Like a lot of students in Okarche, Katie Bomhoff grew up watching her dad work on the farm.

Only her’s - Steve Bomhoff was a bit different.

He was doing so with one arm. Steve Bomhoff became an above-elbow amputee after a farming accident when he was 4 years old.

He wore a prosthetic until he was 18, then stopped.

Years later, Katie Bomhoff continues to draw inspiration from her father as she works toward a career that will benefit people just like him.

And she, herself, just got a major boost toward her goal.

Bomhoff was recently awarded a $10,000 scholarship by the Orthotics and Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research.

The O&P Foundation part- ners with the American Board of Certification for Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) to provide scholarships to orthotic and prosthetic students who are currently enrolled at O&P education institutions that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Bomhoff is one of just 10 nationwide recipients of the scholarship.

The daughter of Steven and Suzanne Bomhoff, Katie is a 2019 graduate of Okarche High School.

Along with being a class valedictorian, she was named Academic All-State, part of two state champion one-act play productions and earned All-State cast, was the head programmer on the robotics team, was the academic team captain, played softball and was also on the speech team, for which she was a two-time state finalist.

After Okarche, Bomhoff attended the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2023.

Now Bomhoff is working toward her career goal and it intertwines with her father in multiple ways.

Her goal is to become a Certified Prosthetist-Orthoist (CPO).

Bomhoff said she enjoys helping others increase their mobility and functioning with the use of orthotics and prosthetics.

Like her father - also a mechanical engineer - she is also very mechanically- minded.

“So although the field is centered around direct patient care, there is also a fabrication aspect that allows me to work with my hands when it comes to casting, working with plaster molds, fitting devices and making alignment or mechanical adjustments.”

She’s perfecting that craft as a student at the Baylor College of Medicine. Bomhoff is set to graduate in December 2025.

She is currently back in Baltimore on her second residency rotation.

It’s one of five residencies she’ll complete before graduating as Baylor requires 12 months of classroom instruction and 18 months of residencies.

Her first residency was at Scott Sabolich Ottobock. care, which is where her father received his first prosthetic after his accident.

Helping people like her father is what drives Bomhoff.

“My dad is the main inspiration behind joining the field of orthotics and prosthetics,” she said. “I have always been so encouraged and inspired by everything that he is able to do in spite of his amputation.

“And I have a passion for helping others.”