Double UK grad finds family in the College of Health Sciences

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 29, 2023) — Savannah Jones grew up in Springfield, Illinois, to a small, loving family. Jones’ mother, Tracy, lived with various medical conditions that required her to have frequent doctor’s appointments and medical care sometimes around the clock.

Because of this, Jones knew from day one, that she wanted to enter a career helping others — as she saw how much of a positive impact medical professionals made on her family’s life.

Her exact path would be unclear until she arrived at the University of Kentucky.

“I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do, or even where I wanted to go to college,” Jones said. “A recruiter from UK came to my high school during my senior year, and that’s kind of when everything changed.”

Despite never even really considering the University of Kentucky, the presentation given to her at her high school by this UK recruiter really captured Jones’ attention.

“Next thing I knew, I was coming to UK,” Jones said. “And I immediately fell in love with the community here.”

During undergrad, Jones was always go-go-go. Always on the move, being a mentor in the Christian Student Fellowship, a College of Health Sciences ambassador, and helping the community in north Lexington through a volunteer mentorship organization called Common Good.

But suddenly, a major event made her life harder than ever.

“During my sophomore year of undergrad, my mother unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack,” Jones said. “It was the worst day of my life.”

Jones, at the age of 19, had lost her mother. It was unimaginable, being away from home. But she persevered — and knew she could lean on her new community at UK.

“That time in my life was just extremely hard on me, and it made it really hard to be in college,” Jones said. “But it truly solidified how much I love UK and the College of Health Sciences. Everyone was so supportive. They all said to me ‘whatever you need, we can help you with that.’ And it really proved to me that this community is more than just school — we’re a family.”

This experience continued to light the fire in her belly to become a fantastic health care professional.

“This is also why I wanted to stay at UK for my graduate program,” Jones said. “Because of how the campus and health sciences supported me through that time, it just made such a huge impact on my life. And so has the PA program, too.”

Jones began the two-year physician assistant program in the College of Health Sciences in 2021. This past May, she walked the stage to receive her degree, and earlier this month, she and her classmates celebrated alongside each other just ahead of their board exam.

“The celebration was great,” Jones said. “I loved being there with my cohort celebrating our successes.”

The next stop for Jones? She wants to keep her options open, but she is leaning toward pediatrics.

“I think I’ll go into pediatrics,” Jones said. “When I did my pediatric surgery rotation during my program here, I had the opportunity to see how much passion the providers in this specialty are about their work. I love pediatrics because there is so much joy, and the thought of helping kids just really inspires me.”

The world is Jones’ oyster. She’d love to stay in Lexington or stay in Kentucky. The southern hospitality of UK has made this region extremely appealing to her for work.

“The people in Kentucky are so kind,” Jones said. “And I’ve met some of my lifelong friends here. So, I’d love to stay in the area.”

She cannot wait to begin her career — and to dedicate her life to helping others.

“I am so excited to fulfill my dream as a PA,” Jones said. “To serve my patients and community will be an honor. And I can’t wait to learn and grow into the provider I’ve always dreamed of being.”