Where creativity meets higher education: An MCTC alumna shares her story

Published on Jan 15, 2026

As someone who grew up in the halls of Maysville Community and Technical College, Annalee Whitten has firsthand experience of what it’s like to be involved in higher education efforts. 

“I kind of grew up running these halls, and I was always around, so I already had kind of a good idea of what I was getting into,” she said.

After growing up in a faculty household, she transitioned to a dual-credit student at the institution, citing the academic environment and campus culture as key influences on her path.

“When it came to taking college courses, I think what shaped my experience and what helped me the most was having professors who were willing to have one-on-one conversations with me. Just having that ability to have someone who’s going to support you through your experience, when it’s something completely new and difficult,” she said.

Whitten has always been a creative person and loved to find the most creative solutions to benefit the most people. As a student with an artistic background, there have been several times when she was encouraged to pursue a career in an artistic field. 

However, she often found herself lacking the confidence she needed. Whitten related this to a lack of outlets and resources for her creativity in the area.

“In all the things that I’ve applied for, or I’ve been able to be a part of, there’s always that little bit of self-doubt, and you’re like, should I even apply for this? Am I even going to be good at it?” she explained. “I was pretty much completely self-taught, and I think that’s so important. Especially for rural Kentuckians and Appalachian artists. A lot of our artwork is deemed folk art because we are from an area that might not get as much recognition.”

After leaving MCTC, Whitten had the opportunity to complete a marketing internship with the communications and marketing department at Morehead State University (MSU). 

“It came out of nowhere. I had never actually done the hands-on work for it, and I think just being able to say, hey, this is the time. Push yourself into it,” she said. “I went into those interviews, and I was not confident whatsoever, but being able to create your own portfolio and practice your work and being able to show that to somebody and them being like, this is awesome. Having that confidence that you are special and can do hard things.”

Now, Whitten has secured an internship with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) in the Kentucky Advising Academy (KAA) as a graphic design and social media intern. There, she is contributing toward statewide higher education efforts.

Whitten continued, “My best piece of advice would be, number one, believe that you can do it. I think the whole thing for me is trying different things and being confident that you’ve got the abilities to do them.”

Whitten is currently attending MSU in pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Studio Art and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Marketing. 

In the future, she hopes to continue to shape the higher education standards for the state. Specifically, she has a personal goal of increasing access to resources and practice opportunities for artists in the area. 

“I want to help set up what the future is going to look like when I’m gone,” Whitten concluded.