Seizing opportunities has since become her hallmark.

In December 2023 she graduated from UofL with dual Ģżdegrees from the College of Arts & Sciences.

It is a program she had not planned to pursue after she earned her bachelorā€™s degree in 2020 from the just as the pandemic set in.

But there she was, and, given a chance to put her classroom learning to work through contact tracing, she jumped into the unknown. Soon, she was supervising UofLā€™s pandemic contact tracing team.

Owens, who had paid her own way through her undergraduate years, dreamed of getting a masterā€™s degree. She was attracted to the dual degree masterā€™s program because it offered a graduate assistantship that would pay for her tuition. She jumped again into the unknown.

ā€œIf Iā€™m being completely honest,ā€ she said, ā€œI didnā€™t know anything about urban planning before I went into the degree. Then I fell in love with urban planning!ā€

She didnā€™t get discouraged by being one of only three African-American students or being younger than many of her older professional classmates. And soon, the more she learned, the more she connected what she was learning to her public health foundation.

This time around, Owens also took another leap and became more involved in student life on campus. Her undergraduate years were consumed by the demands of jobs and commuting, but the graduate assistantship meant she had more time to explore being a student.

Owens ā€œgot involved in anything I could get my hands on,ā€ she said. ā€œI was like, well, I have the free time. Iā€™m going to try to pour myself into the school.ā€ One highlight was presenting research at the 2022 (SECoPA), where she was a runner-up for a prestigious award for most outstanding paper.

ā€œI was that kid that got taken out of class to take extra reading classes and needed tutors,ā€ she said. ā€œJust to be where I am today and do as well as Iā€™m doing, Iā€™m really proud of that because it took a long time to get over those hurdles growing up.ā€

Owens, a graduate of Louisvilleā€™s Butler Traditional High School, said she has always been inspired by her mother, a server who works multiple jobs as a single parent of three. She hopes earning her masterā€™s degree will help set her on a career path that leads to financial longevity for generations to come. She even earned her state license to sell life insurance to help others plan for the future.

For now, she plans to pursue a career in philanthropy. Owens is a coordinator of corporate and foundation relations in UofLā€™s . She thinks often about the generous donors whose gifts made her graduate assistantship possible.

ā€œI donā€™t know who to thank, but someone out there made that possible,ā€ she said. ā€œI want to learn all that I can learn to better help other students and our university be successful.ā€

Today, the single parent of a special needs 10-year-old sees herself with a PhD instead.

On Dec. 15, she graduated from the University of Louisville through theĢżĢżonline program and a goal of getting her PhD before sheā€™s 40.

White, a Tennessee native and first-generation college student, had a change of plans after her son, Landon, was born with a severe heart condition and other special needs. She worked in a bank and a beauty salon, taking Landon to his many medical appointments in her free time.

She never forgot her dream, though, and came to UofL in 2021 to earn a business degree. She later switched to the College of ³ÉČĖÖ±²„ and Human Developmentā€™s (CEHD) onlineĢż. She took only one year to get her undergraduate degree, then immediately started on her masterā€™s.Ģż

She made time to get involved in college life, and served on the board of UofLā€™s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Student Chapter. This year, she became vice president of the UofL CardinOLL Ambassador program for BS OLL students and alumni.

ā€œI didnā€™t come to play,ā€ said White, who maintained a 4.0 GPA. ā€œI look at the big picture all the time.ā€

She singled out the and for helping her juggle her many responsibilities. A scholarship recipient, White sought out the scholarships she needed to make sure she had no debt when she graduated.Ģż

ā€œI have overcome enormous challenges which could have stopped me but didnā€™t,ā€ she said. ā€œInstead, I was able to utilize UofL resources and excel quickly through this degree.ā€

White knows well that life is a winding road, and is looking for a job with the flexibility she needs for Landon. She is ready to work ā€œwherever God places me,ā€ she said, adding ā€œwhile change is inevitable, growth is optional.ā€

She relied on UofLā€™s resources, faculty and staff to get her through her toughest challengeā€”a comprehensive review of all she had learnedā€”leading the way to a bachelor of fine arts from the Hite Institute of Art and Design in the College of Arts & Sciences.

ā€œUofL helped me pass my review and graduate this fall because of the fantastic people ā€¦ who played a significant role in who I am as an artist and as a future alumnus of UofL,ā€ Ramsey said.

Ramsey, a , worked at the independent student newspaper, , and as a student assistant at Ekstrom Library. Read more about her Fall BFA Thesis Exhibition .

Asked about her favorite class, she said her experience in a directed study working on a project with Professor Mary Carothers of the Hite Institute made a profound impact on her.

