How UK Grad Raven Whitaker-Smith found family, purpose — and herself

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2025) — How do you define family?

For some, it’s the people they grew up with — parents, siblings and relatives bound by blood. For others, it’s a chosen group — friends, mentors or caregivers.

For Raven Whitaker-Smith, the meaning of family often felt undefined.

By the time she was 12-years-old, she had already lived through more than most do in a lifetime. While being bounced around the foster care system, Whitaker-Smith had no sense of permanence, no deep roots — just a longing to feel chosen.

“My biological parents were just kids when they had me and my siblings,” she said. “They were addicted to drugs, and my home life was a very dark place.”

When Whitaker-Smith was 11, the Department for Community Based Services stepped in and removed her and her siblings from their tumultuous home.

Whitaker-Smith found herself living at Holly Hill, an all-girls group home, while attending Campbell County Middle School. The weight of her personal struggles often spilled over into the classroom — one day landing her outside the principal’s office.

Whitaker-Smith was just a sixth grader, but she was on the verge of suspension.

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Jason Smith felt being a school principal was not just a career — but a calling.

He had been one for 14 years when he found Whitaker-Smith sitting outside his office.

“She was just this sweet looking, little innocent child sitting there — kind of defeated,” he said. “I asked her, ‘What’s going on?’ and she said that she had thrown a cup of yogurt at lunch, had been suspended and was waiting to be picked up.”

Smith then asked her if she would ever throw food at a restaurant with her family. She told him she had never eaten in one and didn’t have a family.

“At that point, I had felt like she just needed a hand — needed help,” he said.

Though brief, that conversation had a profound impact on Smith. But he hesitated to bring it up to his wife, Marybeth, that evening.

For years, the couple had faced the heartbreak of infertility.

They had once opened their home as foster parents hoping to adopt. But that dream had quietly faded nearly six years earlier after caring for a trio of siblings — only to have them reunified with their biological parents.

Following that fateful interaction, the Smiths began exploring the idea of fostering Whitaker-Smith. They first reached out to her case worker, then went through the process of getting recertified as foster parents.

Once approved, the Smiths opened their home to Whitaker-Smith, who moved in with them in June 2015.

“He (Smith) felt compelled to become a foster parent,” Whitaker-Smith recalls. “The summer following sixth grade, I began having visitation with them before moving in. From there, we became a family.”

On Nov. 3, 2017, the Smiths formally adopted Whitaker-Smith, by then a high school freshman. Their inspiring story was later featured on Good Morning America.

“They gave hope to a hopeless kid,” she said.

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Whitaker-Smith hadn’t just found a home — she found a future.

Her new family had deep ties to the University of Kentucky. Before moving in, she remembers seeing photos of them dressed from head to toe in Wildcat gear.

“They would show me these pictures — the whole family,” she said. “And as I got older, and I learned about college, I just knew UK was for me.”

But choosing UK wasn’t just about family pride — it was about finding a purpose. Whitaker-Smith had always felt drawn to working with children. Still, she struggled with the idea of helping others when she herself felt “unhealed.”

That started to shift during her first social work class with Professor Shelita Jackson, D.S.W.

“As soon as I was in her class, I knew social work was for me,” Whitaker-Smith said. “I just felt so passionate. I knew I was supposed to be there.”

Through her College of Social Work (CoSW) coursework — classes in psychology, domestic violence and family systems — Whitaker-Smith began to confront and understand her past.

“I would think about my past and my biological parents when they were younger,” she continued. “They kind of grew up in a similar situation, and they didn’t have a lot of resources.”

Whitaker-Smith’s education led to understanding, and ultimately, her understanding led to compassion. “Why would the cycle change unless you’re educated about it?” she asks. “Social work definitely saved me and changed the way I thought about things — definitely the way I thought about my past.”

Now, Whitaker-Smith works at the DCCH Center for Children and Families — the same nonprofit organization that helped facilitate her foster care with the Smiths.

“The therapeutic atmosphere DCCH provided was what I needed to learn to trust my parents and heal from the trauma I experienced,” she said. “They are still there for me today. I truly feel DCCH is a part of my family and played a significant role in my story.”

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As Whitaker-Smith prepares to walk across the Commencement stage, she knows exactly where to look — toward the cheering crowd of loved ones, with her family front and center.

Their unwavering support has given her the strength to believe in herself and her future.

“I haven’t actually talked about how proud I am of myself,” Whitaker-Smith admits through tears. “But to be the first person from my biological family to graduate high school and then move on to college, I’m so incredibly proud of myself.”

More than anything, she’s ready to pay it forward — eager to step into the role of the social worker she once needed.

“Not many people get to say their parents chose them. If anyone reading this is thinking about fostering or adopting a child, I urge you to take a chance,” she said. “Foster care saved my life and because of that, it has inspired me to be a social worker. There are so many kids out there that are just like me — who need to be loved, cared for and given hope.”

Did you know, in Kentucky alone, more than 8,000 children are in need of foster or adoptive parents? You can learn more by visiting the DCCH website.

Explore the degree pathways and programs available through the CoSW by visiting the college website.