Alumni Spotlight - Hillary Thornton Smith

Hillary Thornton Smith attended LCA for 13 years, beginning in kindergarten and graduating in 2008. Hillary married fellow LCA alum Max Smith ('08) in 2015, and they have two children who attend LCA - Hadley and Charlotte.

Hillary completed her bachelor's degrees in Communication and Media Studies, as well as Political Science, from Georgetown College. During a networking event for communication students, she met NBC broadcaster and Lexington native Tom Hammond. It was through that connection she landed an exciting position post-graduation working as an associate producer at NBC for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Hillary worked out of what is seen as a mecca for broadcasting, 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

After her time working with the Olympics wrapped up, she decided to pursue a career working as a local news reporter. She got a job covering eastern Kentucky at WYMT, where she spent time learning and gaining her footing in the industry. She worked out of Pikeville for two years then made the move to WKYT in Lexington, starting out as a morning reporter. She spent about six years there and loved that it allowed her to see and meet all kinds of places and people. However, she knew she needed a little better work-life balance and normalcy with her growing family. An opportunity became available, and she moved into a position as a public relations officer at the University of Kentucky. She made this move at the beginning of 2020, and Hillary said it has been an example of God’s perfect timing ever since.

Why do you believe it was important for you to attend LCA? Attending LCA has given me a strong foundation for my faith. I also never felt unprepared and ill-equipped – both academically and in life. Through my various careers, I have always had the opportunity to meet and talk with people from all walks of life. I think it is important that as I get a very wide view of our world, I am always confident in my faith and that is the foundation for everything I do.
 

Tell us about your family and why you chose LCA for your kids. Max and I are both proud alums of LCA. We began dating our senior year just before we graduated in 2008. We both then went to Georgetown College and married after Max finished law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama in 2015. We now have two daughters - Hadley and Charlotte. Hadley will be starting Kindergarten this year and Charlotte will be in preschool. We really enjoyed our time growing up at LCA. The Christ-centered approach along with the support and encouragement we felt during our time there, as well as after we graduated, are the big reasons why we knew we wanted our children to attend LCA. This year our oldest daughter will be in Mrs. Hucaby’s class. Mrs. Hucaby was my teacher, and it is just a very sweet, full circle moment that we are extremely grateful for.

Tell us about one of your favorite memories at LCA.
I have so many great memories from my time at LCA … especially as a proud ‘lifer’. At the top of the list is probably being part of the girls’ basketball program. We won the Sweet 16 State Tournament my junior year in 2007, as well as a few All ‘A’ State Championships. The trophies we earned throughout those years are pretty special, but it is the time with the girls and coaches of those teams that I really remember. It was a special group, and we had a ton of fun!

What did you love most about your time at LCA?
The people - friends, teachers, staff, coaches, and parents. When I think back to the network of support that surrounded me while at LCA, it is something I probably didn’t fully appreciate at the time, but now looking back, I see that it was invaluable. That support continued after graduation and continues today when I run into former teachers and classmates.