For these three UK grads, inspiration from family helped them to their degrees

The University of Kentucky will award more than 5,800 degrees this weekend, with graduates walking across the stage on Friday and Saturday.

Three ceremonies were scheduled for Friday and one for Saturday. More than 3,700 undergraduate students, 1,400 graduate students and 600 professional degree candidates are part of the ceremonies.

Here are the stories of three UK students who drew on motivation from their families to graduate.

Mom and veteran graduates this weekend

For Elizabeth Akers Buckles, her road to graduation has not been conventional.

She first enrolled at Morehead State University in 2016, but felt that her degree in agricultural exonomics was not her passion. She ended up joining the U.S. Army, where she met her now-husband, Tylor Buckles.

In 2019, they returned to Kentucky and got married, while she enrolled at UK for a community and leadership development degree. While attending UK, the couple welcomed their son T.J. in 2021. T.J. was born 16 weeks premature, and would spend 250 days in the Kentucky Children’s Hospital NICU while Buckles was still enrolled at UK.

“I remember every single day,” Buckles said. “I had a routine where I would wake up and drive the 30-40 minutes to the hospital in the morning to be there before he woke up. I would lay him down for a nap and hook my computer up to do homework and work on classes while hooked to a breast pump.”

T.J. needed around-the-clock care when he came home from the NICU. Inspired by her family, Buckles continued pursuing her degree, at times bringing her son to campus. She will graduate this weekend, but a degree from UK has now become a family affair: her husband will enroll in the College of Nursing this fall, with the goal of working at Kentucky Children’s Hospital to care for babies needing long-term critical care.

“Even though my experience was not traditional, I always felt UK was home,” Buckles said. “No matter my circumstances, there were people there who wanted to help me succeed. I want my experience to serve as a reminder to anyone that no matter where you are in your life, if you desire to start, resume or finish your degree — it is possible.”

Audiology student looks to doctorate degree

As a child, Moncerrat Bravo Alvarez frequently found herself acting as a translator for her parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico.

She would help her mother in doctor’s offices, which taught her medical terminology, but she didn’t think about pursuing a career in the medical field.

“Being the daughter of immigrant parents, I never knew what was in store for me because my parents didn’t go to college,” Bravo said. “But I’m forever grateful for the sacrifices my family made to provide my brother and I with different opportunities than they had growing up.”

But after arriving at UK, she began a degree in communication sciences and disorders, with a focus in audiology. She hopes to use her family’s background as she pursues a doctor of audiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

“I am first-gen, and I am a daughter of immigrants. I am proud of these things, but I didn’t get here without help from others,” Bravo said. “With my degree, my main goal is to help as many people as possible, especially knowing Spanish. I’m going in with an open mind, and who knows, I might end up with my Ph.D., one day too. But my first and foremost focus is clinically, to help as many people as I can.”

She hopes her ability to speak both Spanish and English will allow her to help even more people, and advocate for her patients.

“I want to always do what’s right,” she said. “I’m going to become one of the very few bilingual audiologists in the country, and just being a bilingual health care professional in general, I want to advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves clearly.”

First-generation student in public health

Ashley Wright is a first-generation college student with a passion for helping others. Her father passed away when she was young, which set her on a course for a career that would allow her to fulfill that passion.

“I came from humbling beginnings,” Wright said. “Losing my father helped shape me. It is one of the main reasons why I am here and pursued an education at the University of Kentucky.”

She originally planned to become a pharmacist, but after talking with her academic advisor, decided to change her major to public health. She enrolled in the University Scholars Program, which will allow her to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in public health in five years.

She hopes to work for a government agency after graduation. She will graduate with her bachelor’s this weekend, and plans to complete her master’s degree next year.

“All my life, I’ve had to fight harder than most,” Wright said. “I am doing this for my family and want to be able to take care of them one day. My drive and my background are what separates me from most. I am willing to do what it takes.”

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