Generations of alumni advancing Kentucky: Homecoming spotlight on Connor Perry
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2024) — It’s University of Kentucky Homecoming week — a time when the UK community comes together to celebrate and honor its alumni. This week, UKNow is shining a spotlight on just a few of the thousands of alumni who embody the university’s mission to advance Kentucky. Spanning generations, these Wildcats are making lasting impacts in the Commonwealth and beyond through their careers and service to their communities.
Today’s spotlight is on Connor Perry, a 2023 graduate of the UK College of Arts and Sciences, originally from Lexington, Kentucky. Perry is the current Miss Kentucky USA 2024. Perry is the primary ballet instructor and mentor at Movement Continuum, a Lexington-based contemporary dance company that offers a cost-free dance training program, Moving North, for girls ages 10-18 living in Lexington communities experiencing inequality in access to art.
Read the Q&A below to learn how Perry’s UK experience shaped her path and inspires the work she does today.
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UKNow: What did you study at UK, and how are you using your degree to advance Kentucky?
Perry: I was a neuroscience major with a minor in dance. People find it surprising that I was a neuroscience major with a dance minor. It’s funny how people always think it’s random, but there are a lot of connections between the two. I think the primary one is the enhanced neural synchrony that comes from dancing.
Dancing can help develop new neural pathways, which is amazing. And in cases where diseases like Parkinson’s are affecting dopamine-producing cells, dance has been shown to alleviate symptoms like loss of coordination and balance.
UKNow: What does it mean to you to be a graduate of UK?
Perry: It’s very special to me. I’m so proud. I grew up here in Lexington, taking dance classes and immersing myself in the UK community. I intended on going away for college, but COVID happened, and I ended up staying here in Lexington. My time at UK was meant to happen. Now, as a UK alum, just being able to give back to UK is very important to me, because it has given me so much. Anything I can do for UK and be involved with UK is very, very important to me.
UKNow: What’s your favorite UK memory?
Perry: I feel like moving into the dorms was like a transcendent experience for me.
UKNow: How did UK prepare you for life after graduation, both personally and professionally?
Perry: While the core classes were challenging, I now realize their value. Courses like the writing class helped me develop essential skills that I use in both my personal and professional life. UK does a great job selecting core classes that are relevant and prepare you for success in any career path.
UKNow: What advice would you give current Wildcats?
Perry: These next four years will be only what you make them! Cherish them and try your very best to be present during all of it. It will not be perfect and great all the time, but that’s the beauty of the experience. This is a chapter that you will never ever forget, and that is something to be excited about. Have no expectations and make the most of it! I am so excited for you all.
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The UK community and the public are invited to celebrate UK Homecoming 2024 all week long by taking part in some of the 50-plus events happening on campus and beyond this week. Learn more here or visit https://homecoming.uky.edu/.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.