WKU News

Adrianne Browning, Career Coach at the Gordon Ford College of Business, believes that Hilltopper spirit is all about transformation. 

“Attending WKU is a process. If people truly invest themselves, the experience transforms them into their best selves,” Browning said.

As a Western Kentucky University graduate turned employee, she got to experience this transformation herself and now she gets to witness it in the students she mentors.

It was a tradition in Browning’s family to attend Western Kentucky University, and watching the transformation of her family members before her put WKU at the top of her list when it came to pursuing her Bachelor’s degree.

Browning was a nontraditional student who, thanks to the educational incentives WKU provides to its employees, received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees while working and raising a family. 

“The best part for me was getting to know the traditional students in my classes. I made friends that lasted for years. I got to experience both worlds of being a staff member and a student,” she said.

Browning’s time at WKU has been filled with people she is proud to know and experiences she is proud to have had.

One experience, in particular, was presenting a stole to a student at the Intercultural Student Engagement Center’s Recognition Celebration.

Browning said it was her, “honor to be chosen and to celebrate [the student’s] accomplishments.”

As a biracial woman, Browning grew up with a myriad of challenges that came from attending an all-Black school and living in an all-Black neighborhood with a white mother but says she would not change a thing. Having a mother that ensured she was educated on her culture and heritage is something she is very proud of.

Her advice for students of similar racial backgrounds is to not let their past define who they are.

Browning offered these words of wisdom, “you are unique with your own set of skills and passions. You can do anything you want as long as you put in the work. Contact and use your resources at WKU. Build your support system one person at a time and lean on them. Let WKU be your home away from home.”