Latest Announcements

Rural Reimagined recognizes and congratulates students from the College of Interdisciplinary Studies on presenting their rural-related projects at Tennessee Tech’s 2022 Research and Creative Inquiry Day.  These students researched  ways to directly transform rural living through their projects, which included topics such as  planning educational woodland workshops, developing forest health curricula, researching needs for further STEM education, and providing the Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain with geographic information systems, wind power initiatives, solar power generation systems, and solar energy. In total, 23 undergraduate students participated as co-authors or collaborators on these projects and represented the schools of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Studies. View the full story here: https://www.tntech.edu/grand-challenge/news/articles/2022-interdisciplinarystudents-ruralresearch.php, or email Kinsey Simone at sw-kbsimone@tntech.edu for more information. Wings up!

The Baja SAE competition event is coming back to Tennessee Tech, and we need more volunteers to help host the nearly 1300 participants! The event May 12-15 at the Hyder-Burks Agricultural Pavilion. Volunteers can help with competition events like land maneuverability and others, plus parking, hospitality, and more. The greatest need for volunteers is during the four-hour endurance race on Sunday, May 15. Food and drinks for volunteers will be provided at no charge, as will free t-shirts, while sizes/supplies last. Volunteers will be right there to see all the action as over 90 race for the top spots! Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, and signing up is easy. Just use this link: https://www.bajasae.net/page.aspx?pageid=c259d2e2-8846-4f87-b659-d9d824051f8a.  Email questions about volunteering to Dr. Kris Craven (kcraven@tntech.edu) or Dr. John Tester (jtester@tnech.edu).

TCRI and Rural Reimagined congratulate Brandon Pierce for winning the 2022 TN Tech Eagle Works competition! Twelve student-led teams pitched their ideas to a Shark-Tank style panel in efforts to win part of the prize pool worth over $13,000 in donor-funded scholarships. Pierce entered his business, Pure Legacy- Future Innovators, and received first place in the competition. Operating under Pierce’s Pure Legacy LLC company, Future Innovators is a non-profit STEM education company that provides free STEM materials to community events, centers, and STEM events, as well as free one-on-one tutoring. Pierce says, “I wish I had something creative to participate in as a kid. Future Innovators will not only provide a creative outlet for children in this area but will also supply the need for STEM trained workers in today’s labor force.” Congratulations to Brandon Pierce for his win at TN Tech 2022 Eagle Works! TCRI encourages all students to bring their ideas to Eagle Works 2023. #LiveWingsUp!

In 2022, the RAM clinic successfully served the Upper Cumberland communities another year. The RAM clinic (Remote Area Medical Clinic) is a major nonprofit organization, based out of Rockford, Tennessee, that operates pop-up medical clinics across the nation. Their free-of cost clinics deliver dental, vision, and medical services to underserved and uninsured individuals, providing relief and security to countless communities. RAM’s mission is to “to prevent pain and alleviate suffering by providing free, quality healthcare to those in need.” The clinic would not have been feasible without the student-led host group: S. McCall Price, Brayden Hammer, Jack Wiggins, J. Cole Murray, Alex Stovall, and Emma Gunnells. Faculty volunteer and instructor, Mrs. Coonce states, “We are proud of how these students represented TN Tech. Individual students volunteered 30+ hours, not to mention all their participation in the year-long preparation.” Thank you to everyone involved and keep #LivingWingsUp!