Seizing opportunities has since become her hallmark.

In December 2023 she graduated from UofL with dual  degrees from the College of Arts & Sciences.

It is a program she had not planned to pursue after she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2020 from the just as the pandemic set in.

But there she was, and, given a chance to put her classroom learning to work through contact tracing, she jumped into the unknown. Soon, she was supervising UofL’s pandemic contact tracing team.

Owens, who had paid her own way through her undergraduate years, dreamed of getting a master’s degree. She was attracted to the dual degree master’s program because it offered a graduate assistantship that would pay for her tuition. She jumped again into the unknown.

“If I’m being completely honest,” she said, “I didn’t know anything about urban planning before I went into the degree. Then I fell in love with urban planning!”

She didn’t get discouraged by being one of only three African-American students or being younger than many of her older professional classmates. And soon, the more she learned, the more she connected what she was learning to her public health foundation.

This time around, Owens also took another leap and became more involved in student life on campus. Her undergraduate years were consumed by the demands of jobs and commuting, but the graduate assistantship meant she had more time to explore being a student.

Owens “got involved in anything I could get my hands on,” she said. “I was like, well, I have the free time. I’m going to try to pour myself into the school.” One highlight was presenting research at the 2022 (SECoPA), where she was a runner-up for a prestigious award for most outstanding paper.

“I was that kid that got taken out of class to take extra reading classes and needed tutors,” she said. “Just to be where I am today and do as well as I’m doing, I’m really proud of that because it took a long time to get over those hurdles growing up.”

Owens, a graduate of Louisville’s Butler Traditional High School, said she has always been inspired by her mother, a server who works multiple jobs as a single parent of three. She hopes earning her master’s degree will help set her on a career path that leads to financial longevity for generations to come. She even earned her state license to sell life insurance to help others plan for the future.

For now, she plans to pursue a career in philanthropy. Owens is a coordinator of corporate and foundation relations in UofL’s . She thinks often about the generous donors whose gifts made her graduate assistantship possible.

“I don’t know who to thank, but someone out there made that possible,” she said. “I want to learn all that I can learn to better help other students and our university be successful.”

Today, the single parent of a special needs 10-year-old sees herself with a PhD instead.

On Dec. 15, she graduated from the University of Louisville through the  online program and a goal of getting her PhD before she’s 40.

White, a Tennessee native and first-generation college student, had a change of plans after her son, Landon, was born with a severe heart condition and other special needs. She worked in a bank and a beauty salon, taking Landon to his many medical appointments in her free time.

She never forgot her dream, though, and came to UofL in 2021 to earn a business degree. She later switched to the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development’s (CEHD) online . She took only one year to get her undergraduate degree, then immediately started on her master’s. 

She made time to get involved in college life, and served on the board of UofL’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Student Chapter. This year, she became vice president of the UofL CardinOLL Ambassador program for BS OLL students and alumni.

“I didn’t come to play,” said White, who maintained a 4.0 GPA. “I look at the big picture all the time.”

She singled out the and for helping her juggle her many responsibilities. A scholarship recipient, White sought out the scholarships she needed to make sure she had no debt when she graduated. 

“I have overcome enormous challenges which could have stopped me but didn’t,” she said. “Instead, I was able to utilize UofL resources and excel quickly through this degree.”

White knows well that life is a winding road, and is looking for a job with the flexibility she needs for Landon. She is ready to work “wherever God places me,” she said, adding “while change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

She relied on UofL’s resources, faculty and staff to get her through her toughest challenge—a comprehensive review of all she had learned—leading the way to a bachelor of fine arts from the Hite Institute of Art and Design in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“UofL helped me pass my review and graduate this fall because of the fantastic people … who played a significant role in who I am as an artist and as a future alumnus of UofL,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey, a , worked at the independent student newspaper, , and as a student assistant at Ekstrom Library. Read more about her Fall BFA Thesis Exhibition .

Asked about her favorite class, she said her experience in a directed study working on a project with Professor Mary Carothers of the Hite Institute made a profound impact on her.

The project focused on a Metro United Way/Russell Place of Promise guaranteed income program called YALift! Ramsey and other artists reflected on the meaning of guaranteed income in their work. Called “Take this!” the project included narratives to go with their imagery.

“Paring narratives with imagery greatly influenced my BFA track,” Ramsey said, “which solidified my love for UofL. If I had not gone here, I would have never met Mary Carothers or participated in the PhotoVoice project. It was an experience I will never forget.”

The experience also served as inspiration for her future higher education goals: Ramsey hopes to someday return to UofL for a Master of Fine Arts degree or an individualized major in visual sociology.

Ramsey, of Louisville, said her family has close ties to the university and she feels it has evolved along with the city. Being accepted at UofL was a “dream come true,” she said.

“I loved visiting different places that integrate the community and the university, such as the and the ,” she said.

After graduation, Ramsey plans to open a small business focused on film photography and crochet projects.

After her 56-year-old mother died of a sudden heart attack when Potter was 18, she knew she wanted to be a cardiologist. 

True to her name, nothing was going to get in the way of that goal.

“There’s always a million reasons not to do something, but there’s always a million reasons to do something,” Potter said with a smile. “If you’re going through a tough time, you deserve to make a better life for yourself, no matter what. … Don’t give up.”

On Dec. 15, Potter will join hundreds of other summer and fall degree candidates at the KFC Yum! Center for exercises. Cheering her on from the stands as she celebrates her biology undergraduate degree will be her three brothers and two sisters. 

“I want to make my Mom proud because she always believed in me,” she said.

After her mother died, Potter’s father turned to drugs to cope. His addictions led her to sever her ties with him. 

Potter, 24, who lives with one of her sisters in Taylorsville and commutes to UofL, said she was determined to get her college degree “no matter what,” even though it meant she would have to  put herself through school. To help lessen the financial burden, the first-generation student began her college career at Jefferson Community & Technical College (JCTC) in Carrollton after graduating from Trimble County High School in 2017. She transferred to UofL two years later, and she works part-time as a certified nursing assistant in Taylorsville.

“I don’t want other people to go through what I did, so I want to do the best that I can to help people protect their health so that other people won’t have their parents pass away when they are young,” Potter said.

Her close-knit siblings have been a strong support system for her. “We support each other and count on each other,” she said. 

She also found a home at UofL, where she conducted field research on insects and developed lasting friendships, including finding fellow Dungeons & Dragons players. Among her favorite faculty members are Mark Running, professor of biology, Sachin Handa, associate professor of organic chemistry, and Steve Yanoviak, who gave her a research position in his entomology lab. 

She readily admits to having trouble focusing sometimes, and found favorite study areas on the quiet third floor of Ekstrom Library as well as in the Miller IT Center. She was not fond of the all-online class formats that were forced to replace in-person classes during the pandemic.

“I prefer an in-class setting,” she said. “When I’m in class I put my phone away and I try not to get distracted.”

But she said she had to learn to adapt because UofL’s many online class offerings have been particularly helpful with her busy schedule of working, studying and commuting. 

After graduation, she plans to take a gap year while she works and studies for her MCATs. 

Onward, toward her destiny.

Commencement exercises for UofL’s summer and fall 2023 candidates is Dec. 15, 7 p.m., at the KFC Yum! Center. For more information, visit the .

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