The project focused on a Metro United Way/Russell Place of Promise guaranteed income program called YALift! Ramsey and other artists reflected on the meaning of guaranteed income in their work. Called ā€œTake this!ā€ the project included narratives to go with their imagery.

ā€œParing narratives with imagery greatly influenced my BFA track,ā€ Ramsey said, ā€œwhich solidified my love for UofL. If I had not gone here, I would have never met Mary Carothers or participated in the PhotoVoice project. It was an experience I will never forget.ā€

The experience also served as inspiration for her future higher education goals: Ramsey hopes to someday return to UofL for a Master of Fine Arts degree or an individualized major in visual sociology.

Ramsey, of Louisville, said her family has close ties to the university and she feels it has evolved along with the city. Being accepted at UofL was a ā€œdream come true,ā€ she said.

ā€œI loved visiting different places that integrate the community and the university, such as the and the ,ā€ she said.

After graduation, Ramsey plans to open a small business focused on film photography and crochet projects.

Tinker, who earned her degree in nursing, is from San Diego, California. Originally from China, she was adopted by an American family as a child. ā€œA big part of my story is being adopted from China,ā€ she said. ā€œSo coming from that and being an orphan to being commencement speaker at an amazing university is something Iā€™m very proud of and grateful for.ā€

She found her college home at UofL after discovering a new career path during the pandemic. At UofL, Tinker became involved in several groups, including serving as president of the Student Nursing Council. Her involvement helped her grow as a leader and set her up for success after graduation.

UofL News had the opportunity to speak with Tinker ahead of graduation to find out more about her experience at UofL and her plans moving forward.

UofL News: Why did you choose UofL?

Tinker: I chose UofL because I wanted an out-of-state school with both great academics and school spirit. I wanted research opportunities and a strong health care environment, but also a tailgate scene and things like that.

ĢżUofL News: Why did you decide to on nursing as your career path?

Tinker:ĢżI went to school in D.C. until COVID hit. I had interned for the House of Representatives and I was really into the Capitol Hill vibe. (But) I switched over to nursing. I was inspired by seeing what the nurses did during the pandemic. I just kind of made a big decision to change my path to nursing.

UofL News: How has the School of Nursing at UofL helped you?

Tinker:ĢżThe School of Nursing is very, very special. I have a lot of friends in other majors and we’ll chit-chat about the relationships they have with faculty and ā€¦ the faculty of the School of Nursing is by far the most supportive. They take an interest in their students individually. Just the mindset, there is always growth, so I feel like everyone’s always trying to make the School of Nursing the best that it can be.

UofL News: What professor had the greatest impact on you?

Tinker:ĢżI would say Imelda Wright. She was my first medical surgical nurse and she’s just an angel on Earth. She always comes to class in really cool high heels and just is the epitome of a strong woman role model. The other one would be Paul Clark, he is just the most supportive, positive professor. He focuses on mental health in a way that I feel like most professors just don’t. Love them both.

UofL News: What was your most memorable moment at UofL?

Tinker:ĢżI would probably say rushing the field at the Notre Dame football game. We were right there at the front and my friends and I stormed the field and I got elbowed in the eye really hard. My contact popped out ā€¦ I was running with one eye closed and it was just really fun.

UofL News: What are your plans after graduation? What type of nurse are you aspiring to become?

Tinker:ĢżI have accepted a job in the UofL Hospital Emergency Department, a Level 1 trauma center.

UofL News: How has UofL helped you grow?

Tinker:ĢżUofL has helped me grow through tough classes, clinical experiences, involvement like SGA, opportunities like the Research Scholars Program, leadership roles like being president of Nursing Student Council, etc. I filled my schedule to the max because of so many opportunities from classes to extracurriculars; Iā€™ve grown from being pushed to my limits – usually in a good way! Iā€™ve learned what Iā€™m capable of.Ģż

UofL President Kim Schatzel will preside at the event, and School of Nursing outstanding student Ellen Tinker will be the student speaker.

The ceremony will be broadcast live at .

In addition, the UofL Graduate School will host a doctoral hooding and graduation ceremony at 2 p.m. on the same day. More than 60 graduates are expected at the ceremony, which will be on Belknap Campus in the Swain Student Activities Center Ballroom, second floor. Schatzel will preside.

UofLā€™s U.S. Army ROTC cadre, Cardinal Battalion, will hold a commissioning ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in Ekstrom Libraryā€™s Chao Auditorium. Five cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants at that time.

For more information, visit .

After her 56-year-old mother died of a sudden heart attack when Potter was 18, she knew she wanted to be a cardiologist.Ģż

True to her name, nothing was going to get in the way of that goal.

