After graduating from The Interlochen Arts Academy High School in Michigan, she attended the USC Thornton School of music. In 2010 she graduated cum laude with a BM in composition, and received the Choir Leadership Award under conductor and mentor Lesley Leighton. Katie attended the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at the USC Thornton School of music and received The Alice and Joe Harnell Scholarship for Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television in 2010-2011. In 2016 Katie received an MM in composition from the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she was a fellow in the Composers in the Schools program. She begins her DMA studies at the University of Michigan in Fall 2016.