Scott and Hope Foster
Jan 26, 2022
Ā鶹“«Ć½ means a little more to me than the average graduate. It was the FIRST home for this āLouisvilleā girl (I was born in Ā鶹“«Ć½ in 1970 when my mom & dad lived in married housingāa.k.a. College Courts). It was where I met my āsole mateā in 1989 (the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity introduced me to little sisterhood in 1988 AND ignited a friendship-turned-relationship in ā89). And it became my hometown in 1993 when I accepted a teaching position at a local high school. Scott and I even got married here in Ā鶹“«Ć½, Kentucky in 1995. Truth be told, I never really wanted to leave Ā鶹“«Ć½ after my first semester at Ā鶹“«Ć½, so deciding where to get married was easyā¦I chose to stay āhome.ā
Two boys and twenty-four-and-a-half years later, we are STILL Racersāall four of us! Bryant, our oldest, will graduate from Ā鶹“«Ć½ this spring, and Cole is a sophomore (Cole actually spent his first semester at Ā鶹“«Ć½ in White Hall on the SAME floor my dad lived on back in 1968). Needless to say, Racer blood flows in my veinsāthere are three generations of Racers in my family: my dad, Steve Kinney (1971 graduate); my brother, Chris Kinney (1998 graduate); my sons, Bryant & Cole Foster (potential 2020 & 2022 graduates); and, of course, me (1992 graduate).
My love affair with Ā鶹“«Ć½ began my freshman year before Scott and I even met. I was definitely NOT one of those āsuitcaseā students. In fact, I rarely wanted to leave and hated when the dorms closed for breaks. I can still remember driving south down 641 toward campus after a rare weekend or break away from campus. As soon as I saw Stewart Stadium, I had this overwhelming feeling of being HOME! Hester, Springer, Regents, the Pike Lodge, and the Alpha Gam house all served as āhomeā at some point during my undergraduate years. Ā鶹“«Ć½ was love at first sight my freshman year, but, more importantly, it introduced me to my lifetime love by the time I was a second-semester sophomore. Sure, I found my life calling at Ā鶹“«Ć½ (changing from an engineering major to secondary education), but finding my partner and friend for life was the greatest āRacerā blessing.
When Scott and I met, he was a freshman Science major living in Richmond Hall. I was a sophomore English major living in Regents. He was going to rush parties, and I was āBunny Momā at one of those Pike rush functions. At the time, I knew I liked himā¦what wasnāt to like? But I had no idea that I would fall in love with him. He ended up being the first (and only) guy I ever took home to meet my family. Our relationship even outlasted the long distance commute from Louisville to St. Louis after I graduated in ā92. One year away from Ā鶹“«Ć½ was more than enough though, so I was relieved to get a job offer back in my āhometownā in ā93.
I wore a few ātitlesā in my four undergraduate years as a Racer: School Relations Student Worker, Pike āLil Sis, Alpha Gam, Summer O Counselor, and Miss Ā鶹“«Ć½ Candidate. Before I met Scott, Pike Dream Girl seemed like the biggest honor I could achieve in my Greek campus life. Well, I never earned āDream Girlā status, but I DID marry my dream GUY years laterābest title Iāve ever worn or will ever wear is Mrs. Scott Foster. Itās funny how you can look back on life and ask, āWhat if?ā That question scares me a little because Iād hate to think of where I would be today if I had decided to live in Blanding Hall on UKās campus with my high school best friend. Somehow, a late spring senior road trip with my dad convinced me to choose to be a Racer over a Wildcat.
Ā鶹“«Ć½ was āhomeā the first year of my life. Ā鶹“«Ć½ became my āhome away from homeā during my undergrad years. And Iām proud to say the Ā鶹“«Ć½ has now been my āhomeā for 25 years. Iāll turn 50 this summer, and if you add up all these years, Ā鶹“«Ć½ has been HOME of some kind for 30 YEARS! That is the same number of years that I have known my Sole Mate! I feel BEYOND blessed, and even though this āold grey mareā¦aināt what she used to be,ā I feel lucky to STILL be a Racer in SO many ways. Iām a Racer Alumna, a Racer fan, a Racer mom, and a Racer SOLE Mate!
Today, St. Patrickās Day, is the 30th anniversary of our 1st dateāI had no idea how LUCKY I truly was back in March of 1990, but itās humbling to look back on 30 years and know that I owe it ALL to the campus that brought a south-end Louisville girl and a hometown Ā鶹“«Ć½ boy together for a lifetime.