Korina Valenzuela

Ward’s friends describe her personality as ambitious, loving, and inventive.

Ward began her YouTube channel at the age of 10. The first video she ever posted, she recalls, was a “What’s In My Purse” video. And while some may have been nervous to put themselves on the internet for the world to see, Ward didn’t see any reason to be.

“I was really excited to post my first video. I was so ready to put it up there,” said Ward.

She originally became interested in starting her own channel by watching other videos.  “I found a bunch of beauty videos and I just thought it was really interesting. I was really inspired to make my own,” she said.

Her channel soon became a place for all things beauty, makeup, and fashion. Her subscribers love her numerous makeup tutorials, “outfit of the week” videos, and do-it-yourself crafts. But keeping her channel consistent takes up a lot of her time.

“The filming and editing is all done by me. Depending on what it is, a video can take up to 12 hours to completely film, edit, and upload,” explained Ward. “During the school week I’ll just work on my editing because I have homework. But on the weekends, YouTube is my top priority. I usually spend a full day filming videos, editing them, and making thumbnails. So it takes up basically all my free time but I love it!”

Ward’s friend Kierstin Thompson sees firsthand how hard she works: “Most people don’t realize that it truly takes a lot of hard work and is a real job. She puts a lot of time into planning videos and it’s really awesome to see how her videos have grown over the years.”

With the success also comes hardships. Ward sometimes receives negative comments and criticism from viewers. “I’ve been on YouTube for such a long time that obviously you’re going to get hate. It’s a part of YouTube and it’s just what you have to go through,” she said. “I remember when I was 10 and I just started, I was so offended when people were mean to me. But now it’s to the point where I can just scroll through the comments and read them and then forget about them the next day. I’ve gotten used to it and I’ve built a thick skin. If people are going to insult me behind the screen I’m not going to take it personally!”

Luckily, Ward has received great support from her friends and family. “I definitely think my friends and family have always supported me and as my channel has grown, they’ve supported me even more,” she said. “And it makes me happy because it’s something that I’ve found that I really like and stuck to. Because, you know, you can try out different sports and things and if you don’t like it you just dump it, but I’ve stuck with this for five years.”

In those five years, her channel has grown tremendously. Working her way up from zero subscribers to almost 300,000 took hard work and dedication. But to Ward, it wasn’t about the numbers.

“I think when I started I didn’t really think, ‘Oh, I want a million subscribers.’ I wasn’t really thinking about who was watching, I just wanted to make videos,” she explained. “It really takes time and effort. If you’re putting in 100% effort to your videos people are going to see that and they’re going to subscribe. Just be yourself and do what you want to do. I think that’s how you gain a bigger audience.”

One of Ward’s best friends and fellow YouTuber, Adrienne Hill, attributes Katharine’s success to her relatability: “She’s just always herself. She never tries to be somebody she’s not.”

Thompson agrees: “Katharine isn’t afraid to be who she is. She takes pride in everything she does but she never brags about her channel. I think that’s why Katharine has had the success that she has because she’s a relatable teenage girl living her own extraordinary dream.”

That relatability has not only grabbed attention of viewers but large brands as well. She has worked with companies such as Neutrogena, Bath and Body Works, Maybelline, and Clean and Clear, who send her products that she features in her videos.

“I talk to the companies personally, which is really cool,” said Ward.

Ward has also received many travel opportunities and has participated in makeup contests. In the NYX Face Awards, she advanced to the final competition round. After being flown out to Los Angeles, she competed against five other YouTube stars in a goddess themed makeup round.

“The goddess I got was goddess of the sea, so I made my [model] look like a mermaid. I did scales on her face and blue lips and blue smoky eyes. It was really cool. It was something I would have never done before,” she explained.

Ward received the award for the best technique, as well as a NYX gift card. During events like these, she gets to visit with her friends that she’s met through YouTube and meet some of her subscribers. “I think the craziest thing is when I go out in public and girls recognize me, which is so cool. I love meeting them. It’s just really fun and they’re so cute,” said Ward. “When people come up to me I think it’s the coolest thing because I would just be a stranger to them if I had never started making videos.”

As Ward gets older, she realizes that her passion lies in makeup artistry and hopes that in the future she can pursue that as a career. “I want to be a makeup artist for movies and do special effects and sci-fi sort of stuff. But I do plan on going to an actual university, not just to beauty school. I really want to go out to L.A. because that’s the best place to be if you want to do makeup artistry,” she said.

Hill says that Ward will definitely find continued success in the future: “I can’t imagine Katharine without YouTube, so I definitely see YouTube sticking with her for a while. I also envision Katharine living in a city like L.A., pursuing her dreams of being a makeup artist, and continuing to film her amazing videos.”