry Princess has been a long-time goal.
“I’ve always had all the Strawberry Princesses come to my school,” Frederic said.
“I remember in the fourth grade, I went to Sand Ridge. That was the most exciting thing of the year – new people coming in to the school, especially princesses.”
Frederic can’t recall the name of the princess who made the biggest impact on her, but she remembers what she said.
“There was a red-headed princess that year and she came in and sat down next to me when I was eating my lunch,” Frederic said.
“I just remember, she looked at me and was like, “You know, you’ve got the hair to be a princess too.’”
That’s when she decided she would apply.
“Ever since then I always thought, I can do it, I’m going to do it,” she said. “I think that any time you have a goal in mind, you can do whatever you put your mind to.”
Being on the princess side of those encouraging conversations has been eye-opening for Frederic.
“I didn’t quite realize the extent of how much they look up to us,” she said.
“There’s times when they’ll just stare at you.
“It’s incredible and powerful and kind of scary because it makes you really self conscious of how you act and treat everyone else around you and what you say to them is very very important.”
The experience has helped her realize the importance of being a good role model.
“They really do just absorb everything that they see and hear,” she said.
Frederic has enjoyed other activities with the Strawberry Court as well.
They participated in the Loyalty Days and Sea Fair parade in Newport on May 6, Frederic’s first parade.
“(It) was awesome,” she said.
She said her father was excited to use his truck to pull the float he and the other princesses’ parents made.
“He texted me, ‘This is what my truck was made for, pulling things!’ Frederic laughed.
The float, which has a grassy platform and fire with glowing flames, was in line with the camping theme of this year’s Strawberry Festival.
Frederic, 18, is the daughter of Angie and David Frederic. She and her family regularly camp at Cultus Lake in the Deschutes National Forest.
“It’s beautiful and it’s been my family’s traditional spot to go camping every year for the Fourth of July,” Frederic said. “It’s awesome. I have so many memories. I have a huge family, lots of cousins and aunts and uncles.”
Her dream camping location is New Zealand.
“It’s beautiful over there and camping over there, anywhere, would be a dream come true for me,” she said.
“That’s where they filmed “The Lord of the Rings” so that’s how I discovered it. When I started looking up places and things to do there and it’s just beautiful. I could just go backpacking out there for a year and be totally happy.
“Unfortunately it’s kind of expensive to get over there.”
This summer, after her Strawberry Court schedule slows down, Frederic will most likely enjoy the outdoors closer to home.
“I go hiking a lot with friends and family,” she said. “We go backpacking during the summer a lot.
“That’s my way of relaxing is going hiking, spending time outdoors with no cell phone service.”
As for her experience being a Strawberry Princess, Frederic says it has been “so much fun.”
“I cannot emphasize enough, it’s definitely a good twist to my senior year,” she said.
“It’s the cherry on top.”