♪ >> It feels better when you're able to see someone that looks exactly like you because you're like, hey, I can do that, too.

>> This court room isn't real, but the lessons learned here are.

>> Today our students are flying on an expedition Mars mission.

A down to Earth approach to space travel.

That's getting kids excited about learning.

>> A future.

It is just expanding that and we're connecting all over the globe through this wonderful gift that aviation has given us.

>> And at Eastern Kentucky University today, students are tomorrow's pilots.

>> We wanted to be able to invite students and and say, okay, this is what it's like to be in the industry.

>> How and turns are making a splash.

And the bourbon business.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

♪ ♪ >> Good Evening and welcome to this special edition of Kentucky EDITION.

I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you so much for spending some of your evening with us tonight.

We are focusing on the next generation this year.

Kentucky Edition brought you stories about the people programs and learning opportunities that are preparing young people for the future.

We began with a Jefferson County Central High School.

It has its own courtroom, but it's not a real one.

It's giving students some real-life lessons and how the law works.

The goal is to help under represented minorities explore the justice system.

So they, too, may become legal eagles and it's working.

>> This program is the oldest magnet program in all of Jefferson County.

It was the first night of the problem and it began in 1986.

>> One of the one of the goals of the program was to help increase diversity in the legal field.

>> We have problems with our partners.

Brandeis School was one of our main partners to leave a bar association by meeting other lawyers meeting other judges.

We have that available.

So that the students get the message for more than just me.

I've been able to do several things throughout the maggot in the judges and the attorneys go to different law firms of >> I have done internships.

I'm still currently doing illegal a society which involves we go into the courthouse being recorded runner for a week away.

Once you get to know the criminal justice system and see how things work in the flow of things you're able to see the flaws.

Bush able to also see the good in the court system being in law was overly be building me.

I see a lot of the injustices.

My community goes through.

>> So I feel like the best route to change the system is to be a part of the system and take it from the inside out.

>> I think it's really important for.

A lot to be in like a majority black high school because I feel like we have a very large disconnect between the black community and law.

When you look at the criminal justice system, whether from policing attorneys judges, it is a lot of white people in not saying that they are doing a good job, but it's it feels better when you're able to see someone that looks exactly like you because you're like, hey, I can do that to whether than just seeing another person sitting on the stand because when you see someone that looks like you, you are able to have that connection relate and they're able to understand more of where you come from.

Law is involved in every aspect of your life.

And I feel like that's something that's really important for students and even adults to realize I know a lot of black people are kind of targeted by by car lot of providers.

And so if we can bridge that gap by helping people learn their rise like being a lot.

Megan lets you know, or lets you explore it as the rise that we've had with that.

We have that people don't know that we have.

So we know more about the law than the average citizen would the way we're going to make a better system.

>> He's one student at a time.

When we a reader discussed cases of wrongdoing within the justice system, whether it's at the police level where court level we want to reaffirm that this generation is going to have to fix the problems that exist.

>> Since the law magnet program started about 45 students have graduated and gone on to become judges, lawyers or some other kind of job in the legal profession.

Unlocking the potential of African-American boys is the goal of the black males working Academy that celebrates 20 years and 2025. it began as an effort to close academic achievement gaps and help young black males be college and career ready in the 2 decades since its founding, the mentoring program pave the way for participants to experience educational trips and good full-ride college scholarships.

Now the BMW Academy has a new partnership with Jubilee jobs.

The anticipated in result work opportunities and better Lexington.

>> The BMW Academy is said nonprofit community program whose mission is to educate, motivate and activate the potential for excellence that lies within every African-American male.

This program started in 2005 with 40 boys.

We meet every Saturday different age groups, every first and 3rd Saturdays, middle school, young people.

Second and 4th, this high school and then elementary meets on the second Saturday of every month.

We also provide to during every Tuesday for a young man because that's a part of clothes in that academic achievement gap is helping them with to drain so that they can be successful and we have a little over 400 that are enrolled for this school year.

The innovate to elevate Grant is a partnership between BMW and Jubilee jobs.

That grant was written to help our young man to be exposed to curry years rather than jobs.

The cause when you have a career that's long term that you can be successful in that career as one of the highlights of this grant is that we have these goggles, these special goggles that have over 100 different careers on you know, everybody is into all the technology and everything.

And so they can explore all these careers using these goggles and then the other partnership that has been awesome is that here in LAX and we have excellent chamber of Commerce and every year the Chamber of Commerce take takes all the business people, educational people and they take a trip to another city to learn about that city to get best practices.

How can it impact lax than to make us a better city?

So a part of this grant is that we get to take 40 of our juniors and seniors on a youth chamber trail where they go to another city.

