GIVING OPPORTUNITIES
Aspirnaut™ is a registered 501c3 — Support the program with your tax-deductible designated gift or an unrestricted one.
General Funds Contribution – Every gift helps!
- $50 Provides an ACT/SAT prep book for high school participant
- $50 Provides a personalized lab coat for an Aspirnaut™ participant
- $140 Provides a week of meals for one Aspirnaut™ participant during the summer internship
- $2000 Provides lab supplies and equipment for one Aspirnaut™ participant
Summer Research Internship Contributions
- $1500 Experience Sponsorship
This contribution covers one week’s worth of experience for one high school participant. Cost covers room and board, stipend, full-time lab experience, ACT/SAT prep, Distinguished Luncheon seminars, and all other programming for one week.
- $10,000 Aspirnaut™ Student Sponsorship
Each scholarship provides a full-time residential 6-week internship for a motivated high school student interested in a STEM career. Cost covers room and board, stipend, full-time lab experience, ACT/SAT prep, Distinguished Luncheon seminars, and all other programming for six weeks.
Program Patrons
Interested in establishing a legacy or tribute gift? Please contact Rachel Baugh, Associate Director for Aspirnaut™, at rachel.baugh@vumc.org. These are a great way to honor someone special, celebrate a meaningful occasion, or cherish the memory of a loved one.
RURAL K-12 SCHOOLS
Since the Information Superhighway brought high speed connectivity to every school in America, the perception is that rural communities are more connected and better resourced for educating its children. The truth of the matter is that having access to information does not translate into better education. It takes a community that values education as a way for a more vibrant future for the next generation.
In 2006, the co-founder of Aspirnaut™, Billy Hudson, visited his home town in rural Grapevine, Arkansas. What he saw compelled him to invest his own resources to make a way for rural students to reach their potential as scientist, technologists, engineers and mathematician innovators. As of 2013, over 2,500 students are in the Aspirnaut™ pipeline and 84% of high school students (32 out of 38) who have been Aspirnaut™ summer research interns are currently enrolled or have completed a STEM course of study in college.
Through a partnership with Aspirnaut™, selected students in rural communities who show an aptitude for and interest in STEM are eligible for enhanced STEM courses taught by college professors, research internship opportunities in universities and working science labs, summer excursions to higher education institutions, and individualized academic/career planning. In addition, the Aspirnaut™ program incorporates professional development for STEM teachers into each of its modules.
If you are a change-maker in your community, please call or email us, sharing how you think Aspirnaut™ can be integrated into the education platforms within your community. Together, we could explore the possibilities and find ways to bring what we have into your classrooms. You can also call your local civic leaders (the school board, the principal, the mayor, a congressman) and raise community support for better STEM education for the children in your community.
How can I send students to the Summer Research Internship Program?
We have limited funds and encourage all interested applicants to apply by January 17, 2024. Our goal is to make it possible for every motivated budding scientist/researcher to have this unique opportunity.
What are the advantages of Aspirnaut™ over other distance learning STEM programs?
1. University/K-12 Partnership: Aspirnaut™ partners the experiential and content expertise of university faculty, students, and staff with those of K-12 schools and teachers to impact STEM achievement. In this pilot the university is Vanderbilt University. The rationale for this model is that many K-12 teachers have limited training in STEM or are challenged to stay current in these rapidly-evolving fields. (Staying current is a significant challenge for university faculty!!) By partnering with a university, schools have direct access to STEM professionals, who are engaged daily in STEM fields.
2. K-20 Pipeline Program: Aspirnaut™ can truly connect students to opportunities through post-graduate training. We remain engaged in a long-term relationship with students, teachers, and schools to match talent with opportunity.
3. Mentorship: Individual career planning is a key part of the summer research internships for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Broader topics are covered for K-8 students.
What costs are involved?
Please connect with our Program Coordinator to learn more about the internship program and how your students may qualify.
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
It has been almost 10 years since the 2005 National Academies report “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” warned that the U.S. government and private sectors need to act urgently and decisively to maintain U.S. position in the global market. This report and its 2010 update “Rapidly Approaching Category 5” called for strengthening the public school system (particularly the STEM courses) and investing in basic scientific research.
Aspirnaut™ founders, Drs. Billy and Julie Hudson, have heeded this call to action. Since its inception, the Aspirnaut™ program has been collaborating with universities and colleges to enhance STEM education in rural America. Through this joint effort, partner universities and colleges have a unique opportunity to reach this untapped pool of eager learners who will become qualified candidates for STEM majors and careers.
The partnership model is simple and effective. The university or college lends its academic assets (the professors and students) to the K-12 schools in its surrounding communities by adopting one of Aspirnaut’s™ modules – Beaming STEM, Summer Excursions, or Summer Internship Program.
To explore how your institution can partner with the Aspirnaut™ program, please call or email.
How can my university or college partner with Aspirnaut™?
Aspirnaut™ has worked with Berea College in Kentucky and Tennessee State University in Nashville to provide research internships opportunities that fulfill work or study requirements for private and federal grants/funding. If your institution is interested in setting up an Aspirnaut™ summer research internship program, researchinternships@aspirnaut.org.
What is the cost of replicating the Aspirnaut™ model at my institution?
Aspirnaut program encompasses several components – all of which can be replicated by any research institution, including higher education, medical schools and private companies/corporations.
Roughly speaking, the cost of replicating the Summer Research component is about $6,000 (high school) to $8,000 (undergraduate) direct cost per student. This cost includes room and board, salary, individual career planning, luncheon seminars, and college/grad school prep activities.