Goretti Ntuba: A Cameroonian-American student’s path to graduation through storytelling | University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences

By Francis Von Mann and Avery Schanbacher

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2025) -- The first stories Goretti Ntuba ever told weren’t written for an audience. They were scribbled in the pages of a schoolgirl’s diary, reflections on home, school and the everyday rhythms of life in Cameroon.

Goretti Ntuba, a graduating senior in English and a studio art minor.

This spring, she’s about to graduate from the University of Kentucky with a degree in English and a minor in studio art with stories still waiting to be told.

Ntuba’s journey, like her writing, is stitched together with the textures of two countries. A Cameroonian American writer and artist, she grew up in Cameroon before moving to the United States for college. She began her academic career at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she majored in 2D animation with a minor in creative writing. In 2023, she transferred to the University of Kentucky to be closer to family, flipping her academic focus.

Her creative portfolio spans comics, short stories, character design and digital illustration. At the heart of all her creative work is a desire to see more stories that reflect the realities of African life, not just the tropes she often encountered in childhood.

“Growing up, the stories I read were set in places that didn’t look like mine,” she said. “Even when Africa was mentioned, it was always vague, like it’s not made up of multiple countries.”

She creates with the goal of reshaping those narratives and centering the lived experiences of people and places often overlooked in mainstream media.

A black-and-white comic page shows a young girl in a classroom, focused on her drawing while other students interact with the teacher. The teacher, smiling warmly, compliments the girl, saying, “Good job, Esther!” The girl’s drawing of a cheerful, cartoonish animal under the sun is proudly shown. Later, the drawing is taped above her bed as she falls asleep, surrounded by a dreamy, starry night sky. A continuation of the black-and-white comic page shows the girl sleeping peacefully in her bed, the starry night and swirling dream patterns filling the room. She wakes up, sensing something unusual, and peers under her blanket. Under the bed, she finds a large, whimsical creature with a lion-like face, looking back at her with kind, curious eyes. — Goretti Ntuba's comics.

At UK, Ntuba quickly found a creative home in Graphite, the university’s student writing club. Through writing prompts and open sharing, she has made genuine connections. One event in particular, collage night, where students created visual pieces using glue sticks, magazines, and conversation, stands out in her memory. “It was just very interactive. It’s probably my favorite thing we’ve done so far,” she said. “I got to chat with people I hadn’t had a chance to talk to before.”

Ntuba is getting real-world experience in publishing too. Since January, she’s interned with the University Press of Kentucky, designing promotional graphics for upcoming book releases. Her work has already appeared on Amazon and the UPK website.

“It’s been really cool to see,” Ntuba said. “Even after my internship ends, those designs can still be used for other content.”

With graduation in sight, Ntuba is looking ahead: to professional opportunities in publishing, to comics and short stories waiting to be finished to quiet mornings and long afternoons spent making things again.

“There have been a lot of different ideas that have piled up over the years,” Ntuba said. “It will be really nice to share the art and writing that I want to see more of.”

Her stories, like her journey, are just beginning. To see more of Ntuba's work, visit her online portfolio.

Promotional graphic for the book Alias: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy by Elizabeth A. DeWolfe. The design features partial illustrations of two women in historical attire against a blue and gold floral background. A review quote from Erika Janik reads: “A thrilling and exciting tale of two women, one a wronged mistress and the other a spy, carefully researched and beautifully told — Goretti Ntuba’s work for University Press of Kentucky.