ā€œThereā€™s always a million reasons not to do something, but thereā€™s always a million reasons to do something,ā€ Potter said with a smile. ā€œIf youā€™re going through a tough time, you deserve to make a better life for yourself, no matter what. ā€¦ Donā€™t give up.ā€

On Dec. 15, Potter will join hundreds of other summer and fall degree candidates at the KFC Yum! Center for exercises. Cheering her on from the stands as she celebrates her biology undergraduate degree will be her three brothers and two sisters.Ģż

ā€œI want to make my Mom proud because she always believed in me,ā€ she said.

After her mother died, Potterā€™s father turned to drugs to cope. His addictions led her to sever her ties with him.Ģż

Potter, 24, who lives with one of her sisters in Taylorsville and commutes to UofL, said she was determined to get her college degree ā€œno matter what,ā€ even though it meant she would have toĢż put herself through school. To help lessen the financial burden, the first-generation student began her college career at Jefferson Community & Technical College (JCTC) in Carrollton after graduating from Trimble County High School in 2017. She transferred to UofL two years later, and she works part-time as a certified nursing assistant in Taylorsville.

ā€œI donā€™t want other people to go through what I did, so I want to do the best that I can to help people protect their health so that other people wonā€™t have their parents pass away when they are young,ā€ Potter said.

Her close-knit siblings have been a strong support system for her. ā€œWe support each other and count on each other,ā€ she said.Ģż

She also found a home at UofL, where she conducted field research on insects and developed lasting friendships, including finding fellow Dungeons & Dragons players. Among her favorite faculty members are Mark Running, professor of biology, Sachin Handa, associate professor of organic chemistry, and Steve Yanoviak, who gave her a research position in his entomology lab.Ģż

She readily admits to having trouble focusing sometimes, and found favorite study areas on the quiet third floor of Ekstrom Library as well as in the Miller IT Center. She was not fond of the all-online class formats that were forced to replace in-person classes during the pandemic.

ā€œI prefer an in-class setting,ā€ she said. ā€œWhen Iā€™m in class I put my phone away and I try not to get distracted.ā€

But she said she had to learn to adapt because UofLā€™s many online class offerings have been particularly helpful with her busy schedule of working, studying and commuting.Ģż

After graduation, she plans to take a gap year while she works and studies for her MCATs.Ģż

Onward, toward her destiny.

Commencement exercises for UofLā€™s summer and fall 2023 candidates is Dec. 15, 7 p.m., at the KFC Yum! Center. For more information, visit the .

Watch the video:

ā€œI just thought there has to be a better way,ā€ said Eiferman.

In his seventies, Eiferman made the decision to embark on an online MBA program at the UofL College of Business to link his 40-year career in ophthalmology with his longtime research interest in developing a new medication delivery system.

ā€œIā€™ve always been very interested in the business aspects of things, and we always had these research ideas that weā€™d never had the chance to bring to fruition, so I thought maybe we could put two birds together in one,ā€ he said.

From his decades of experience with eye ailments, Eiferman recognized that a sustained delivery system was needed. ā€œItā€™s particularly important in ophthalmology, because for example, if you have glaucoma, you have to take drops once or twice a day for the rest of your life, and compliance can be the biggest problem.ā€

Eiferman connected with a PhD chemist and the two investigated a long-acting sustained release way to deliver medication.

ā€œWe discovered a way to put drugs in a wafer that slowly dissolves over two-to-three months, so no drops,ā€ said Eiferman. ā€œItā€™s a totally new concept. We conducted tests on rabbits and sure enough, it worked beautifully.ā€

With the help of College of Business faculty, he submitted a proposal and won the top prize of $25,000 in a ā€œShark Tankā€ style contest sponsored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in November 2022. That success led him to present at another contest in April 2023 at Yale University, and again he won the top prize, this time $265,000. Ģż

Eiferman said that the UofL MBA faculty were incredibly receptive and supportive, teaching him a novel approach for his presentation to the Yale panel.

ā€œThis was different than any paper or lecture Iā€™ve ever given,ā€ he said. ā€œFive slides and five minutes. I was fixated on the science and the chemistry, but they told me the panelists would want to know aboutĢż the market and how to make money from this idea,ā€ he said. “They were 100 percent correct.ā€

With the patent and his newly formed company, Sustained Drug Delivery, Eiferman plans to use the prize money to fund a study at Michigan State involving beagles that have congenital glaucoma since the FDA requires two species studies, rabbits and dogs in this case. The experiments need to demonstrate the wafers are equivalent in efficacy to the traditional drops.

