UofL is the first public school outside of California to host the Design the Future Camp.
UofL is the first public school outside of California to host the Design the Future Camp.

Last month, the J.B. Speed School of Engineering hosted its inaugural Design the Future Camp, aimed at making lives easier for individuals with physical disabilities.

The camp brought local high schoolers to campus to design tools for such a purpose. Design the Future began four years ago at Stanford University, and UofL is the first school outside of California to participate. The camp’s mission is to combine empathy, engineering, and public service for high school participants.

Donna Fox, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, has trouble zipping up the boots she needs to stabilize her ankles. A group of campers designed a tool with hooks that allow her to zip up the boots much quicker.

“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing,” said Fox. “I just told [the students] what would normally take me about 20 minutes took about three seconds.” 

“I really, really love helping people and impacting the community in a positive way,” said Connor Strothman, a participating student. “And this was something that combined both of those things.”

Check out more from the camp:

SHARE
Mark Hebert
Following a 28-year career as a radio and television reporter, Mark Hebert joined the University of Louisville as the Director of Media Relations in 2009, serving as the main spokesperson. In 2015, Mark was named Director of Programming and Production. He’s now producing and hosting a radio show about “all things UofL”, overseeing the university’s video and TV productions and promoting UofL’s research operation. Mark is best known for his 22 years as the political and investigative reporter for WHAS-TV in Louisville where he won numerous awards for breaking stories, exposing corruption and objectively covering Kentucky politics. In 2014, Mark was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.