The award, created by members of the Kennedy family in 1989, recognizes public officials at all levels of government whose actions demonstrate the qualities of politically courageous leadership in the spirit of “,鈥� President John F. Kennedy鈥檚 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book.

Adams, a 1998 graduate of University of Louisville’s , was presented the award by聽Caroline Kennedy and her son, Jack Schlossberg, on June 9 at the聽聽in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to the library, Adams聽was presented with the award for 鈥渆xpanding voting rights and standing up for free and fair elections despite party opposition and death threats.鈥�

鈥淎s our nation heads to the polls this November to choose the next President of the United States, courageous secretaries of state like Michael Adams are on the front lines protecting access to the ballot and ensuring that our nation remains a beacon of democracy,鈥� Caroline Kennedy, Honorary President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said in a聽.

鈥淧resident Kennedy鈥檚 admonition to put country before self still resonates today, and rings true now more than ever,鈥� said Adams. 鈥淚 am honored to accept this award on behalf of election officials and poll workers across America who, inspired by his call, sacrifice to keep the American experiment in self-government alive.鈥�

Past winners of the award include former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, and George H.W. Bush, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and U.S. Senator John McCain.

The North Hardin High School graduate鈥檚 exposure to UofL classrooms started about a decade prior when her aunt, Tanisha Thompson 鈥�06, 鈥�14, hauled her along to her courses in Strickler Hall and elsewhere.

Now Hampton鈥檚 aunt and the rest of her extended family will be celebrating with her May 7, when she graduates with an undergraduate degree in political science and English and with a long-term dream of working in Middle Eastern foreign relations for the U.S. State Department.

With faith, the support of many and with the love of other special people she lost during her four-year college journey, she has made it.

鈥淏y the grace of God, this degree 鈥� I did it for them,鈥� Hampton said.

Hampton, born to teenagers, grew up in the military town of Radcliff, Kentucky. She was adopted by her grandparents at age 17 and watched over by many other relatives.

鈥淢y aunt took a big responsibility in my life,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen she went to college, she made an effort to make sure I was exposed to (higher) education. That influenced a lot of my decisions.鈥�

Both Thompson, her aunt, and her husband earned UofL degrees. When it was Hampton鈥檚 turn to call Belknap Campus home, she earned full-tuition scholarships and found new circles of support in the Society of Porter Scholars and the McConnell Center as well as Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

鈥淒efinitely coming back to UofL was very familiar,鈥� Hampton said. 鈥淚 really enjoyed that.鈥�

As she settled into college life, she became increasingly interested in political science and international relations, minoring in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies and adding Arabic language courses to broaden her skills.

Hampton earned scholarships for international study, visited Israel and Pakistan, and won a Critical Language Scholarship, sponsored by the State Department, for summer travel to Ibri, Oman, to study Arabic.

鈥淚 love the Middle East,鈥� Hampton said. 鈥淚 had a good time.鈥�

But once she returned to the United States to start her 2019 fall semester, a series of tragedies began.

Starting with the unexpected death of her father, she lost four immediate family members over a series of months, including one relative the week before her spring finals. Then COVID-19 affected Hampton鈥檚 aunt鈥檚 mother-in-law, who had taught her to how to cook and influenced her life; at the beginning of Hampton鈥檚 senior year, she too was gone.

Under the circumstances, others might have quit on college, but Hampton felt encouragement from many fronts, including her school circles and her larger family.

Her sorority sisters have helped a lot, as have her McConnell Center leaders and fellow scholars.

鈥淎nd if not for the Porter (Scholars) community, I don鈥檛 know what I would have done,鈥� she said.

She thought it important to stick with her educational plan and not lose momentum by stepping away. 鈥淥nce you get a cadence going, you need to grind it out,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 want people to know that while the tunnel is dark, there is light on the other side. Finish if you can 鈥� do it for everyone.鈥�

Hampton also gives credit to many faculty and staff members who supported her personally and pushed her academically. With help from several, ranging from her adviser, Luke Buckman, to her Arabic teacher, Khaldoun Almousily, to McConnell Center Director Gary Gregg, she was able to chart and stay her course at the university.

