Alumni Spotlight: Kay Hammond '68

Alumni Spotlight: Kay Hammond ’68

By Michelle Goff Grant Writer

As Kay Hammond ’68 reflects on her career as a librarian and a teacher as well as her roles as executive director of the Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center (APCC) and president of the University of Pikeville Alumni Association, she smiles and shares a quote.

“It’s like David Mitchell writes in Cloud Atlas ʻthere ain't no journey what don't change you some.’”

For Kay, the journey began in Salyersville, her home town, and continued at the University of Pikeville.

“My family – my dad, my aunts, my brother – went to UPIKE,” Kay recalls. “There was never a question of me going anywhere else.”

An elementary education major, Kay taught first and second grade at Fleming Neon Elementary School after graduating from UPIKE.

“I had been teaching for a couple years when the superintendent called me into his office and told me they needed librarians. They offered to pay for me to get a library science degree.”

Kay earned a degree in library science and served as the librarian at Fleming Neon’s elementary and high schools until her retirement. She then worked in UPIKE’s library until embarking on a new journey.

“A group of us got together and had a meeting with the director of Two Hearts Pregnancy Center in Ashland. We learned they were getting clients from Pike County and this part of Eastern Kentucky. We saw a need in this area, so seven of us started the board of the APCC, and they hired me as director,” Kay says.

Associated with Care Net, the APCC offers support and services for women and girls experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Offering services to the babies until they are a year old, APCC also provides pre- and post-natal education resources.

Although she never imagined taking on such a role, Kay says, “Through years of working in high schools, I saw pregnant teens and I had compassion for them and what they were going through. I feel God called me to do this. It’s my ministry.”

It hasn’t always been easy, though.

“Early on, there wasn’t much money coming in and I was a bit discouraged,” Kay recalls. “I started wondering if this is what God wanted me to do. That’s when a donor walked in with a check. God has provided through his people.”

“When you count mothers and babies, we’ve had thousands of clients,” Kay adds. “Some clients receive material items, others take parenting classes on things like how to install car seats, and we share studies and trends on raising babies. We’ve started getting more grandparents due to the substance abuse problem.”

Most of the clients have been young mothers, though, including a young teen whose experience still resonates with Kay.

“This girl had no support,” Kay recalls. “It was a sad situation. When she had her baby, we went to see her, and she was by herself. I said, ‘We’re here to celebrate your baby.’ She said, ‘Nobody is celebrating this baby.’”

Kay, who remained in touch with the girl, says, “She has a career, is married, and is doing well. But it was a scary time for her. It’s always a scary time for the girls, so we make the pregnancy center feel like home.”

Kay is now taking that same approach to her role as president of the UPIKE Alumni Association.

“UPIKE changed my life and changed the lives of every student who walked through the doors,” she says. “I want alumni to know that the school we loved, the school that gave us so many opportunities, is still here.”

With plans to offer monthly alumni events that are informative, interactive, and inspirational, Kay and the board intend to connect with professors, invite current students to meetings, and host luncheons in the university cafeteria.

“The board members are ambassadors,” Kay says before asking, “Who better to promote UPIKE than alumni?”

As Kay, who along with her husband Dave, has two daughters and two grandchildren, reflects on the importance of instilling a spirit of community to students, she returns to the subject of journeys.

“I think the most important thing about my journey is that I have not taken it alone. So many people along the way helped open doors for me, and I wasn’t afraid to walk through them. I constantly tell APCC clients not to be afraid to step into an opportunity, even if you don’t feel 100 percent ready. I think, as alumni, we should give students the same advice.”