In rural Clay County, a single winter storm can result in weeks of no school. But for a young, snow-bound Leslie Sizemore growing up in the 1970s, KET provided the opportunity to continue learning.

“We couldn’t spend much time outside, it was too cold, and so we would be inside watching Kentucky Educational Television,” she says. “KET was really the structure of our days.”

From a young age, Sizemore realized she wanted a good education so she could help people. She studied occupational therapy at Eastern Kentucky University and founded her own company, providing physical and occupational therapy services.

It’s very important that we as Kentuckians take responsibility to support KET so that we can continue to rely on good information and good entertainment.

Leslie Sizemore

“After you have the gift of education, it becomes very important for us to share that with other people and maybe increase access for people who normally wouldn’t think they have the opportunity,” she says.

Now Sizemore serves as vice president for workforce and economic development at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. She helps connect the state’s colleges and universities with local industries to create a pipeline of skilled graduates to fill in-demand jobs in the Commonwealth.

Dealing with policymakers, educators and business leaders, Sizemore says she finds KET’s public affairs programming invaluable, especially Kentucky Edition, Kentucky Tonight and extensive General Assembly coverage.

“Without the opportunity to be exposed to what’s going on in our legislative sessions, we don’t have the information that we need,” she says. “So, I think KET is so important to really giving all of us a voice for what’s going on in Kentucky politics.”

Although her work primarily focuses on higher education, Sizemore says she appreciates the programming KET offers Kentucky’s youngest learners. She says those shows provide an important foundation for children.

“If they’re sitting in rural Clay County or rural Owsley County or Jackson County, they can see the world through their televisions,” says Sizemore. “And I think it allows children the opportunity to see vocations and professions that they otherwise wouldn’t even know about.”

Even with the myriad of TV and social media channels available today, Sizemore finds KET a refreshing alternative. She says watching KET is an investment in her own knowledge.

“KET is such a jewel for Kentucky,” she says. “It’s very important that we as Kentuckians take responsibility to support KET so that we can continue that for many years and our children can benefit and we can continue to rely on good information and good entertainment.”