Dawn Walters B.A., ’98, University of Kentucky
She inspires her dancers with these words, “Dance is a gift to your audience.” Dawn Walters is the first African American head coach of the University of Kentucky Dance Team. Walters has seen improvement in their rankings each of her six years as head coach. She started out as a cheerleader. A graduate of Bryan Station High School, she started cheering at Leestown Middle School. Walters, a native of Lexington, never had an interest in attending college any place other than UK. In 1983 as a freshman, she joined the original UK Dance Team called the UK Dance Cats. The following year she became a UK cheerleader. Walters was a member of the first National Championship team in 1984-1985. She was on the second national team as well, helping establish the foundation of what has become one of the most exceptional collegiate programs in the nation. In 1989, she opened the first All-Star Cheerleading facility in Kentucky and called it Cheers! Inc. Cheers! won the National Cheer Association Jr. All-Star National Title five years in a row, plus won the National Dance Association National Championship in the Sr. All-Star Dance division. Walters has been involved in every aspect of cheering and dancing. She has coached and judged cheer and
Dawn Walters joined the original UK Dance team, the UK Dance Cats, as a freshman. She is now the head coach of the dance team.
dance events nationally and internationally for over 25 years. In the past three years, she has taken the UK Dance Team to China twice. In addition, she has mixed music for over 30 years. Walters was recently featured in the Japanese TV documentary entitled “Miracle Lessons.” This documentary showed how students learn mentally and physically through her cheer and dance lessons.
Lisa Higgins-Hord B.S., ’92, University of Kentucky M.S., ’99, University of Kentucky A native of Harlan County, Lisa Higgins-Hord is the assistant vice-president of community engagement at UK. While working on the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2010, Higgins-Hord was inspired by the personal stories of the honorees. She envisioned a university partnership with the Kentucky Human Rights Commission and the UK Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and thus, the Kentucky Civil
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Rights Hall of Fame Oral History Project was born. This collaboration would allow the inductees the opportunity to share their stories with generations to come in their own words. Their poignant narratives share their triumphs and struggles in order to educate and inspire. HigginsHord served as executive producer on the project that celebrates the contributions of men and women to the rich civil rights history in Kentucky.