Thornsbury, from Auxier, Kentucky (), is a spring graduate and the first in her family to earn a college degree.�� 

“When I first came to campus I admittedly was really scared. I really tried to do my best to branch out, go to different events, join clubs, join student organizations,” she said. “I truly believe that being active on campus is the best way to really find your purpose.”

Thornsbury’s experience has inspired her brother to follow in her footsteps, with plans of his own to attend UofL.��

Mathews personally has experienced more than 20 kidney stones, four surgeries, countless tests and what she calls unbearable pain. At the moment, she has three to five cysts on each of her kidneys.

“As I get older, my kidneys will progressively get more cysts, causing them to shut down and resulting in kidney transplants or dialysis treatments,” she explained.

There is no cure.

Still, Mathews continues on while balancing a full schedule and maintaining a positive attitude.

The Louisville native is currently a junior at UofL majoring in Sport Administration and minoring in Communications. She also works full-time at The Clubhouse Apartments.

“If you know me, you know I live life to the fullest and don’t regret anything,” she said.

However, because of her PKD, there are plenty of challenges. Last month, for example, she experienced six kidney stones at once.

“Living with this disease has made it hard for me to enjoy certain luxuries of life. There have been multiple classes where I have exceeded the maximum amount of allowed absences and have had to make sure I would be able to even pass the class,” she said.

Mathews stays motivated, however, behind a goal of graduating next year and starting a career. She’s not quite sure what that career will be yet, but she plans to explore different opportunities through internships next year.

She also plans to continue to raise awareness about PKD and recently participated in the Louisville Kidney Walk, where her goal was to raise $5,000. She exceeded that amount by about $200.

“I am hoping to raise money to help find a cure because over 12 million people are affected by this disease,” she said.

Mathews said she has a sufficient support system at UofL, which is part of the reason she chose to stay home for school.

“UofL felt like home. I felt like I would fit in here,” she said. “I always feel like people don’t just feel sympathy for me, but they understand me as a person.”

The senior engineering major chose UofL because of its successful swim and engineering programs.��

“One day you’re racing Olympians. The next day you’re taking a systems dynamics test,” Harting said. He especially likes his fluids classes and admits he calculates water force and pressure during swim practice.��

“Being surrounded by the people I’m surrounded with academically and people in the pool who push me to do better and having the support from the rest of the city in what I’m trying to accomplish really means a lot,” Harting said. “If I go into an international meet, I’m thinking about the people that are behind me … It’s really comforting knowing that I have people who are supporting me.”

Check out more of Harting’s story below. Check out Harting and his fellow Cards as the :

The Knob Creek Boyhood Cabin was originally thought to be owned by family friends of the Lincoln family and that he may have stayed the night a few times. This was the belief when it was placed on the Lincoln’s Old Knob Creek Farm by the owner of the Lincoln Tavern in the 1930s. The property was later donated to the National Park Service in the early 2000s.

That cabin was recently tested by a team of researchers from the University of Tennessee, who discovered that the age of the logs is younger than Abraham’s time in this area.

Ranger Natalie Barber said that at one point a plaque read “this might be the Lincoln cabin, we just don’t know.”

This information has not deterred the people of Hodgenville from touting their favorite son, however.��

UofL student Cody McDowell was featured in the story. McDowell helps his family operate Lincoln’s General Store in Hodgenville.��

“You have Lincoln everything – you have Lincoln National Bank, Lincoln’s General Store, Lincoln Jamboree down the street. Lincoln’s our identity, that’s who we are,” he said.��

“People aren’t turning off the interstate and coming here to experience Hodgenville because of a cabin. They’re here because of Lincoln; who he was as a person. It’s the story and the man that’s always going to drive people,” Barber said.��

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Brown was one of five festival princesses who earn their spots through high scholastic achievements and dedication to service within the community. She won the crown on April 8 by a spin-of-the-wheel at the annual Fillies Derby Ball.

Brown, from Crestwood, Kentucky, decided to attend UofL when she received a full-ride from the Trustees Scholarship. She is active in Greek life and serves as a campus tour guide and an intern in UofL’s Office of Communications and Marketing.

UofLNews had the chance to talk to Brown about why she embarked on this journey and the process of becoming part of the royal court:

UofLNews: What has been your fondest moment at UofL?

Brown: Getting to work under (director of Digital Media) Jeff Rushton, specifically getting to cover football games for the (OCM) department. We get to take the cameras and be down on the field and capture the excitement of the fans and the excitement of the games and it really is a unique experience as a student, not sitting in the stands but getting to be down on the field, and it’s been my favorite part of college.

UofLNews: Least fond moment?

Brown: It’s gotten a little trying, with all of the stuff going on in the media lately, especially since I’m a tour guide. You get questions about it, but just got to kind of take it in stride and remember why you love UofL so much.

UofLNews: Why did you choose to embark on this journey and become a KDF princess?

Brown: I really liked what I do as a representative of the University of Louisville as a student, and I wanted to expand that, and I know that the Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses represent not only the entire city of Louisville but the Commonwealth of Kentucky during Derby season. Also we work with a lot of kids and we promote education a lot. I love working with little kids; it’s been my favorite part of the whole experience.

UofLNews: What were your favorite things about the process?

Brown: It’s a really good experience. The first interview is a 5-minute interview and you do it in front of five judges so that’s a really unique experience and interview opportunity. You won’t do that a lot, so you have to make sure that you make the points you want to make and get who you are across to those judges to make it to the final round. This year it was really cool (because) one of the final judges was Monte Durham from “Say Yes To The Dress,” so you got to meet him and get the experience of interviewing in front of a high profile client as well.

UofLNews: What surprised you about the process?

Brown: I felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would in the interviews, especially the final round judges. They’re all from out of state but they did a really good job of making the room a comfortable environment.

UofLNews: How do you want to change the world?

Brown: I think kindness is really important and just being a genuinely good person, making sure you treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s an old rule but I think it’s a quality rule and that’s why it’s stuck around for so long. That’s something that I hope shines through in my everyday life, that’s something that I hope to instill in my children as well.��

UofLNews: What is your favorite book?

Brown: Recently my favorite book has been “The Nightingale.” It’s a love story and a women’s empowerment story, and a survivor’s story all in one about the holocaust, so you get a bunch of different perspectives. It’s really moving and the ending is not predictable, which is the best part, but also very upsetting.

UofLNews: Favorite restaurant?

Brown: I love to eat. I think my favorite one right now is The Eagle on Bardstown Road. They’ve got a fried chicken sandwich and mac and cheese … I will say this as a power move, The Eagle has the best mac and cheese in the city of Louisville. The fried sandwich is really good, too.

UofLNews: Do you have any advice for incoming students?

Brown: My biggest piece of advice is to keep going, to apply for things and if you don’t get it pick yourself back up and apply for something else. I know a lot of students, especially if they were successful in high school, come to UofL and it’s a much larger student population. So they apply for something and they don’t get it the first time and they get super discouraged. Don’t give up on yourself, keep applying for things, and find your groove in college.

Photo provided by Jonathan Roberts.