Alumna’s gift of paver has lasting impact

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2023) — The University of Kentucky is honoring its alumni this week as it celebrates Homecoming. The story below appears in the fall 2023 issue of Kentucky Alumni magazine. Learn more about UK Alumni Association and 2023 Homecoming at www.ukalumni.net.

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For a Christmas gift in 2000, Kim Raho’s mother gifted Kim ’98 ’00 HS and her brother Brian '03 BE with a paver at UK's Wildcat Alumni Plaza next to the Bowman statue. Raho is a speech-language pathologist who has been working in the Jefferson County Public School system in Louisville for 24 years.

Raho’s love of UK is, well, pretty intense. Her paver is engraved with “My Old KY Home” because she’s “still in love with UK” she says.

“All of my professors (especially my communication disorders professors) that I had during my time at the University of Kentucky had a large desire for us to succeed — and they would do everything in their power to make sure that we did,” she said.

She lived in a dorm during all four of her undergraduate years and loved it. She had great teachers. She went to all the games, she said. She fondly remembers Two Keys Tavern being her second home and, although her father was a professor at the University of Louisville, she can’t imagine her life without her time at UK.

And, like many alumni, Raho continues to encourage all of her students to attend the University of Kentucky, even in the midst of Cardinal territory. She believes that, if possible, it is always good for students to leave their hometown to learn how to live on their own — at least for a few years. She believes UK is a good distance for students from Louisville to attend because it’s not too far away, but just far enough. The distance helps them do their own thing and grow as young adults, she said.

“Any time that I talk about UK, I smile,” she said.

A special bond is formed

DeShawn Pearson ’21 FA was a student of Raho’s when he was enrolled at Louisville’s Western Middle School. He describes her as “one of the best teachers” he had in middle school. She describes him by saying, “I’m so proud of him.”

Pearson was in Raho’s class because he was delayed in his language skills. He confided in her when he was teased at school and really needed a shoulder to lean on, she said.

“We had a special bond,” she said. “Even though he may have struggled with academic courses, DeShawn has a kind soul and a lot of determination. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body which makes him easy to love.”

In middle school, Pearson considered himself a Cardinal fan. But that didn’t last long. He could sense Raho’s love for her alma mater when she shared stories with her students about her time at UK. Pearson said that he had never thought about attending UK before stepping into Raho’s classroom. But he longed to have the same sort of experience at a university that she did.

At the end of Pearson's eighth-grade year when Raho was cleaning out her classroom, Pearson asked her if he could have the UK poster that hung on the wall. She gave it to him. His desire to attend UK was cemented.

The memories made and relationships formed in Raho’s classroom have always been the most important thing to her, and she knew that gifting Pearson the poster would mean more to him than if she had kept it for herself. Raho stated, “I love my kids. The personal relationships have always been number one to me — once you are a part of my classroom, I will always care about you.”

'Til the battle is won

Getting into UK wasn’t easy for Pearson. He knew it wouldn’t be. He attended Jefferson Community and Technical College for two years and worked hard to keep his grades up. On July 25, 2017, his acceptance letter to UK arrived.

“When I opened the letter I was so excited,” he said, adding that he wanted to pursue a career as an artist because he loved to draw.

But before leaving Louisville for UK, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she passed in 2018.

His community of friends at UK and his involvement with Christian Student Fellowship helped Pearson grow through the tragedy, he said.

“I’d been going to church all my life and I just continued to live by faith in God’s name. I kept praying. I knew God was going to work it out somehow.”

Teachers, like UK College of Fine Arts senior lecturer Becky Alley, helped, too. Pearson spoke to her often about his dreams of becoming a professional artist, specifically a cartoon artist for Disney. She said, “Deshawn was always such a hard worker. He was never not in class, always engaged, participating and interested in what was going on. He was a very focused student, while remaining kind and steadfast.”

While walking across campus one day, Pearson spotted Raho’s paver at Wildcat Alumni Plaza. He called her to tell her he had seen it and that there was an empty paver space next to hers and he wanted his paver to go right there.

Raho promised that when Pearson graduated, she’d buy one for him.

“She asked me what I wanted it to say,” he said. “I said ‘Till the battle is won’ because to me I’ve been fighting my battles and been struggling and working hard.”

Pearson is now working at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He hopes to be an artist there some day. And Raho continues to work in the public school system in Louisville and encourage her students to attend UK.

And at Wildcat Alumni Plaza, their pavers are placed next to each other.

“Kim Raho and DeShawn Pearson have left a permanent mark on the UK campus with their pavers side by side in Alumni Plaza,” said Jill Smith, ’05 BE, ’11 AFE and associate vice president for Alumni Engagement and executive director of the UK Alumni Association. “What a lasting testament these pavers are, not just to Kim and DeShawn’s love of their alma mater, but to their friendship. We couldn’t be more proud.” 

To learn more about the paver program at Wildcat Alumni Plaza, visit www.ukalumni.net/WildcatAlumniPlaza.