>> You know, deaf people are interested in this kind of field.

And this study to.

>> Learn how the University of Kentucky is introducing deaf students to the world of cancer research.

>> It takes a special young lady to be a welder.

You're talking about going in what they say was a man's world and they're kicking butt.

>> Well, if you thought welding was just a man's job, think again.

>> It's for all kids.

Kids who are not motivated or empowered by simple math.

They are empowered by explorer.

>> And see what's cooking at this Louisville middle School.

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

>> Good evening and welcome to a special edition of Kentucky Edition.

We hope you've had a great day.

I'm Renee Shaw, and we thank you for spending some of your night with us.

Across the state, young people are stepping into opportunities that are shaping their futures.

Tonight, we showcase the programs and pathways that are building tomorrow's workforce today.

Last year, NASA announced it's sending a second Artemis rocket into space, aiding in its mission.

Researchers at the University of Kentucky.

They've been working to improve the durability of the rocket's heat shields.

But this isn't a new mission for students and professors in UC's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

>> So we've been working with NASA on heat shield for about 14 years now at the university, so we've always been very involved into analyzing, simulating, modeling, heat shield, testing them, testing new concepts and trying to to get better heat shield.

>> Heat shields provide protection for capsules coming back from space.

And there's two different types of heat shields.

There are ones that don't damage when they come in.

So think about like a space shuttle tile that can be reused.

And then there are ablative heat shields, which are the ones that we're looking at.

Ablative heat shields have material in them that form gases as they heat up, and those gases push back out, and that provides some additional protection so they can provide protection for higher temperatures and therefore higher velocity.

Spacecraft.

For Artemis one, there was an issue with cracking.

And so we were asked to look at those materials to try to provide data that could help them understand what was causing that issue.

So we look at these materials in their original form, and then after they've been used and the gases have have been burned out of them in their final form, we look at them at various stages.

And so in my experimental rig, we take small pieces of the material and we seal it and push gases through it and look at what pressures are required to get gas to flow through through the material.

So when gases are formed in these during the ablation process, the gas has to get out, and that can build up a lot of pressure and lead to cracking.

And so it's that pressure buildup that we're primarily interested in measuring.

>> I've been doing this as a faculty for five years, but in my graduate work I was working on heat shields as well.

So I've been in this heat shield modeling experiments for over 15 years now.

And so my work involved imaging.

So we use these really powerful microscopes to get a full picture of how the the material looks like locally.

And once we understand how it looks, we can kind of try to explain why it's behaving the way it's behaving big part of it for as a faculty is mentorship and workforce development.

So, you know, you're preparing your students to go out there in the workforce and compete with, you know, with the best in the world.

Right.

And what's been really nice with these partnerships is that they go for internships, and then it translates into a job even before they're graduating.

>> Earlier this year, the University of Kentucky was selected as one of five cancer centers in the country to participate in the Future Deaf Scientist program.

The four week program introduces deaf and hard of hearing students to to careers in cancer research.

We were there as students, got some hands on lab experience.

>> We desperately need more people going into the cancer workforce, and we need people from all walks of life.

>> This opportunity is phenomenal.

You know, it doesn't come around often for deaf and hard of hearing high school students to be exposed to really, you know, cutting edge research.

>> So, so far we went and looked at different clinics and we were able to observe different patients.

We also learned about ultrasounds and sonograms.

We also saw some different technology with robotics related to surgery and how surgeons are using different robotic technology for that.

>> They've been learning about cancer in the classroom.

They've been doing hands on activities, they've visited in clinics and operating rooms to learn about cancer and cancer care.

They've been doing laboratory activities.

They've been learning from each other.

They've been learning from other groups of deaf scientists that are in this program at other locations.

>> And the impact on these students is you can see it happen.

You know, it's inspiring if they see another deaf scientist doing top level research and working with science labs, you know, at the top level, they know they can do it.

>> I think it's good that deaf people and basically anybody have experiences like this, or even just a program at school.

So that way they know that they can do hard things and achieve what they want to become, as long as they work hard for it.

>> Hearing kids often have multiple opportunities that they can go to, and deaf kids do not have the same opportunities all the time.

And so, you know, deaf people are interested in this kind of field and this study, too.

And I think it's important that we all are involved as well, you know, and it doesn't have to obviously be just deaf people with other deaf people.

Deaf people and hearing people can all interact and learn from each other.

>> Good learning experience indeed.

Kentucky leads the nation in cancer rates and mortality, according to the National Institute for health.

That's in part because of the high rates of cancer in eastern Kentucky.

One program at the University of Kentucky, the Appalachian Kentucky Career Training in oncology, or action for short, is empowering students from the area to be part of the solution.

>> The program is all about giving high school and undergraduate students from Eastern Kentucky opportunities to get training in cancer research and oncology health care experiences.