They meet with city leaders.

They meet with educational leaders.

They meet with all these different people to learn about that city and then they come back and report to the mayor and her officials.

They report our superintendent and so they report to the chamber and tail their experiences and what they learned about that ceded the grant from the Walton Foundation through Blue Grass Community Foundation.

It's for 2 years and provided us with the data.

Adam Data group that is the different like a CT scores.

Their grades.

How many of them are in dual credit classes versus AP classes just looking at the overall data.

Also, jubilee jobs helps them to get a part-time job.

And so we look at how long they were on the job, how they were successful on the job.

And so we're we're created a whole new workforce that we hope will stay here like Sting Kentucky.

Now to a story that takes us decades into the future when Mars travel could become common.

>> Middle school students using stem skills, science, technology, engineering and math to conduct a successful space mission.

Our Lauren Rogers takes us to the Challenger Learning Center at Paducah and Western Kentucky, where they're proving that education matters.

>> How beautiful it is with things that are unknown that are just so amazing to figure out a profound point of view from a Lamont as one of dozens of Mayfield, 7th graders on a mission to Mars a bit.

Ly talking on the intercom tell people like what they need to do.

It's all a simulation.

Of course, here at the Challenger Learning Center at Paducah on the campus of West Kentucky community and technical college.

Literally they can think out of this world today.

Experience not only space simulations, but they do hands-on engineering activities.

A former teacher Melissa Duncan says the center is focused on upper elementary and middle school students when studies show many of them start to lose interest in stem subjects, stem education, science, technology, engineering and math.

It's basically the wave of the future are not even the way that the futures, the waiver now with support from a half a million dollar fundraising campaign.

The Challenger Learning Center went through a major upgrade this summer, including a brand-new mission control.

They're actually going into the year 2076 where we hope March travel has become common.

>> This group of students living on Phobos the larger of Mars.

2 moons are sending their classmates on an expedition Mars mission.

We have teachers come in and they will look at us and say, I remember when I came here as a student teachers like Haley Anderson, I just remembered how much fun it was to says what they're learning here.

Supplements their classwork gives him a chance to practice the hands-on skills that we talk about at school all the time team.

It's extremely cross curricular.

There's really no way that you can say this does not apply to something that we do at schools soon as Duncan says it's not just stem but other 21st century skills like teamwork to creative thinking and decision-making that come into play that reading the writing, they're following directions.

The kids really enjoy the mission and getting to do their individual jobs at 20.

Those jobs include testing h 2, 0, samples.

We found water on Mars and that there was a little bit of life.

Around the water spilling community even navigating and emergency helping their classmates.

Avoid an asteroid along the way.

I learned how to work together.

It's better for you to work with everyone on our.

>> So when you go to finish up the job, everything is completed.

Everything is calm.

>> Often see children really come out of their shell.

They're just taking their job.

They're taking it seriously.

They're enjoying it there participating.

They're contributing to the success of the And just one of 150 missions as the center welcomes 150 classrooms a year from Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Tennessee and Indiana.

We're Kentucky edition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

Thank you, Laura.

There is also a challenger Learning Center in eastern Kentucky at Hazard Community and Technical College.

>> There are more than 40 centers around the world.

In 2022, the Kentucky General Assembly established the we lead computer science of virtual computer science Career Academy where students can get in early start training for careers in the tech industry.

It's the first program of its kind in the U.S. the program offers students across the state the opportunity to earn dual credits and computer science.

We lead CS as the demand is great.

Noting that last year there were more than 3,000 open computer science jobs in Kentucky.

The program is enlisting the help of chambers of commerce around the state, asking them to reach out to employers that are hiring tech talent and find out what skills they need and their talent pipeline.

>> We look at job opportunities and job growth in certain sectors.

There's nothing more important in the technology field that this will play and make sure our next generation of learners have the skills and ability to be able to move right into that seamless transition into the workforce.

>> We're trying to design a workforce are trying to train a workforce for jobs that we don't even know what they're going to look like.

Computer science is going to play a role no matter what the industry.

What the line that you're going to go into.

It's so important that we give our students our kids, our children, those opportunities to be in computer science.

>> We lead Cs has set a goal of graduating 250 to 300 students a year.

Students and Scott County are getting a hands-on education and manufacturing.

It's courtesy of a partnership between Toyota and Scott County.

High School.

Here's a look.

>> From Toyota's perspective, it was it was to provide an opportunity in the community to get engaged with the school system.

14 academy is is not new.

>> It's just new to Kentuckyian so seeing the benefits that Indiana and West Virginia have have again in their community and their at their facility was something we definitely were interested in here.

