CCBC Alumna, President's Distinguished Graduate Finalist
Kit dreamed of working in the arts, but perfectionism and anxiety stood in her way. Connecting with Student Accessibility Services and TRIO made all the difference.
Kit Davenport has always known one thing for sure—she loves making art. But for years, turning that passion into a career felt uncertain. After high school, while many of her peers headed off to college, Kit took a different route. She worked in retail, using the time to save money and figure out what came next. Then, a twist of fate—a broken toe—changed her path.
Laid up and out of work for a month, Kit eventually landed a job as an assistant at an at-home daycare. It was there, surrounded by preschoolers and their eagerness to learn through art, that something clicked. “Whether learning about weather and clouds using cotton balls or creating butterflies with popsicle sticks to learn about the life cycle--their imagination was limitless,” she says. “It was exhilarating.” That spark of joy gave her the momentum she needed to take the next step: enrolling at CCBC.
Despite a low high school GPA and limited extracurriculars, Kit started her college career strong. She earned a 4.0 GPA—something she had never done before. “For the first time, I felt like I had direction and purpose,” she says. But challenges remained. Over winter break, she was hospitalized for two weeks as she wrestled with anxiety and perfectionism. Instead of derailing her progress, the experience became another turning point. “I made a new goal: Ask for help.”
She returned to CCBC and connected with Student Accessibility Services and TRIO, where she was matched with an advisor who encouraged her progress. “They genuinely wanted me to succeed,” she recalls. “Because they showed me that they cared, I showed them that I cared by continuing to move forward.”
And move forward she did. Kit became vice president of Public Relations for Phi Theta Kappa, interned at the Irvine Nature Center, won a juried art prize and was named finalists for both the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship and the 2025 President’s Distinguished Graduate. She remains grateful that she was able to ask for and receive support when she needed it most.
“CCBC fosters a community where it’s easy to seek out support,” Kit says. As she prepares to graduate with an associate degree in fine and performing arts, she’s grateful for every step—and stumble—along the way. This fall, she’ll transfer to the Maryland Institute College of Art to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts and master’s degree in teaching.
“I want to have a career in art education, supporting my students in their passions, just like my instructors did for me at CCBC,” she says.