Explore First shapes futures for UK’s first-generation graduates

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 14, 2026) — There’s an overlook in Scott County, Tennessee, where Mollie Overton used to watch the sunset with friends, imagining what her future might hold.

Now a first-generation student at the University of Kentucky, Overton has turned that sense of “one day” into reality — in part through Explore First: Careers, Cultures and Connections, a study abroad program designed to prepare first-gen students for global careers and new possibilities.

As a girl, she explored the woods with friends, discovering nature and avoiding boredom. As a teenager, she’d drive around town and circle the same buildings again and again.

“I felt stuck,” she said.

But there was always a place she thought she might end up — a place that, for her, represented hope and change and whatever future she wanted.

“My grandparents lived in Wilmore, Kentucky,” she said. “Whenever we’d visit, we’d sometimes stop in Lexington, and campus always felt so exciting to me. I would always think, one day I’ll be here.”

Overton is the first in her family to attend a four-year college or university — a first-generation student at the University of Kentucky. She will graduate in December with a degree in nursing.

One day during her sophomore year in 2023, an email caught Overton’s eye — an offer to study abroad in London, almost fully funded. She thought it might be a joke at first. But once she realized it wasn’t, she jumped at the opportunity.

“Who wouldn’t want to go to London if they could?” she said. “I’d never even been on a plane before.”

Launched in 2023, Explore First is a first-of-its-kind education abroad program and will welcome its fourth cohort of students this summer. Designed exclusively for first-generation students at the University of Kentucky, Explore First takes students to London and Dublin to prepare them to contribute and excel as part of a global workforce.

With a focus on career readiness, the program gives students access to professionals at some of the largest businesses across the globe, including Amazon, Fidelity and Enterprise. Students witness firsthand what it takes to grow and succeed in whatever career they enter.

“Education abroad is already such a high-impact practice,” said Kirsten Turner, Ph.D., vice president for Student Success at UK. “When you take that high-impact practice and you add in the career-readiness element, what you have is a transformational experience that equips our first-gen population for success after graduation.”

On a typical day in the program, students attend class focused on topics such as networking, resume writing and interviewing, followed by an employer visit, where students gain access to professionals eager to help give them a head start in their careers.

“The students might be nervous and uncertain at the start of the program, but it transforms them,” said Beth Hanneman, director of UK’s Interprofessional Healthcare Residential Community.

Hanneman has led a cohort of Explore First students the past three summers.

“I watch students grow in confidence, and by the end, not only can they see themselves in these roles, they believe they can have these careers,” Hanneman said. “They are ready to be part of these companies, ready to be successful and ready to live meaningful lives after they graduate from UK. They find their purpose.”

Hanneman added that the experience helps students grasp their future.

“You watch students get it,” she said. “Each year I’ve led this program, we get a week or two in, and the lightbulb goes off. Students have heard from someone with a law degree who now works in business, or someone with an engineering degree who’s an entrepreneur, or someone with a communications degree who used those skills to become a C-suite executive. They hear that message again and again, and suddenly they realize the possibilities are endless. They aren’t limited by major or by where they came from. It’s not about where they’ve been. It’s about where they’re going.”

Overton practically shook with nerves on the flight to London.

“Beth was right there with me,” she said. “For my first flight ever, here I was, flying across the Atlantic Ocean to spend a few weeks in a foreign country. It was all so overwhelming.”

When she arrived in London, she couldn’t quite believe it.

“My family has barely been out of Tennessee, and I was halfway across the world,” she said. “I was looking out after we landed, and as we were making our way toward the center of the city, it all didn’t feel real.”

Overton began her journey on Explore First incredibly shy, anxious about being in a new place with new people and new experiences.

“Of course, I was a little scared at the beginning, but I had to tell myself that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I started opening up to my fellow students and program leaders and just fully embraced the experience. The crazy thing is, we all still talk years after the program.”

While in London, Overton honed career-readiness skills such as networking and resume building on employer visits, but the real impact of those visits fully hit her when she returned to campus.

“When I came back and I started working in a hospital, I found I was talking to patients differently, interacting with colleagues differently,” she said. “The employer visits were crucial in me understanding how to function in a career, in a professional environment. And here I am about to graduate, and I’ve made these connections with people. I’ve got this leg up.”

As she prepares for graduation, Overton knows her future was made possible by her Explore First experience.

“I found myself on this program,” she said. “I am 100% a different person because of it. I couldn’t have accomplished what I have without going to London. I would not have had the confidence, the drive or the belief in myself to achieve what I already have and the exciting plans I have for the future.”

Overton’s journey is just one example of how Explore First is transforming the college experience for first-generation students at UK. For others, the program is expanding their sense of what’s possible — and where their future can take them.

Opening doors for more first-generation students

Situated in the heart of Appalachia, on the far northeastern tip of Kentucky, is Greenup County. Hugging the Ohio River, the county has historically been a bastion of agriculture and industry in the region.

Nick Stevens grew up in the more rural part of the county.

“I’m from the middle of nowhere, and that can come with its own challenges,” Stevens said.

A 2024 graduate of the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, and soon-to-be student in UK’s Master of Business Administration program, Stevens always knew he wanted to attend the University of Kentucky. He didn’t realize when he first started as a student that he would get an opportunity that changed his life.

“The furthest I had gone before this program was Massachusetts, so this was truly a leap of faith,” he said. “And it was extra special for me going to Ireland. My grandmother, who was incredibly important in my life, was really into genealogy. She had tracked our family’s lineage back to Ireland. So to go to Dublin while getting my college education — it was that much more special.”

For Stevens, the program allowed for exploration and discovery, but with a group of his fellow students and program leaders to help him navigate his new environment and new challenges, including his first time flying.

“I had to get a passport and navigate an airport for the first time,” Stevens said. “It was great to have people there to help me navigate that.”

Once in Dublin, Stevens and his cohort began meeting with employers, gaining key insights into how to prepare for a career after graduating from UK. But maybe more than anything, the program opened his eyes to the possibilities.

“On the employer visits, I met a lot of people with engineering degrees doing nonengineering things,” said Stevens. “It was a reminder that my career, my future, is in my own hands. It’s up to me what I want to achieve after all of this. Things I had never really considered suddenly felt within reach.”

During his time in Dublin, he also met with MBA students from Bellarmine University who were studying there at the same time. It made him think more deeply about his next move.

“They’re the whole reason I’m about to start my MBA program at UK,” he said. “Without meeting up with them in Dublin and hearing their stories, I don’t think I would have applied for the MBA program.”

As Stevens prepares to begin his new journey, he knows his Explore First experience will help guide him.

“It built my confidence. It gave me clarity on my future. It was a critical part of my story and will continue to be.”

A new cohort prepares to take off

As a new cohort of students prepares to depart for London and Dublin this summer, students like Overton and Stevens are graduating with a clearer sense of purpose, confidence and career direction shaped by their Explore First experience.

Before they leave, they’ll meet with advisors and their program leaders to prepare to navigate the Tube, understand cultural differences and get to know each other, all in preparation for a life-changing journey.

“The flight going to Explore First is entirely different from the flight home,” Hanneman said. “Of course, students are nervous and excited on the flight there. But on the way back, the nerves are gone. The confidence is there. They’re clear-eyed, focused and ready for what the world has in store for them.”