The financial support comes from the , made possible through a gift from the recently retired president of HDR’s global water program, Glen Ellmers and his wife, Cherie. The funds will be used to add a new biology and sustainability curriculum to the INSPIRE program. , an acronym for “Increasing Student Preparedness and Interest in the Requests for Engineering,” is a summer enrichment program dedicated to introducing engineering to students from historically underserved populations across Louisville area schools.

The curriculum expansion aims to enhance the experience for approximately 20 students who attend the week-long camp each summer, providing them with a broader understanding of STEM fields and fostering their interest in engineering, biology and sustainability.

INSPIRE’s core objectives include exposing students to various engineering subfields, engaging them in hands-on activities and facilitating local site visits with community partners. Additionally, the program assists students in identifying their strengths and prepares them for the college transition process.

“With HDR’s generous investment, the INSPIRE Program will see significant enhancements, providing a holistic educational experience to our participants,” said Dayna Touron, dean of the . “This investment not only supports the expansion of the curriculum but also enables us to offer a real-life, on-campus experience to the students during the INSPIRE Summer Camp.”

The proposed enhancements include Biology and Sustainability Days, where participants will delve into disciplines such as drip irrigation, water research, composting, creating headphones, slime cell graphs, 3D printing, laser cutting and biomedical engineering demonstrations using real organs.

The collaborative effort of UofL’s departments of Biology and Urban and Public Affairs and the will produce two immersive days designed to combine interactive classroom learning with hands-on experiential activities. This innovative approach aims to bridge the gap between traditional academic disciplines, providing students with a holistic understanding of how biology and sustainability intersect with engineering issues.

The INSPIRE program will also introduce a residential aspect, allowing students to stay in a residence hall on UofL’s campus for the entire week of the camp. This immersive experience aims to familiarize students with college life and ignite excitement about pursuing degrees in STEM fields like engineering or biology.

“We believe that this investment will not only impact the participating students but also contribute to the broader goals of diversity and inclusion in STEM education,” added Kyle Guthrie, vice president and HDR’s Area Manager for Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. “We look forward to witnessing the success stories that will emerge from the INSPIRE Program and its expanded curriculum.”

While their friends packed bags for glamorous retreats to international destinations or tropical climates, the pair of UofL students and Pi Kappa Phi brothers chose to be part of their fraternity’s long-standing philanthropic initiative, The Ability Experience.

Each summer, members of Pi Kappa Phi trek across the country and participate in one of six nationally-known programs that are part of The Ability Experience, a nonprofit organization aimed at building relationships and empowering people living with disabilities.

Batshoun found one program that captured him immediately, Build America. The six-week-long event focuses on building or repairing accessible amenities for camps, specifically created to give those who have disabilities a summer camp experience.

“My great aunt was paralyzed from the waist down and before she passed away, she worked incredibly hard to push for equality for the community of people with disabilities in Kentucky, including things like the integration of accessible parking,” Batshoun said.

The sophomore from Northern Kentucky first traveled to Boston, where he and his 10-member team spent time bonding and receiving training on how to correctly use power tools. The group visited with and worked with campers in Ohio, Colorado, Arizona and California. At the end of each trip, Batshoun said his team presented a $5,000 grant from the money raised to each camp to aid in future projects.

Of the many memories he’ll carry with him, Batshoun’s time at Colorado Lions Camp stood out in particular. During a project, his team worked on repairing a wheelchair ramp for the girls’ cabin. One day, the only camper in a wheelchair asked Batshoun if he could test the ramp after it was finished.

“The next workday finished and we finally completed the wheelchair ramp, so I waited until after dinner to tell Easton that we finished the ramp and we were ready for him to test it out,” Batshoun recalled. “We walked up to the cabin and he started to go up the ramp. Once he got to the top, he had the brightest, purest smile I had ever seen on his face, and it was at that instant I truly knew the impact that The Ability Experience has.”

