Kate Schartel Novak

Kate spent her first ten years teaching in Pennsylvania public schools.  She re-entered education via the online sector, initially as an independent contractor with VIPKID, the world's #1 online English language learning platform.  Since then, Kate has contracted with additional online teaching companies such as EF Teach Online, Proximity Learning, Tutored by Teachers, Air Tutors, and Wyzant, teaching one-to-one and one-to-many classes from the comfort of her home. Shortly after beginning her online teaching career, Kate was invited to instruct one-to-many VIPKID classes through the Rural Education Project, a joint mission with the Jack Ma Foundation to bring English language learning to marginalized elementary schools in rural China. Kate was also a part of the Fast Pass Team, for which she traveled monthly to the Philadelphia area to coach teacher applicants on the skills necessary to be successfully hired, and hosted quarterly meet-ups in an effort to foster community among local VIPKID teachers.  Given her success in these venues, Kate was recommended and selected for the VIPTeach Global Online Teaching Fellowship, serving with the inaugural cohort of fellows and then on the organizational advisory council.  These experiences lent themselves to a corporate position with Proximity Learning as a Professional Development Specialist and Teacher Community Coordinator.  Eager to return to the physical classroom, Kate most recently acquired her instructional add-on for grades PreK-4 and now substitutes for ESS in her daughter's school district.

Even though Kate dabbled in pageantry as a baby and in middle school, her journey didn't fully begin until she caught the Mrs. America pageant on TV while channel-chasing one night.  She was recently married, the broadcast was in the middle of the state costume competition, and she thought to herself, "if they can do this, so can I!"  Kate learned there were three main pageant systems for married women at the time:  Mrs. America, Mrs. United States, and Mrs. International.  What started as a goal to win any of these three state titles became a goal to win all three, joking that it'd be the "Triple Crown" of pageantry, in the vein of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred horse racing.  By 2019, she'd achieved this goal upon being crowned Mrs. Pennsylvania International, after serving as Mrs. Pennsylvania United States in 2011 and Mrs. Pennsylvania America in 2015.  Upon completion of her year as Mrs. Pennsylvania International, she dubbed herself "#TripleCrownKate" and branched into other pageant systems armed with the state, national, and international experience she'd acquired via her three respective reigns.  Several regional, national, and international titles later, Kate still competes but also coaches other pageant contestants of all ages, allowing her to model the qualities and virtues of successful contestants alongside directly teaching them.  Her clients range from those brand-new to pageantry to state and international titleholders.  If you're interested in learning more about coaching options and rates, please complete the interest form below!

After competing nationally in 2011, Kate realized it takes more than just dieting to achieve true fitness.  She was inspired by the women living healthfully at more than twenty years her senior and looked to make a lifestyle change.  Although Kate danced professionally as a director and member of the Lady Outlawz dance team for the Lehigh Valley Outlawz indoor football team, workouts were seasonal and irregular.  She initially found that ZUMBA fitness combined her love for dance and music with her newfound goal of complete mind/body health, and registered for ZUMBA instructor training before she even took her first class!  In the years since, Kate has obtained multiple ZUMBA specialty licenses, an AFAA group exercise certificate, AFAA practical yoga instructor certificate, FiTOUR Pilates certification, FiTOUR Myofascial Release Foam Roller certification, Les Mills BODYFLOW certification, Keiser Indoor Cycling Foundations certification, Les Mills CORE certification, and AAAI/ISMA Phase 1 Mat Pilates Instructor certification.  She currently teaches Gentle Yoga and Aqua Zumba at the Upper Perkiomen Valley YMCA while finishing her 200 hour registered yoga teacher training and taking reformer Pilates classes as time permits.

Kate’s journey into travel planning began in 2014, when a great relationship with her own travel advisor—Sail Away Events & Travel owner Rhonda Bastian—inspired her to join Sail Away as a home-based travel advisor. Since then, she has coordinated weddings, honeymoons, family reunions, leisure getaways, and business travel, both locally and abroad. Her work has taken clients to destinations such as the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Greece, Mexico, the Galápagos Islands, Disney World, and ocean and river cruises.  Her travel expertise lends itself to volunteer work as a Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where she's helped Wish families explore destinations around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to Disney.  Bringing these wishes to life enriches Kate’s own travel planning, inspiring her to craft meaningful, personalized journeys for every client. In addition to travel planning, Kate also organizes local events and weddings—and, uniquely, has even officiated ceremonies as an ordained minister. She is known for her attention to detail and genuine care for her clients, making every trip feel seamless and stress-free. Among the destinations she has traveled, Disney World and Jamaica are her favorites; in fact, she has visited Jamaica twelve times.