>> It's like a completely different world for classes like math or English or science.

A lot of it is he's pay attention, write stuff down, memorize it.

But here you really have to develop your skills set of just, you know, taking something face value.

What you really have to think about it, how you can apply it.

>> They learned a lot through this program.

I want to you know, one thing we do almost daily as we get up and we do public speaking right in front of the class to where they they get to, you know, I feel comfortable talking in front of from their classmates and that way when they when they go to the manufacturing setting.

And, you know, they're very they're able to communicate effectively.

And I think that's a point for for all the students to have.

I'm going for.

So, you know, just to enable them to be successful.

This is what we call a dojo forward.

>> Manufacturing for assembly to get practice at some of the skills.

Shooting about shooting and that handling an impact ranch.

They're going to get training on how to do that safely.

Have good quality and do it efficiently.

Technology is becoming more and more important.

Certainly when I started 25 years ago, we it was passed the different than what it is now and preparing those students to be successful in that environment is critical to Toyota.

We talk about having a capable process and a capable operator and this this the program will help our a future employees be up.

We're capable operator from the start.

It's my belief that maybe college isn't for everybody.

They're unsure of exactly what they want to do.

>> This gives him the opportunity to go into the workforce.

You know, tested out in the great thing about this Toyota partnership is if they do decide that they want to, you know, further the education.

Toyota has a on site that that can help them, you know, further their education at that point.

So really it's a win-win for for the students.

>> I'm just being able to get like a head start on working there.

I'd already intended to work at Toyota previously because my mother has been working there for, like, I think 25 years now some around around there.

So she worked there for quite a while.

It's a little bit of an inspiration.

She super involved there.

She speaks highly highly of it.

Now.

I just I think she loves working.

I think all of it too.

Good to hear.

>> Second-year students can earn $18 an hour during their 40 class time.

The 40 academy has also been implemented at schools in West Virginia, Virginia, Indiana, and Mississippi.

Now we're going to take to the skies.

A new partnership at eastern Kentucky University.

Let's aviation students train then go to work for Allegiant Air.

It's a program where the sky's the limit.

>> It's an opportunity for students to go directly from our program to the air, to Allegiant and without half cutting out all the extra work in between.

And we're also game that mentorship directly from future employers.

I was talking with several of the members of the Legion team that have come over today and they said basically what they're going to give you enough, a one-on-one partnership with the students and those that are applying teaching out exactly what they want.

>> We do a lot of mentoring.

There's a lot of professional development as things that you would normally get in a regional learned the hard way that you won't get anywhere What we do is we try to get the job, how to KET the job, how to prepare resume, things like that.

But through that mentorship in constant touch points, we on, we decided that we can take this pilot straight out of school with 1000.

Are some put him into an Airbus crippling right street remains airline.

You can skip the regionals if you go to school it Eastern Tech university that you can.

You can leave here with 1000 hours and go straight into the workforce in a way that it takes every other program in America, 1500 hours of flight time.

For those of you who are flying those extra 500 hours are significant.

Are they not?

It is a game changer for eastern Kentucky University.

>> We've seen significant enrollment growth, 50 institution.

We've seen significant growth in flight hours.

We've seen a significant growth in this program and I could not be more proud.

>> Of the individuals who are part of this program just for those who may not know program majors in this department clue professional flight airspace management, Aerospace technology, and really a new frontier.

We're really excited about an unmanned aircraft systems and really excited about what's next.

And the unmanned aircraft space.

We'll tell you.

We've had great success with this.

We've had 40 people go through so far, no problems just as in Vegas at the headquarters, they were very complimentary of the program the go through.

So the quality is there.

And we're pretty excited about.

We have a number of our pilots are graduates right?

plan looking at a much more than a joining us.

I'm person by person was born in South America and then came and lived in the U.S. all that happened because of aviation.

You know, >> were sent home was a century.

If not more.

>> In aviation has being that they're to connect the dots in ways that trains and ships and walking and cars couldn't do.

And so.

The future it is just expanding that.

And we're connecting all over the globe through this wonderful gift that aviation has given us.

>> And KU offered its first aviation course in 1983, the program boasts 100% hiring rate for its graduates.

It's a 9 billion dollar economic boost to Kentucky that employs over 23,000 people.

We're talking about bourbon and how the spirits industry keeps cushioning the state's economy by educating a new generation of bourbon.

U.S. the James B Institute for Kentucky Spirits, welcomed its first class of interns at the beginning of May.

Since then, they've been making their own bourbon and doing research projects on different aspects of the industry.

>> We always sought out to give students firsthand experience of what it's like to be in the industry as soon as we're able to get our DSP license to say, yes, we can legally make bourbon from this facility.