Professors David Anderson and Karen Chandler, with their expertise in African American literature, guided her also. And when she was applying for competitive travel scholarships, she received helpful guidance and editing assistance from Bethany Smith in the Office of National and International Scholarship Opportunities.

With COVID constraints derailing international travel plans, Hampton intends to work for a year before pursuing graduate studies the following year in diplomacy or international relations. But before that, she鈥檒l be celebrating commencement with 鈥渁 pretty big shebang鈥� with the rest of her family, now that most have been fully vaccinated.

Does she have any advice for other students discouraged by personal hurdles on their way to graduation?

鈥淚 would tell them, 鈥楢t the end of every storm, there is a sunny day鈥�,鈥� Hampton said. 鈥淯ltimately, you have to pick it up and keep moving.鈥�

The startup, Koligo Therapeutics Inc., led by a UofL alumnus, was launched in 2016 to develop and commercialize UofL research and technology for personalized therapies using a patient鈥檚 own cells. One UofL-developed therapy for pancreatitis already is on the market and another for COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress soon will enter a multi-site phase 2 clinical trial led by UofL.

鈥淭hese therapies have come a long way since that first 鈥榚ureka鈥� moment in the lab at UofL,鈥� said Stuart K. Williams II, a professor in the UofL Department of Physiology who co-invented the technologies, co-founded Koligo and now serves as its chief technology officer. 鈥淭his acquisition supports expanded treatment of chronic pancreatitis patients and could further our cell-based treatments for COVID-19 patients throughout the United States.鈥�

The first therapy originated in UofL鈥檚 islet transplant program with co-inventors Williams, Michael Hughes and Balamurugan Appakalai, with early grant funding from the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence. This therapy is now marketed as Kyslecel to treat chronic and recurrent acute pancreatitis, which can cause pain, inflammation and diabetes as the pancreas degrades. The technology is available today in six U.S. hospitals and so far has been used to treat 38 patients.

In the Kyslecel therapy, a surgeon removes the diseased pancreas and sends it to Koligo where the islets are extracted and preserved to make Kyslecel. The drug is then returned to the patient鈥檚 health care facility to be infused into the liver where the islets are expected to function and produce the insulin needed to regulate blood sugar. Williams said the goal for the next generation of islet cell therapies will be to deliver the islets via implant created using 3D-V, a UofL-developed bioprinting technology.聽

Koligo plans to test another therapy, KT-PC-301, in treating COVID-19-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a forthcoming multi-site phase 2 randomized clinical trial, pending FDA review and clearance of an Investigational New Drug application.

The planned trial, led by Mohamed Saad, chief of the UofL Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Disorders Medicine, is expected to enroll 75 COVID-19 patients. A list of other ongoing clinical trials at UofL is available .

ARDS can occur in critical cases of COVID-19 when the lungs swell and fill with fluid as the body tries to fight off the infection. KT-PC-301 is a cell therapy that is derived from a patient鈥檚 own fat tissue. A small amount of fat is collected from the patient and sent to Koligo to make KT-PC-301. The product is manufactured within hours and sent back to the hospital for intravenous administration. KT-PC-301 then migrates to the patient鈥檚 lungs to reduce inflammation.

UofL licensed the Kyslecel and 3D-V technologies exclusively to Koligo through the , which works with startups and industry to commercialize research-born technology. Those licenses transfer to Orgenesis. UofL also maintains an equity stake in Koligo which has become an equity stake in Orgenesis after closing of that transaction.