They get an opportunity to conduct hands on research and and really, any of our world class cancer research labs, they get opportunities to to shadow clinicians, observe clinical and clinical settings.

And that can include in the operating room and clinics and other patient care settings.

>> Honestly, I saw it as the best way that I could possibly give back to my community.

It just seemed like it was constantly someone telling you about their cancer diagnosis or, you know, someone was passing from cancer because they hadn't sought the help that they needed, or they just didn't have the access.

>> It can be argued that there's no other state in the country that has a cancer burden like we have in Kentucky.

What's worse is that those rates are greatest by a significant margin in eastern Kentucky.

So we really need people from that area to be interested in and prepared to pursue cancer related careers, because those are the people that are most invested in this issue, because they have family, they they live there.

They have family and friends that live there.

So we need those people to be invested and prepared to pursue oncology careers, to help us solve this problem in the long term.

>> I've known people my entire life that are afraid of the doctors in Appalachia.

Typically, how it goes is a lot of people in Appalachia wait till the last minute to go and seek treatment, seek help, figure out what's going on.

So it's the mindset, if I go to the doctor, I'm going to die.

It's a death sentence.

>> We know that medical mistrust is very high in rural communities.

And so that's one reason why it's really important for us to train these students, get them prepared to pursue health care careers, because we know that health care providers from the areas in which they serve, there's much higher trust.

>> There's such a stigma on Appalachians because people are like, what are they are doing this to themselves.

But if you're an Appalachian yourself, you understand what's happening in these communities.

You're seeing how poorly we're treated, and you're more likely to understand and actually help these people, and you're not going to see them as a paycheck.

>> It is very important that Appalachian students get the opportunity to realize that just because they're from small towns, or just because they are from Appalachia, that they can still become something and they can still make something of themselves.

And oftentimes, well, I know every student that has come through the program has some kind of cancer story themselves.

So it's important that they realize that not only can they become something, but they can be the person who comes home and gives back to their community and is able to make a difference.

>> This year, a settlement involving the NCAA set new standards for college athletics.

The University of Kentucky has since developed a plan to share $20 million of revenue with its student athletes.

But how does the changing landscape affect smaller schools in the state?

Our Emily Sisk caught up with two university athletic directors to learn how they're keeping up.

>> Revenue sharing.

It's a relatively new term in college sports, but what does it mean for institutions like UK?

It means they can share millions of dollars of revenue directly with student athletes.

But that's not the case at universities like Eastern Kentucky and Northern Kentucky.

>> I think we often hear the words revenue share, but I think revenue share really is for those powerful institutions that have revenue to disperse and to share.

That's not in our case, and it's not at the mid-major level.

>> NKU and EKU participate in Division one athletics, but are not in a power four conference, meaning they don't have the same resources or media exposure as schools like UK or UofL.

>> It's a little bit different, I think, at our level in terms of the revenue share, it just allows us maybe to do some things that we weren't able to do for our student athletes, but certainly not at the level the power force.

>> One of the things Eastern Kentucky can do involves scholarships.

They now have the ability to divvy up scholarship amounts to different players, rather than all players receiving the same amount of scholarship money.

>> It just gives us a chance to maybe get a picture, or maybe get a softball pitcher, a baseball pitcher, or a position player that can help us.

We can't get a whole team, but we may be able to get a player or two that that separates us from our competition.

We will continue to try to be successful in football, and I think basketball, softball and baseball are kind of where we're looking at to to improve.

And this will help us to compete again.

We'll help everybody else.

But those are the kind of sports that we're looking at to try to make an impact, because I think from a market value, people like those sports, they're interested in those sports and there's value in those sports.

>> Northern Kentucky is the only public university in the state to not have a football team.

Louisville said that makes NKU budget smaller and more adaptable.

NKU plans to start paying student athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness, or Nil, but they're focused on one sports program in particular.

>> We know that we need to remain competitive for us at NKU, our basketball programs are the ones with the most media exposure, most visibility.

And so that's our our direction is is starting with those programs in particular.

Nil is really about their exposure.

It's really about more than just their sport.

It's it's not about their sport specifically.

It's about the exposure that they have that their name, image and likeness carries for us.

And so this is a way for us to compensate them to be able to use that.

>> Because each university comes with its own opportunities for scholarships and Nil deals.

Many student athletes enter in and out of the transfer portal, the directors said.

This can be a problem when it comes to consistency and fan support.

>> The thing that I think I struggle with more than anything is, is just the inconsistency of rosters.

>> Some fans may or may not worry so much about it, and others feel like they've gotten really attached to a current player and then they've transferred to another institution.

>> I think from a from a from a fan perspective, that's a little bit difficult, right?

That's frustrating.

You want to buy in.

