LEXINGTON, Ky. — Friday was graduation day for many graduates at the University of Kentucky. But one graduate, Tamara Vest, did not have the typical path getting to college but continued to fight every day to get her degree.
It all started when Vest was nine years old, having to make a choice of where she would live after her father passed away.
“He lost a battle to cancer when I was nine almost 10 years old. And when he passed away, I was either going to basically go with my mother or my older brother because my dad was very old when he had me so my sibling or my dad side was much, much older,” Vest said.
Vest said her mother was never really in the picture. Dealing with substance abuse and having other children in her life from a separate family.
Her choices were then narrowed down to either her older brother or foster care. She chose to live with her brother, giving her a sense of peace knowing she wasn’t living with a stranger.
“At the time they were willing to take me and the court were like yes this is a good decision so it was all set and done I went to live with my brother. And very quickly I learned that it was just not a good fit for me. I was treated extremely differently than they treated their own children who were actually grown, most of them,” Vest said.
After six years of living with her brother, social workers and school administrators got involved and Vest ended up in a homeless shelter at the age of 16. From there she went into foster care, moved from families to transitioning homes to finally an independent living facility when she was 17.
After Vest graduated from high school, she went to college for a year with hopes to study political science. Vest quickly learned it wasn’t the field she was meant to be and dropped out to work for a few years before returning to school.
Vest graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in Social Work because it was the social workers that changed her life for the better. She hopes to one day follow in their footsteps and help children in those tough situations.
“The administrators, the schools Social workers and the supportive teachers at my high school did an excellent job supporting me through all of this, and I think without them I wouldn't be where I am today. So, this is why I explain all of this because I feel like if one piece was missing my puzzle would not be put together," she said.
"And if you got one piece missing of a puzzle the whole picture doesn't look right so without that, without any of these experiences I wouldn't be where I am today.”
Vest recently accepted a job as a social worker in a private foster care agency in Lexington.