鈥淲e look forward to continuing our strong relationship with UofL, now with an even wider reach and global scale,鈥� said Koligo Chief Executive Officer Matthew Lehman, who also is a former UofL McConnell Scholar and political science and history alumnus. 鈥淭ogether, Orgenesis and UofL will further develop these therapies that have real potential to save lives.鈥�

Kim spends much of her time in the Bingham Poetry Room of Ekstrom Library, calling it “significant” to her academic career because she likes to be surrounded by books.

“The University of Louisville has been one of the best things to happen to me. I’ve been able to really, truly dig down deep into who I am through my studies in Political Science and Theatre Arts,” Kim said. “At the end of the day, what I’m learning here is just how to be a better person.”

Check out more of Kim’s story below.聽

She was 5.聽

Humphrey will graduate Saturday with her political science and English degrees from the University of Louisville, where she was a McConnell Scholar and part of the moot court team. She also spent her college years聽volunteering at Kentucky Refugee Ministries for about 25 hours a week.聽

In addition to her majors, Humphrey minored in Spanish, Latin American & Latino Studies. That work, and the work at Kentucky Refugee Ministries, inspired her to get involved in immigration law. The Paducah native will attend law school at the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.聽

“I loved it. I felt like I was making an impact (with KRM),” she said.”I think聽having a JD will allow me to be even more helpful to them.”聽

Check out Humphrey’s story below:聽

Video by Brad Knoop.

Jewell, who majors in political science, is a Harlan Scholar, Woodford R. Porter Scholar, Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholar and McConnell Scholar. He serves as a Student Government Association Arts and Sciences senator and the Club Programming Committee chair. He has also served as president of the Society of Porter Scholars and as a member of the UofL Honors program, Students Stimulation Conversation and the Task Force Freshman.聽

“I chose UofL because it was one of the only schools where I really felt like I had a family already at the university and people who were truly interested in my progression not just as a student but as a person in general,” Jewell said.聽

Morgan, who majors in English and Spanish, is a Governor’s Scholar and a Vogt Scholar. She serves as the SGA’s Arts and Sciences Council president and executive staff. She has served a

s a member of the PEACC Program, the raiseRED Marathon, Order of Omega president and Chi Omega Sorority.

“I chose UofL because it’s very different from where I’m from.聽It’s a lot more diverse, which I think offers a lot of growth as an individual,” Morgan said. “Everyone is so encouraging and聽willing to help you learn not only about other people but about yourself.”

Each year, UofL bestows an award to an outstanding senior man and woman as Mr. and Ms. Cardinal. This award is based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, contributions to the university, an explanation of what the “Mr. and Ms. Cardinal Award” means to the applicants as well as an interview by a panel of judges.

Check out a video of Mr. and Ms. Cardinal below.聽

Mundkur, who also serves on the Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students, says the opportunity to be a part of Ali鈥檚 tribute is an honor and truly humbling experience.

鈥淓very time I sit down to write something for Friday, I know that whatever I say it feels like it will never do justice to what he has meant to my life and the lives of millions of people in every corner of the world,鈥� Mundkur said. 鈥淪peaking at this event is the culmination of a life鈥檚 dream.鈥�

Even though Mundkur wasn鈥檛 born by the time Ali last entered the boxing ring (December 1981), that didn鈥檛 stop 鈥淭he Greatest鈥� from influencing her life when she was a little girl living in rural Virginia.

鈥淢uhammad Ali has been my inspiration since I was 8聽years old,鈥� Mundkur said. 鈥淕rowing up in a little country town, you don鈥檛 see a lot of people looking to be a part of your life because you are so different. It took an inspiration like Muhammad Ali – and his words about equality and looking at others as human beings first 鈥� to help take me to another level. It took me to be a McConnell Scholar and a member of the Ali Council of Students. That sort of impact cannot be described in words.鈥�

Mundkur is a 2015 graduate of duPont Manual High School. She is a business and political science major at UofL, with a minor in women’s and gender studies. She is one of 11 McConnell Scholars who are expected to graduate in 2019.聽