Perhaps the most inspirational narrative from the past year and a half, however, is the care and resiliency displayed by our students.

In an instant, their world shut down entirely, their social outlets were taken away, their formative years compromised. Yet our students kept on keeping on and achieved things that would be considered remarkable in “normal” times, let alone in a relentlessly lingering global health crisis. Here is just a sampling of the work our students have done to epitomize the Cardinal spirit.

COVID-19

When COVID-19 started to proliferate domestically, our students stepped up to both fight the virus and to help those in need. Bioengineering students , for example, collected test kits for the community when they were desperately needed.

Graduate assistant turned to the����facility at Speed School of Engineering to create protective face shields for healthcare workers, an item that experienced a critical shortage in those early days.�� ����

When masks became mandated, a group of UofL business students started a company to meet the demand for .

And when the community needed help with or , our students stepped up.

Research and innovation

Their efforts expanded well beyond the parameters of COVID-19, however. When it seemed like the world stopped, they kept pushing forward on several research and innovation efforts to ensure progress continued in the face of uncertainty.

Two doctoral students, Zach Whiddon and Kyle Whyland, in the Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, received funding from to support their research on taste buds and brain circuitry, for example. It’s not common to receive such funding before earning a PhD, by the way.

Further, a team of undergrads invented a new tool for in water sources that could be more efficient and cost effective. Speaking of water, UofL student researchers recently started working with the to help river towns use recreation to drive tourism and economic development.

Throughout the global health crisis, our students launched a new , helped develop a for the treatment of aggressive solid tumors, created a technology for through breath, launched a and figured out how to get our ringing again.

Local, national, international impact

Whether ensuring kids didn’t go hungry during the lockdown or underrepresented students had a level playing field, our students also put in plenty of service and social justice work throughout the past 18 months.

Our student-athletes, for example, generated more hours of community service during the 2020 academic year than , while our interior design students helped design a local .

UofL students Giavanna Combs and Leah Hazelwood represented the city of Louisville as official ambassadors for the

In the early stages of the pandemic, law school at UofL with being called to state active duty as a member of the Kentucky National Guard, while a group of sophomores worked with a local nonprofit to ensure children had for their remote learning environments.

UofL engineering students helped develop virtual for K-4 kids at home, while Jacob Foushee and Lily Stewart developed a plan to , set out to increase access to healthy foods for Perry County residents, and several students pitched in to restore in Louisville’s west end.

That’s not all. Not even close.

In the past year, UofL med student to highlight the health disparities that plague underserved communities across Louisville, while another group of med students helped create the to assist Louisville youth affected by violence navigate trauma and build a better future for themselves and their communities.

Junior Ethan Volk created a advance their career aspirations, while med student Tino Mkorombindo established ., a nonprofit that serves as a resource for minority students who plan to pursue a career in medicine. Sophomore Rawan Saleh has been recognized by several organizations, including the , for her work to end racism.

And in the throes of the pandemic, when it seemed as though the music stopped, reached out to several friends at other universities across Kentucky and facilitated a virtual performance of “My Old Kentucky Home” on what would have been Derby Day 2020.

Meanwhile on campus, our students had a major hand in , continued their partnership with , came up with creative solutions to keep the to raise money for pediatric cancer, put our on the map and contributed to a .

Through it all – the ups and the downs, the unknowns, anxiety and fear, our students continued to accomplish big things. Major things. Pride-inducing things.

Take, for example, senior Industrial Engineering students finished second at the 2021 Student Simulation Competition, while a separate engineering team from UofL competed in an .

Further, , was one of 10 students recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineering for its 2020 edition of the “New Faces of Engineering.” And, Civil Engineering Major Sophie Lipomanis was named as a national spokesperson for the for the second year in a row.

Our student-athletes achieved extraordinary feats on and off the field, placing a school-record 413 Cardinals on the , for example, and achieving a . Meanwhile, our Spirit Squad won its seventh consecutive national title, Catcher Henry Davis became UofL’s first No. 1 overall draft pick in the , and we sent to Tokyo to compete in the Olympic Games.

