Katelyn Cummins is soaking up her year as Rose of Tralee as much as she can.
She only has a handful of months left as the reigning Rose before she has to hand over her title. And we’re sure that it will be a bittersweet moment for her.
“I’m busy with different events every single day,” she shares with us at the Platinum VIP Style Awards.
“I’m in primary schools, secondary schools, conferences, award nights, graduations, VIP Style Awards, there’s something different every single day. That’s the beauty of the Rose of Tralee, you never know what every day is going to bring. I’m busy six or seven days a week. It’s non-stop.”
So non-stop she jetted off to New York less than 12 hours after winning Dancing with the Stars in March.
“I was in New York, Texas, Nashville then I went up to Canada, I was in Ottawa and Toronto. I was gone for about two-and-a-half weeks. It was absolutely crazy,” she shares.
“I am such a chaotic person in live generally, so it really suited me just to fly straight in something else. I think if I didn’t I would have had a psychotic episode. The comedown after Dancing with the Stars is chronic. It’s such an amazing series, the production of it and obviously the family that you make as well.”
She jokes she had a few days after coming home from Canada but she’s been non-stop ever since.
“I only have one year to do it, and I go back to my job in September. So I want to make the most of it. It’s one lifetime, one experience.”
While she plans to finish her electrician apprenticeship and work in the field, she confides in us that she’s not going to turn her back on the media side of things.
“I would love to stay in the media side of things. I’m working on a few things to see if I can stay on that side of things. But I’m definitely going back to my job,” she reassures us.
“But if media or anything can continue on the side, I would definitely love to do it. I would never say no to anything I’ve made my year all about saying yes to opportunities. So I really want to keep that going for my future. You never know what will come around.”
Katelyn opened up about her hearing impairment during her time on Dancing with the Stars. However, she never planned to discuss that part of her life.
“I never thought I would bring that into my year of being Rose of Tralee. But I’m really glad that I did,” she tells us.
“I’ve met so many different people since doing Dancing with the Stars who have disabilities or hidden disabilities who say, ‘I can do what she’s doing.’ They’ve now given themselves further boundaries.
“I never thought of it as something different so why should they? I’m really glad to be that person and to help people see that we can do anything we want to.”
Check out all the winners at this year’s Platinum VIP Style Awards here.
