Kathryn Chao is from Cary, NC and is a Bridge Year Fellow in which she took her gap
year her sophomore and junior year at Carolina. She is currently double majoring in Economics,
Philosophy and Fashion where she focuses on textile sustainability. During her gap year, Kathryn
volunteered in Cape Town, South Africa, through Xchange SA , where she developed South
Africa’s pioneering Slow Fashion Database and led community education programs for homeless
women, teaching textile repurposing skills. She also worked on eco-tourism web development
and communications consultation for a startup in Windhoek, Namibia, supporting charity
fundraising for rural education.