Finally, importantly, our students continued to win prestigious international and scholarships, including now-senior . For this unprecedented 2020-21 academic year, UofL has once again been named a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producing Institution – our seventh year on the list for this prestigious award.

What does this all prove? Our students are extraordinary, spirited and inspiring, and not even a global pandemic can slow them down. They will continue to rise to the challenge, no matter how large, as they make our campus, our community and our society stronger.����

Manuela’s Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship is one of nine Fulbright awards won by UofL graduates or graduate students for 2021-22. The 2019 graduate, who has a bachelor of arts in biology, is headed to Belgium, where her sister traveled on a Fulbright research scholarship last year.��The sisters grew up in Lexington.

��“I feel so honored to have the chance to be a part of students’ educational journeys and help them to strengthen their understanding of the English language, which will in no doubt open even more doors for them,” Manuela said. “I’m also excited to engage with the Belgian community and then learn more about the Belgian Congo, as it relates to my Congolese identity.”

Since 2003, UofL has produced 150 Fulbright winners, more than all other Kentucky higher education institutions combined.

In addition, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, given to one college junior in Kentucky each year, was awarded to UofL student Lexi Raikes in April.

“The winners of these prestigious scholarships will have opportunities abroad that will change their lives and promote international understanding,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “These students are the best of the best, and I am awestruck by their hard work and dedication to furthering their education. I also thank our staff members who helped these students win these opportunities.”

The other Fulbright winners are:

• Shakeyrah Elmore, of Columbus, Ohio, who will study postpartum depression in Jamaican women at the University of the West Indies Caribbean Institute for Health Research in Kingston, Jamaica. She is a graduate student in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.
• Claire Gothard, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.
• Macey Higdon, of Owensboro, Kentucky, who earned a graduate award to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland, in biology of physical activity.
• Kyle Landis, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Madrid, Spain.
• Rolandson Le, of Louisville, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.
• Madeline McCloud, of Worthington, Kentucky, who also earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Taiwan.
• Reagan Miller, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Morocco.
• Hannah White, of Eddyville, Kentucky, who earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Galicia, Spain.

The Fulbright Program, administered by the Department of State’s Bureau of ����ֱ��al and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Other students awarded prestigious academic scholarships are:

Isabella Martin—Boren Scholarship. She plans to study Russian in Estonia. Boren Scholarships, sponsored by the National Security ����ֱ�� Program, provide undergraduate and graduate students up to $25,000 to study abroad in languages and regions of interest to U.S. national security.

Will Randolph—English Speaking Union-Kentucky Branch Scholarship. He will use the award this summer to study modern Scottish at the University of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland. The English-Speaking Union of the United States is a non-profit, non-political, educational service organization whose mission is to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge through the effective use of English in an expanding global community.

Liz Turner—Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship. Liz, a May 2021 graduate with bachelor’s degrees in political science and Spanish, will pursue a master’s degree at Aga Khan University in London, United Kingdom.

Madeline Martinez—Delta Scholars Program. This program is for students who attend college in the Mississippi Delta region who are interested in community service and social justice. Madeline, a sophomore nursing major, will attend a 10-day summer program at Mississippi State University and a five-day fall program at Harvard University.

More on these scholars can be found online here.��

For the 2020-2021 academic year, UofL was once again named a Fulbright U.S. Student Program Top Producing Institution. It marks UofL’s seventh year on the list.

UofL had a total of 13 Fulbright scholars for the 2020-2021 academic year. Since 2003, UofL has produced 148 Fulbrights, more than all other Kentucky public institutions combined.

The distinction from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of ����ֱ��al and Cultural Affairs was published in the Feb. 15 online edition of The Chronicle of Higher ����ֱ��. A list of institutions can be found .

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

“Our students have a global world view that benefits all humankind,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “I commend our students, faculty and staff who work so hard every year to secure these opportunities.”

Started in 1946, the Fulbright Program marks its 75th anniversary this year.��