We wanted to be able to invite students in and say, hey, this is what it's like to be in the industry.

Iran, the production facility in the distillery.

>> I'm also a supervising all the interns for the internship program, educating them and how to work in the production facility space.

So we started all be in turns with extensive safety training.

After that first week of safety training, it's possible.

We went to strain production.

So the students got firsthand experience of.

All right.

Let's dive right in.

This is how you make per cent of this program because >> my family has a history in the beer industry.

My parents work with the Kda.

The Kentucky Distillers Association and pretty much since I was a child have been brought to many distilleries throughout UK and the Commonwealth itself and I mean not fell in love with that My great grandfather's gym in and then booking now is my great uncle.

>> is is is very interested in it.

For my family's standpoint.

>> The students >> Making Bourbon Day in and day out from loading up grains to plow checking fermentation Ys to running the stills.

They're doing every aspect of the process and contributing to these individual different research patches and such.

And then they're also working on their individual research projects as well.

>> I'm currently working on the Heritage Train project for a Virginia state.

And so they were just getting started.

Actually to guard rains in late July and they are sending us.

Are there any sense like I want to say, a different varieties of heritage grains too pretty much produce a small batch of not a silly whiskey, but small batch of just a run through of a single distillation.

>> I researched a microorganism card and that's the same thing that you snow and it rains are when there's fresh, wet soil, it smells kind of damp like a wet basement.

So what we find is that it gets in the grains and water that's being used to make a wish season bourbon and causes an off flavor off taste.

>> I was kind of very anxious going in, but we've had many people come and talk to us and they sent us or e-mail in their private contact information just for if you have any questions.

E-mail me call me.

And that's that's wonderful.

People and information.

Our the biggest use of like what you need in the industry.

I hope that we can KET building connections with other distilleries and breweries and >> pumping out kids that are really, really trained in really well knowledge in the world about production.

>> Now, young professionals and western Kentucky are mentoring some young man by helping them look sharp all while probe while providing support advice and friendship, members of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce are serving as positive role models by helping these future leaders dress for success.

Our Laura Rogers tells us more about guys and ties.

Jake Boswell is back in the classroom where he was once a student.

>> The kids are very easy to relate to because we have that familiarity.

We were in the same spot.

They were in just a little bit.

>> A former television news anchor and reporter now and the banking industry.

Boswell sharing knowledge he once needed for his first job interview to a good start.

I needed to tie a tie to go to this interview.

I just felt like it was necessary to present myself.

Well, and I had no clue had it would be a good one for years about something that was ever on my mind.

But there was a time in life and all of a sudden it was needed and I was not prepared.

That would later serve as the inspiration for guys and ties a monthly mentoring program for 8th graders at Burns, Middle school, excitement for me.

And it's good for me.

The been acting.

>> On the head like almost every time I get to come in here, something new about >> Coming to you guys sort of allow those life lessons include practical skills, like budgeting and saving money, even vehicle maintenance.

We've had somebody recently change a car tire and they reached out to me to say the only time someone showed me this was guys and ties, right?

I think it's an opportunity for our students to work on soft skills, social skills.

We all know that our own successes are often built between connections.

We have opportunities we have today.

The young men are doing mock job interviews, learning how and how not to impress a future employer.

While the topix typically center on professional development.

It's also a good time to check in on their grades behavior and what's going on at home.

And the whole goal of the program is always to listen.

They have a lot to say and if we sit and listen to them, that's where the real value is.

They talked to me for sons and feel comfortable talking backs and we get to know them.

So I feel like they should get them out.

>> Confidence is such a huge predictor of success and middle school.

And when you have people who are interested in you build your confidence.

Here we go.

The confidence to reach their full potential.

We want to make sure that every single kid whose in guys and ties every single year knows that we think that they can be a doctor.

They can be a lawyer.

>> They can do whatever they want to do.

So I have come to light.

What more can I can tell who's on my toes and focus on to my >> Going to college.

>> When Mayor Middle School near still creating your sense of self and who you are.

And I think any time that our students can have role models to look to, to aspire, to be to connect with, I think is a great opportunity for them to begin to mold themselves into successful adults.

Read it uses the same, not double that.

>> Well done about a dozen students a year take part in the guys and ties program.

Well, that'll do it for us.

We thank you for joining this special edition of Kentucky EDITION.

And we hope to see you again tomorrow night at 6.30, Eastern 5.30, central where we inform connect and inspire.

Connect with us all the ways you see on your screen, Facebook X and Instagram and send us a story idea by email at public affairs at KET Dot Org.

>> Thanks so much for your time tonight and I'll see you real soon.

Take good care.

♪