Written by Dr. Jackie Fischer ’89
Most of us are familiar with Kentucky Wesleyan College’s history geographically; at the very least, we know that the College relocated to Owensboro in 1951 from Winchester, Ky. But…how many of us can say that we had family members employed at the Winchester campus?
Dr. Cassandra Best, a 2013 KWC graduate, has family roots running deeply back to KWC’s Winchester campus. Her Great Grandma Jackson and her daughter, Cassandra’s great aunt, both served as cooks on the Winchester campus. And the impact of the women in her family did not stop there.
Cassandra was raised by her single Mother, Pam Best, and her grandmother, Sandra (Jones) Parker, in a three-generation home near Fort Knox. They settled on Fort Knox, as many of her family members served in the military. She shares that she has always looked up to her mom and grandmother, who both stressed the importance of church, school, and education. “They worked hard to provide opportunities for me and I owe so much of my success to their willingness to ensure that I had the best possible experiences.”
“Grandma always shared stories with me about growing up – how she helped her mom clean houses and helped her sister, who had polio, get to school safely. The schools were segregated then; Grandma chose to attend Dunbar, which was an all-Black high school in Lexington,” Cassandra shared. “Both of them instilled a strong work ethic in me – I saw how hard they worked and wanted to honor them by working just as hard.”
After relocating to the Fort Knox area, Cassandra enrolled in North Hardin High School; during that time she was also active with the Allegro Dance Company and played on a community basketball team. She was also on the Academic Team and a member of the National Honor Society. “I tried to make myself as well-rounded as possible so I could figure out what I liked to do.”
In addition to being active at NHHS, Cassandra taught Sunday School at her local church. “Church was a big part of our family morals,” she shared. “Teaching Sunday School helped me to narrow my focus on what I wanted to do as a career – I wanted to teach.”
As she explored colleges, she shared that she “always looked at Ivy League schools – I always looked at Yale. The expense was a barrier and, to be honest, I was not ready to venture that far away from Mom and Grandma.”
As she continued to explore colleges, she decided to join a religious-affiliated college tour sponsored by her church – and, as Providence would have it, KWC was one of the colleges on the tour. “The whole family decided to go with me – my mom, my Grandma, my little cousin – we visited KWC and Owensboro and fell in love. The campus, the classes, the town – everything was the perfect size.” She also shared how she and her family “felt” on the campus – “I just needed something small and more personable – and everyone was super nice.”
She and her family left Owensboro that day knowing that KWC was on the short list of college options. While she continued to explore and consider her next steps by visiting other colleges such as the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky University, she went on a church trip to the Newport Aquarium. She was guided to wear the KWC t-shirt that she was given during her campus visit weeks earlier. Maybe she was guided by her Great-Grandmother, her grandmother, her mom – any or all of the strong women who came before her – to wear that KWC t-shirt.
As she was in the Aquarium with her church group, a KWC alum who worked in the KWC Admissions Office at that time ran up to her and asked, “Do you go to KWC?” Cassandra explained that she had visited campus and had not decided where she was attending college yet. “We started a whole conversation – she genuinely wanted to get to know me. She wanted to talk with my mom – she was there with her family and she spent time talking with us. That interaction showed me that if I was part of KWC I was going to make new friends and expand my experiences. Who would have ever thought that on a church trip I would see someone from KWC who would like to talk with me and my mom. Two weeks later I got my acceptance letter and never looked back.”
Cassandra shared that her initial weeks at KWC were challenging because she was a homebody and missed her mom and Grandma. “I found friends through KW111 and started to feel like I really belonged. KWC became my second home, and I did not want to leave.”
While at Wesleyan, Cassandra embraced a number of opportunities and modeled opportunities for young Black females to aspire to. She became the first African American to join the Sigma Kappa Sorority and, during her senior year in 2012-2013, served as the sorority’s first African American President. She is proud of the volunteer activities that the sorority engaged in during her time as President, and is particularly proud of the mother / daughter pinning ceremony that was implemented during her leadership. “This pinning ceremony was a way for us to show gratitude to the women in our lives who brought us here – the mothers, grandmothers, aunts – it is very meaningful and sentimental.”
Since graduating from KWC in 2013 with an Education degree, Cassandra has taught at Henderson High School and is currently teaching math at Henderson Middle School, where she is preparing students for high school and college-level math. She has also presented at national conferences and has completed a master’s and a Doctorate in Instructional Technology at Morehead State University. “I love technology, and I love teaching – these advanced degrees helped me to learn how to reach students to help them want to learn and at a level that challenges them,” she shared. “I was motivated to pursue my doctorate in honor of my Grandmother. I owe so much to her.”
Cassandra understands clearly the importance of her role as a Black female excelling in the teaching profession. While she has experienced racism by students, parents, and fellow teachers, she understands that she “has a seat at the table.”
“The students need to see that someone who looks like them can be successful, competent, and confident,” she shared. “As a minority ombudsman I’m able to weigh in. People are always willing to scrutinize and tear you down – I work harder and I always have to be at the top of my game. It’s been a long road and it’s been a hard road. I learned the tools to be able to cope and I’m now in a position to help others in the same situation.”
While Cassandra has experienced personal and professional success, she attributes her success to the foundation she received at KWC. “I got to meet the College President during my first Convocation – our family is from Winchester so for the President to take time to talk with me and my Grandmother – that meant the world to us. It’s where I was meant to be. I was able to leave my mark on KWC and it definitely left a mark on me.”
#BlackHistoryMonth #TheWesleyanWay