Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Equifax
Search every verified Kate Walker interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a September 2024 interview, Kate Walker discussed her experience living with Friedreich's ataxia (FA), a rare progressive neuromuscular disease she was diagnosed with at age 12. Walker stated that she became a full-time wheelchair user during her sophomore year of high school and noted that FA affects approximately 15,000 people worldwide. She said the diagnosis forced her to grow up quickly and taught her empathy, adding that she initially feared joining a sorority in college due to concerns about how others might perceive her disability. Walker described feeling welcomed when she first attended a Kappa Delta (KD) sorority event and said the organization helped her connect with others for fundraising efforts she had been involved in since high school. She encouraged other disabled individuals to remember they are not alone.
“So, I was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia, or FA, in 2016 when I was 12, so I was just about going into high school.”
“FA is a rare, progressive neuromuscular disease — you lose your balance and coordination over time, and I became a full-time wheelchair user when I was a sophomore in high school.”
“FA is so rare; there's only 15,000 people in the world that have it.”
“When I was first diagnosed and growing up with FA, everybody that was on social media and had FA or similar diseases was older, like adults, and I was looking for someone that was like going through high school.”
“FA has taught me so much — it made me have to grow up from a very young age because I was exposed to uncomfortable conversations with doctors, and I also learned to have so much empathy for people, to treat everyone with kindness and never assume anything.”
“When I was going to college, I was like, I don't want to do a sorority — I was disabled; I was afraid of people making assumptions or being closed off to me. And then my family and my friends talked me into it.”
“The first time I came to KD, when I came in the door I just immediately felt welcome, and I remember leaving KD and I cried in my car because I was like, 'They were so nice and so genuine.'”
“A lot of the fundraisers that I do now I've always done, even in high school, but I have made so many connections through KD; KD has made it super easy for me to do those things because of the connections I've made, not only in my chapter, but also the alumnae.”
“If there's any disabled people watching this, know you're not alone; it can feel super isolating especially when you're first diagnosed or first injured, but it's important to remember that you're not.”
When she was 12, Kate was diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia — a rare, progressive neurogenetic condition that affects 4000 ...
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