>> A challenge for mid-major universities is determining if they want to be successful in a specific sports program, or keep all their teams afloat.

>> What's the level of success that you want to invest in?

And I think that's the question that everybody's trying to face.

>> While the college sports landscape is changing quickly, the athletic directors said it's no longer a question of if they should pay student athletes, but how much.

>> We're still trying to acquire the best talent that we can.

That's no different.

It just involves a little bit more money.

We need to embrace it.

We can argue how much they're going to get paid.

That may be a better argument, but they're going to get paid for.

>> Kentucky Edition I'm Emily Sisk.

>> Thank you Emily.

Students from dozens of schools across Kentucky and southern Indiana met for two days to compete in a welding competition in Louisville, and they were all young women.

Check this out.

>> This is the women of welding competition and a bunch of schools and all the women welders.

We come together and we compete.

It's to try and get more women interested in welding and try and get them into the field.

I got into welding my sophomore year.

I really liked the teacher, and I like welding because it's very hands on and you're able to see what you're working on, come together firsthand, and I really enjoy that.

>> So they have a specific project in every level, and one being the entry side and three being the toughest side.

But every project is is designed for that level, that skill set.

And they do stick welding, they do oxyfuel.

Some of them will do gas tungsten arc welding, and they build a project based on a drawing that have been given to them, and then they get scored on that.

>> They're looking at appearance.

If the welds look good, if they're the right diameter, the right height, and then they're looking at the fit up, the if it looks like the drawing, if it's accurate.

>> We have a multitude of vendors, businesses, schools and stuff like that that come here to network with these young ladies.

We don't just invite the competitors.

We invite every female student in all of these programs to come out, buy them lunch.

You know, we take care of them.

They get to network, they get to check everything out.

And it's it's just a great thing.

Most of these businesses bring their female workers so that the girls get the opportunity to talk to another female in the industry, you know, and maybe ask that question.

They don't want to ask their male instructor, you know, I mean, it makes them very comfortable.

>> I'm more comfortable because we're all women.

We all go through the same things.

And it's definitely eye opening to see just how many of us want to weld.

It's good to know that women, more women in the world, want to do welding than just men.

>> Every company, every industry need females in the industry and we are helping them out.

We're getting them noticed.

We're offering them a skill set we want.

We want them to be high quality students.

You hear that all the time now about, you know, we don't want a student loans and everything like that.

This is your opportunity.

Now, one thing I don't like to do is say, hey, this is the greatest job in the world.

It is the greatest job in the world.

But it's not an easy job.

It takes a special young lady to be a welder.

You're talking about going in what they say was a man's world and they're kicking butt.

>> I hope I get more confidence in myself, and it's a great learning experience.

I'm going to learn like it's not always going to be super easy.

There's going to be challenges and hopefully I'll be able to overcome them and this is going to help me.

Welding can be a challenge sometimes, but just because there's a challenge in the road somewhere, that doesn't mean that you should quit.

Because if it's something that you enjoy, then it's going to get easier down the road.

My experience with welding has been really good.

It's been fun.

Interesting.

I just got certified last Friday, so I'm a certified welder.

That feels really good.

>> You go girls!

Back in June, students from around the world came to Lexington to compete in the run for the robots, an international robotics competition.

Organizers say robotics can teach children Stem skills as well as communication, team building and other life skills they can use in whatever career they choose.

>> Three, two, one.

>> Here we go.

>> First Tech Challenge has launched a brand new event type called the Premier Event, so Kentucky is one of only eight events this summer that's happening.

So this is a brand new pilot idea, and it's a further level of competition that is happening in what used to be our off season.

So these students have qualified from their regional events to compete at this global international event.

So there are teams here from multiple countries.

They've all advanced up at their regional events to qualify for this exciting event.

And so what they're doing today is they are competing in ten matches, which is more than you would ever have in a regular season.

>> Super close match here.

>> They're building their robot.

They're programing their robots.

They're bringing in those computer science principles.

But on top of that, if you notice when you walk through, you'll see that each team has kind of a team identity, right?

Each team also operates somewhat like a business.

Right.

And so they are they're budgeting.

They're writing grants.

They're coming up with their team logo and their team name and their team design.

And there's also interviewing.

Right.

So they interview with a panel of judges.

And so they're learning that public speaking aspect.

And so they really are getting a holistic education as a result of working with these robots.

>> There's countless issues that happen every single day in robotics.

I mean, anything can go wrong, but having a backup, just improving over time and learning how to fix those mistakes is a big thing.

Well, we bring almost our entire workshop.

You can see we have drills, we have cables, extra batteries, everything you could possibly need for robotics.

We practice for about two weeks and completely rebuilt our robot because there was some major issues with it.

I mean, just practice, practice, practice and try to improve it as much as possible before the competition.

