Kat Wilderness took her first name from someone whose confidence she hoped to find in herself.

Before coming out as transgender, she watched a trans YouTuber named Kat. Choosing that name for her own drag persona was a way to reach for the self-assurance she admired. Wilderness came to her in a dream.

“It’s not really a last name but it stuck!” she said in written responses to OutFAU.

Her stage experience began long before drag. Wilderness performed in local musical theater productions starting at age 6, then began doing drag at 21 in Port St. Lucie.

Her style draws on the pop divas of the early 2000s, especially Destiny’s Child, the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera.

“Put them all in a blender and that’s me!” she said.

One performance that tested her abilities was a 15-minute Beyoncé “Renaissance” medley at Pride in Miami, complete with an outfit change halfway through. She remembers being proud of pushing herself to pull it off.

At FAU, she finds another reason to push: the audience. Wilderness counts performances at the university among her favorite moments, crediting students’ energy with encouraging the queens to work harder.

She also wants audiences to recognize the range of talent transgender performers bring to the stage.

“Trans drag queens can be more than just a pretty face,” she said. “WE CAN DO IT ALL!”

Asked about Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to restrict drag in Florida, Wilderness emphasized her determination to continue performing alongside her peers.

For an FAU student considering drag, she offers encouragement and a reminder to stay grounded.

“Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she said. “Never let your ego take the wheel and have fun!”

Readers can follow her at @katwilderness for upcoming performances.

The OutFAU Drag Show returns Friday, Nov. 20, at the Carole and Barry Kaye Auditorium on FAU’s Boca Raton campus. General admission is $10, FAU students can reserve free tickets, and the show is open to adults 18 and older.