5 questions to the soon-to-be-graduate, Promise Kayembe …

By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

For Promise Kayembe, life truly has been a long series of trips.

Her journey has taken her from North Carolina (where she was born) to Lexington, Ky., but her heritage is traced back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And she has spent a good amount of time there too, immersed in her family’s culture.

As a first-generation college student, Promise can now say that she has successfully navigated the world of higher education, and this week she will be traveling again — this time, across the stage for her graduation ceremony, where she will shake hands with President Eli Capilouto and fulfill her dreams of becoming a college graduate.

Of course, the Human Health Sciences major (pre-PA track) says she couldn’t have done it on her own. She credits her parents, her sister (who is also a student in the College of Health Sciences and will graduate in December) and her mentors and staff in the College for helping her get to this day.

Promise had an outstanding academic career; she went on to become an ambassador here in CHS, and she interned in the OB/GYN department in the UK College of Medicine.

As Commencement approaches, we caught up with her — but forgive Promise if life is a little bit crazier than usual. She’s attending her last classes, finishing up assignments and participating in a graduation photo shoot — all before her big day arrives.

Before she leaves, let’s ask 5 questions to the soon-to-be-graduate, Promise Kayembe …

1. First, tell me about the journey, and how you were able to make your way here to UK:

Coming to college, having to navigate the whole system by myself, I think it was scary for my parents, because it was like, ‘We're not able to help her,’ you know? And this is a big milestone. So, it was definitely hard having to navigate scholarships, having to navigate choosing your major.

But everybody’s journey is unique, and the learning experience was definitely helpful for me either way. And I am graduating! I do have to credit my professors, my family, including my sister, Charity, for being there for me. We had each other, and we’ll both be graduating now. We were very lucky. Charity still doesn’t know how to complete an entire FAFSA without me (laughs).

Sometimes, all the resources can be really overwhelming, and I just reached out to everyone and everything. It’s good to have people who can tell you what resources you need.

2. Okay, so you have to tell me about your names. You’re Promise. Your sister is Charity. I’m sure you get this all the time, but there must be a story, right?

There’s kind of an interesting story, with a religious undertone behind it. My father immigrated to the U.S. all by himself, and when he moved here, his mother — who he was really close to — she passed away back in the (Democratic Republic of the Congo). It was a terrible shock for him, and I believe he was in Arizona when this happened. We are a deeply religious family — he came to Lexington to start a church — so when he was told that his mother passed, he prayed to God.

He asked the Lord why he would take his mother, and he said the Lord spoke to him, saying that his mother would come back to him when he had his first daughter, which was me. So, he took that as a promise from God amongst many others, and he named me Promise — and I do look exactly like his mother.

3. Amazing story. So, you were both able to spend time in the Congo and learn about your culture?

We were. In the summers, we were able to spend several weeks at a time in the country, and we learned so much. There are so many things we think we know about places, but you can only learn when you go live there. It is not really what people think.

Both my sister and I really felt like it helped complete parts of us, to be able to see where our family is from and immerse ourselves in the culture. We didn’t see any violence, just beautiful people. It’s a beautiful country.

4. So why pre-PA?

Well, I always knew I wanted to come to UK, but I thought I wanted to study Engineering. Then, one of my teachers at Lafayette High School really made me fall in love with Biology, and that got me interested in the association between biology and medicine.

I thought about nursing, and I’d never heard of a physician assistant. But I was able to talk to a lot of people at UK and investigate the options and then I has this eureka-like moment. PA was what I wanted to do.

5. So, does that mean you want to stay here for PA school, too?

The UKPA program is the program that I want to go into, because I feel like I’ve just made such good connections with the faculty, and the admissions team. I like my professors and it literally feels like the most natural choice. I’ve talked to our students, and I know there’s no perfect program — but there’s a program that’s the best fit for you, and this is the best fit for me. It’s a really great program, and I love UK.

These HHS classes teach you how to be a good healthcare provider. Having early exposure in the healthcare field with your patient care contact hours, having your classroom learning put into practice. Learning about patient advocacy. Learning to relate to patients, and how to communicate with other healthcare professionals. We even got to mentor kids at Bryan Station High School through the Diversity Healthcare Program.

BONUS: What does it feel like to graduate?

They say four years fly by — you do not understand that until they actually do fly by. It hasn’t been easy; it’s been a roller coaster and a journey. But I’m definitely excited.