Mt Lebanon Magazine Meet the PIO Intern: Kate Kessler

A girl stands next to a dog on her front lawn. — Kate and her dog, Randall, posed for pictures on the day of her senior prom.

Hi! My name is Kate Kessler, and I am excited to be interning at Mt. Lebanon Magazine this summer.

I’m hoping to write feature-style articles about the local culture, particularly relating to art and music. I’m looking forward to learning all about what goes on behind the scenes of Mt. Lebanon Magazine, and I can’t wait to see my own articles professionally published!

I have lived in Pittsburgh for my entire life—I love the city and everything in it. I live with my parents, Christina and Otto, on Longridge Drive. I have an older sister, Ryan, a younger sister, Leah, and the world’s cutest dog, Randall, a 7-year-old yellow lab. I have attended Mt. Lebanon schools since kindergarten, and I graduated from Mt. Lebanon High School in 2022.

I just finished my freshman year at American University in Washington, D.C. where I’m double majoring in journalism and music. I write for two media publications: American Way of Life magazine (AWOL), a long-form, investigative publication, and WVAU radio web staff, where I produce a bi-weekly music blog. This fall, I will be an assistant editor for AWOL.

A girl stands in front of the World War II monument in Washington D.C. — Kate “night monumenting” in Washington D.C. where she posed for a picture in front of the “Pennsylvania” section of the World War II monument. Night monumenting, or visiting popular monuments late at night, is a popular thing to do as a college student in D.C.

I’m also a former editor-in-chief for Mt. Lebanon High School’s newspaper, the Devil’s Advocate. I fell in love with journalism in Dawn Davenport’s classroom, so it’s exciting to get to write in Mt. Lebanon again.

A cinnamon bun Cubano that a friend from the Davenport Coffee Lounge made for Kate during finals season. Kate spent a lot of time drinking coffee studying in that window during her last few weeks of the semester.

I am happy to be back in Mt. Lebanon to catch up with my friends and family. It’s nice getting to come back to the place I grew up and see how this little township has shaped me as a person, from the road run routes I took for cross country practices to the local restaurants and coffee shops that I grab breakfast at with my friends.

Outside of journalism, I play bass guitar in AU’s jazz ensemble, along with some smaller jazz combos. I have been a big music fan for my entire life and love all types of music, but I am a bit of a grunge head—my favorite band is Alice In Chains. I also love reading and watching movies, and both my favorite book and my favorite movie is Fight Club.

I’ve become a huge espresso fan since I started working as a barista at a local campus coffee shop, the Davenport Coffee Lounge. When I’m not working at the magazine this summer, you can find me at Panera Bread at the Galleria, where I’ve been for two years.

I’m looking forward to this summer, and I hope that something I write catches your interest, tells you about something new or even just makes you smile.

You can reach Kate at kkessler@mtlebanon.org ^[1].

Read Kate’s story about The Mackin Family Band here! ^[2]

And, check out her first person on Mt. Lebanon’s First Fridays ^[3].