Though it’s impossible to predict memories like that, Batshoun said it didn’t take much convincing for him to dedicate his summer to The Ability Experience.

Batshoun’s friend Davin Newsome, also a Pi Kappa Phi member at UofL, worked with Build America in 2017 and convinced him to do it as well. 

“Davin was not wrong at all. Build America was by far the most impactful and memorable seven weeks of my entire life. From the lifelong brothers I spent every waking hour with for seven weeks to the countless amount of lives we impacted along the way, this was without a doubt the summer of a lifetime,” Batshoun, a sophomore, said.

Burgess elected Journey of Hope, a cycling trip in which three teams ride to spread a message of acceptance and understanding for people with disabilities to Washington D.C., with starting destinations in Seattle, San Francisco and Santa Barbara.

Training started May 27, and the team left June 9 from San Francisco to begin their cross-country voyage, with all three teams converging on Capitol Hill.

As the north route’s crew chief, Burgess led a 29-member team on a trip that lasted 63 days. One of their stops included a two-day stint in Grand Island, Nebraska, where Burgess recalls spending “every moment” with people, sharing meals and visiting their workplaces. He said lunch at a park constructed by brothers of Pi Kappa Phi was easily the highlight.

“The two mothers who gave us the tour of the park have been around Journey of Hope and Build America for nearly two decades and so have their kids,” the Lake Mary, Florida, native said. “One of the mothers had a daughter with a disability in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Her daughter, because of her disability, always had trouble connecting with people until she met cyclist and brother Jason Tirado. He made a lasting impact on her and her family and stayed active in their lives before he sadly passed away in 2000.

“When my team heard that story, we were all moved to tears because both of the mothers were also getting emotional and you can see how much of an impact he had and what he meant to the people of Grand Island, as well as what Journey of Hope and brothers of Pi Kappa Phi mean to the community.”

Beyond the sentimental impact, the three teams contributed financially, combining to raise more than $600,000 and helping more than 3,000 people.

As much as Batshoun and Burgess know they played a significant role in improving the lives of others, Burgess also realizes how much the program impacted him personally.

“Journey of Hope has made me into a better servant leader and in turn has made me want to become a better man, a better citizen, a better friend, a better brother,” Burgess said. “I will continue to dedicate my time and efforts to helping serve the lives of people with disabilities and continue to give back to my local community wherever I am.”

Eighteen-year-old incoming freshmen Ryan Shackleford and Katherine Grace Whitaker live close to the Daniel Boone National Forest, some 150 miles away from the University of Louisville’s Belknap Campus. Both will begin studies at UofL this fall, academic journeys inspired by a new type of high school summer camp at the .

Ryan, a graduate of Corbin High School, and Katherine, who graduated from Whitley County High School, live in a high poverty area the federal government has declared a “Promise Zone.” The program is aimed at improving the overall quality of life and, in Kentucky, the targeted area covers 3,071 square miles in Bell, Harlan, Letcher, Perry, Leslie, Clay and Knox counties and part of Whitley County. There are a total of 22 Promise Zone communities nationwide in a mix that includes urban, rural and tribal areas.

This summer marked the third year of the camp, which is designed to broaden interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

focused on renewable energy with lessons and labs from researchers at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research at Speed. This year, from July 9-13, a group of 23 Promise Zone students learned about 3D printing by designing and manufacturing small products at Speed’s Rapid Prototyping Center. They presented their products in a “Shark Tank”-like competition held on the final day of camp.

“It blew my mind what a 3D printer can do,” said Taylor Hall, 16, a Letcher County Central High School junior, whose team worked on a laser surgical cutting device that would replace the scalpel. “We had the best time ever. … I would love to come here.” 

Taylor and his teammate, 15-year-old Logan Thornton of Somerset High School, said they also enjoyed the extracurricular visits to Shakespeare in the Park and Louisville Mega Cavern, along with living in a college dormitory for a week. 

Ryan and Katherine were among the first group of Kentucky Promise Zone students who attended, also making visits to Louisville attractions while learning what UofL could offer them.