>> Kentucky is a beautiful place, and I think when people come here and they see what is here, it really draws attention to the industry that we have and to the industry that we're growing.

And so we're going to need this talent to come here.

And so bringing them here for an event like this, they're getting to we had students who got to tour the Toyota facility as part of their part of their time here.

We have colleges here showing, you know, what's here in Kentucky, what can you do here?

And we have industry partners here showing, you know, what jobs are available.

And I think people would be will be surprised, you know, when they come out to see just what all is right here in Kentucky.

>> Good deal.

You learn by doing.

Students at a Louisville middle school are learning their way around the kitchen through Jefferson County Public Schools Explore program.

Kentucky Edition went there to see how students at Highland Middle School are learning about life skills and career opportunities.

>> It is the grand opening of our culinary lab, and so we're super excited to provide those opportunities and hands on learning materials for kids where they have access to cooking materials, right?

So cooking materials that are directly connected to the culinary industry.

>> When I found out at the beginning of the year, my first class was going to be culinary, I was really excited.

Last year we didn't have a kitchen like, this is our first year having like this big kitchen with all the microwaves and ovens and everything.

So this is our first year with all this equipment.

>> The whole idea behind the explorer program is to engage students.

We want kids to want to come to school.

And so what explorer does is it provides students opportunities for authentic learning that go way far beyond the textbook or a screen can provide.

>> Last year, we added the explorer program.

We had culinary, we have environmental science and we have business economics.

We have our motto, we use grow it, cook it and then sell it.

So in I believe it's March and April, we're going to have a farmers market.

So we've been using like a lot of, like we like to use like ingredients that we've grown in our food.

We made pizza and then we have like cheesy bread over there and stuff like that.

It's great to have like an actual chef in here instead of just a teacher.

It's nice to have like someone who's had experience, like in the real world doing things like that.

I mean, I really like to make the food and then we get to like, eat it after.

It's nice.

It's like a second lunch, but we have like, I mean, it's like meals, you know, like we like made like giant pizzas today.

And it was like really good.

So I like having that.

>> It's for all kids.

And so kids who are not motivated or empowered by simple math, they are empowered by explorer.

They're empowered by hands on, authentic learning.

>> It's nice to get experience because during the day, sometimes you're just sitting like this one gives real world experience.

>> We're going to be.

>> Some tiny scholars are getting the opportunity to put their scientific studies to the test.

Kindergartners with rise Stem Academy for Girls in Lexington visited an assisted living facility to test their game designs, all to help get senior citizens moving.

>> I love David Givens.

>> Rise is a very special place to be a part of.

We are an all girls school, and we really work on empowering young women to know that they can do anything they set their mind to.

And of course we have a Stem focus, so the girls get to do a lot of project based learning, which gives them the opportunity to show their knowledge.

And more than just taking a standardized test, which is a pretty cool thing.

Each quarter we have a project based learning that we do based on our Kentucky standards.

This standard is on push and pull, so our scholars learn the background of what a push is, what a pull is, and how we make things go faster or slower.

And then we get into groups and we start thinking about how can we bring this to the real world.

So what you're seeing is they actually create a games for the purpose of helping the community be able to move and work on therapy.

So each scholar had to think of arcade games that they wanted to build, and how are they going to incorporate that push and pull?

>> Our game is guacamole, and on the side, someone has to hold one to the side and another person has to hold the other side.

And then the people who are playing the games, they take the sticks and they use the stick to like push down the pool noodles that we can.

So the pool noodles can.

I'm helping the elderly people on their hands with guacamole, so we tell them how to work it out and they're doing great.

We thought it was going to be easy for the elderly people, so we made that game and all the things we used was cardboard, tape, scissors.

And pool noodles.

>> I've just seen joy across everyone.

The community members that are here are excited to interact with the girls and really just to get to know them as well as play with them.

And I didn't realize that it was going to be a moment just to have a conversation and really get to know their community and build that relationship.

And then my scholars have surprised me because we practiced and practiced, and I just wasn't sure what it's going to turn out to be.

But they did.

Amazing.

They really did.

I would just like to say Stem girls, Rock.

>> Stem girls rock for sure with guacamole.

So cute.

Well, that'll do it for us for Kentucky edition this time around.

We thank you for being with us tonight, and we hope that you'll join us again tomorrow night at 630 eastern, 530 central.

We inform, connect and inspire.

You can connect with us all the ways you see on your screen through the social media channels Facebook, Instagram and X to stay in the loop on what's happening here in Public Affairs Kentucky edition and across our spectrum of programs.

And we always encourage you to send us a story idea by email, at Public Affairs at Ket.org, and look for us on the PBS app that you can download on your smart devices and stream our programs online on demand anytime at ket.org.

Thank you so much for being with us.

I'm Renee Shaw and until I see you again, take really good care.

So long.