ā€œWe believe it will work and we can then ask for permission to test in humans and evaluate a certain number of people for a certain length of time,ā€ he said. Once Eiferman completes that hurdle, the drug delivery system could be marketed as a device and not a drug, which can reduce the time between testing and approval.

Eiferman said he believes it could be a multi-million-dollar idea because of the technologyā€™s broad applicability.

ā€œIn dentistry, for example, they could pack a socket following a tooth extraction or put it in sutures,ā€ explained Eiferman. The other huge market is veterinary medicine to address a severe eye ailment that can make horses go blind.

In May 2023, Eiferman got to wear his green hood and walk at the universityā€™s online MBA graduation ceremony.

ā€œI never expected to be getting an MBA or starting a company in my 70s, but I wanted to prove I could still go to school and learn.ā€

, a double major in physics and political science who graduated in May,Ģż gave careful consideration to both majors when entering UofL as a freshman and was prepared to switch to engineering if ever he felt drawn to more applicable science.

But Hulse never wavered from his decision to major in physics.

ā€œAs I continued with the physics major, I really came to appreciate just how beautiful and surprising the natural world is,ā€ he said. ā€œWhile I still want to use physics to make a practical impact, my interests would never let me completely abandon the pure, theoretical side.”Ģż

Hulse was fortunate to find important mentors along the way in the physics department, especially Sergio Mendes and Timothy Dowling.

ā€œI went to these two professors for guidance on deciding a field, picking universities to apply to, and just generally gaining their insights,ā€ Hulse said. ā€œThey are both hidden gems at UofL, being deeply passionate about physics and sparking excitement in their students.ā€

A National Merit Finalist and Governorā€™s Scholar, Hulse had a lot of options for where to attend college. A full-ride McConnell scholarship tipped the scales in UofLā€™s favor, but it was also a priority for Hulse to gain a well-rounded liberal arts education.

He did so by earning a double major in physics and political science, as well as minors in mathematics and German. He maintained a 4.0 GPA and was an undergraduate teaching assistant in PHYS 350. He showed his talents as a natural mentor and collaborator by working extensively with a student with unique learning challenges, playing a key role in the student passing the class. Hulse also served on the McConnell Center Moot Court Team, as vice president of the Campus Lions Club, and as a member of the Society for Physics Students.

In addition to studying abroad in Germany, Thomas was active with physics research with professors at UofL and other universities. Remarkably, he has presented his undergraduate research in five separate presentations. His many accomplishments earned him the prestigious Woodcock Medal, which is awarded to an outstanding senior in recognition of both superior scholarship and personal characteristics. He was chosen as a student speaker for the May 2023 Commencement.

With such a strong undergraduate career behind him, Hulse will begin doctoral studies at Rice University this fall in Applied Physics.

ā€œApplied physics is all about striking that balance between lofty theories and actual real-world application, which is the perfect fit for me,ā€ he said. ā€œI hope that I can find that balance to make a real, meaningful difference somewhere.ā€Ģż

By Julie Wrinn,

However, she realized an even more powerful avenue for helping to build an equitable society ā€“ after one specific course.

ā€œI thought, ā€˜There has to be a way to tackle these social problems at their roots,ā€™ and when I took macroeconomics, that was something that I saw the potential for. Economists, and the research they contribute to, create solutions for social problems by getting to the root of what the problems are, [and] how [those solutions] can be used to create a more equitable society.ā€

Hylen was named the economics department’s Outstanding Graduate and was a student speaker at the May 2023 commencement ceremony.

Along with her first economics professor, John P. Nelson, who was the driving force behind her decision to switch her major from social work to economics, she also credited Beth Munnich with inspiring her future work.Ģż

With a growing desire to aid others through economics, as Hylen progressed through her program, she chose to pursue an internship to learn how she could better the lives of others through her chosen career field.

ā€œI had an internship with a local impact investing firm calledĢż, and I worked under part of their [business] calledĢż, [which creates] seed funding for local startups that are socially oriented.ā€ That experience brought together her passion for social work and economics in a powerful way. ā€œThis is why I wanted to become an economist,ā€ she explained. ā€œI didnā€™t even know that was an avenue ā€“ impact investing, essentially, but I think that was a dream realized for me, and I took a lot away from that internship.ā€

Dedicated to continuing to learn after graduation, Hylen plans to spend a year in Morocco pursuing another passion: learning Arabic and immersing herself in another culture.

ā€œI think that my perspective on life has been heavily influenced, and my understanding of economics has been heavily influenced by living in the United States, whereā€¦liberalism is the norm for our economy. I would like to see what itā€™s like in other economies, and so that ties in both my passion for languages and my interest in economics and how it influences us at a personal level.ā€

By Erica Hulse,