“Before attending the camp, I had not really put too much thought into where I would attend college, but the University of Louisville certainly wasn’t at the top of my list,” said Katherine, who was awarded a Grawemeyer Scholarship and a Vogt Scholarship and is considering majoring in psychology, biology or neuroscience. “I didn’t realize all the resources that were available at UofL, as there are very few people from my hometown who choose to attend there. After the camp, I became aware how much really was happening in Louisville, both at the university and in the surrounding city.”

Ryan, who secured a spot in the Guaranteed Entrance to Medical School (GEMS) program, plans to major in chemical engineering. He is also in the Honors Program and won a Grawemeyer Scholarship. He said the camp gave him his first real experience “working with physics,” and his favorite subjects were solar power and ion lithium batteries, as well as learning how an electron microscope works.

“For the most part, the camp gave me a more in-depth look and hands-on experience with subjects I only knew a little about,” Ryan said. “I had never been on the campus before until this camp. This camp opened up UofL as an option for me. I was surprised by how much I liked both the campus and the city of Louisville. UofL was not intimidating, but friendly and welcoming.”

Both Ryan and Katherine expressed their gratitude to the camp organizers.

“There are many students in this part of the state that are very intelligent and have a lot of potential, but do not get the opportunities that students from larger areas may receive,” Ryan said. “This camp gave students the opportunity to visit a large university outside of our local area.”

Katherine agreed.

“I think this camp is helping to provide unique and meaningful experiences for students in southeastern Kentucky that they otherwise may not be able to have,” she said. 

A week later, on their last day of a summer camp where they learned the basics of renewable energy, these same students left with a spark of something new for the future.

About 30 high school students from eastern Kentucky’s “” on July 21 concluded the research camp at the Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research. Their presentations on subjects like solar energy and lithium ion batteries seemed to surprise even themselves.

“I came here knowing I wanted to be an engineer,” said Hayley Fulton, 14, who will be sophomore at Letcher County Central High school this fall. “I was clueless and now I know all this stuff and I’m just like, ‘Wow.’”

The camp at the center, which is part of UofL’s J.B. Speed School of Engineering, was in partnership with the federal Promise Zone, an area comprised of Bell, Harlan, Letcher, Perry, Leslie, Clay, Knox and part of Whitley counties. Its goal is to improve the overall quality of life in the 3,071-square-mile region. The white lab coats some students wore bore the saying “It’s a Promise” on the back.

“Solar energy is very important because nowadays we rely on a lot of non-renewable energy sources,” said Kaden Gray, 16, a junior at Lynn Camp High School in Knox County. “By utilizing solar energy, we can not only fix the problem, but bring back a lot of lost jobs to our areas. All these labs, the amount of stuff we learned that had to do with what I thought to be a simple concept, really blew my mind.”

The camp was designed to broaden interest in STEM careers, and many students said they are looking at careers in engineering, medicine, nursing and marine biology.

Asher Terry, 14, a Letcher County Central sophomore, said he wanted to learn more about STEM careers even though he’s an aspiring lawyer.

“I learned about solar cells and how they work,” he said. “I learned that coal isn’t all that because it’ll run out one day and we need some kind of renewable energy.”

The students said the importance of teamwork and respect were added lessons. They also made some good friends along the way.

“Today is going to be very hard for me because half these kids I probably will never have the chance to meet or see again,” said Gracie Moles, 14, a sophomore at Middlesboro High School.

The students spent the week on Belknap Campus in a dormitory, and in between labs they saw the sights of Louisville, such as the Slugger Museum and the Speed Art Museum. Interim UofL President Greg Postel and Interim Speed School Dean Gail DePuy met with them Friday and answered questions about scholarships, honors classes, tuition and housing.

Kentucky’s Promise Zone was designated in 2014 as the first rural Promise Zone in the nation. There are 21 other Promise Zone communities nationwide.

Check out more from the camp in the video below: