ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ alum Kelly Shea ’23 understands first-hand the academic challenges some children struggle with in the classroom. After all, she was once one of them.

β€œSchool just didn’t make sense to me,” says the elementary education grad, who couldn’t read until midway through elementary school.

Those early challenges have been integral to Shea’s career path as an educational entrepreneur. They also fuel the β€œwhy” behind her mission to empower young students through her start-up business that offers invention education kits for kids.

Making Sense of School

Growing up, Shea recalls struggling in every subject, especially reading, during her elementary school years.

β€œI had trouble comprehending things,” says the 23-year-old, who has since written and published four children’s books. β€œMy first-grade teacher, Ms. Shepard, was the one who recognized I was having problems. I met with her almost weekly throughout second grade for extra support. Things finally started clicking for me in middle school, but I struggled a lot early on.”

She got involved with a Tampa-area nonprofit called Girls With Confidence, which empowers young girls in developing positive self-esteem. As she got older, she began volunteering and taking on more leadership roles with the organization.

β€œI would come up with activities and games for their programming and realized that I love teaching and creating impact, like how people did for me,” she says. β€œI just loved working with kids. I wanted to help them find solutions to their struggles because I was there once, too.”

Shea carried that determination and creative, problem-solving spirit throughout her time in and leveraged it to create two businesses before she graduated. She credits ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s and as crucial resources that complemented the knowledge she gained in her coursework, ultimately fueling her career path today with Innovation Station LLC.

Connecting Education and Entrepreneurship

While taking the Careers in K-12 Education course with Cristina SΓ‘enz ’22PhD β€” now an invention education manager for Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lemelson-MIT Program β€” Shea had her light bulb moment: She could bridge her passion for education with her entrepreneurship endeavors.

Invention education is a learning approach that challenges students through hands-on problem-solving. Shea often saw this play out during her internship with , where young patients face educational challenges due to injuries and illnesses.

β€œAt Nemours, I saw how kids with cerebral palsy adapt things for their needs, and it inspired me because that’s what invention is about,” she says. β€œI thought, β€˜Why don’t I create a series of kits for K-5 students that teaches them to go back to the basics of hands-on learning?’”

With that, Innovation Station LLC was born during her last semester at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½.

Empowering Tomorrow’s Innovators

Through Innovation Station, Shea offers a series of four invention education kits that teach children to identify and explore problems, brainstorm and develop innovative ideas, build and prototype concepts, and practice their presentational skills.

Each kit includes a relatable storybook β€” written by Shea herself β€” as well as guided activities, worksheets, crafting supplies, and lesson resources for teachers. Even the packaging is designed to be used as part of the inventive process. With the final kit in the series, students cut off the sides of the box to make into a poster board they’ll use to pitch their product.

β€œThey’re reminded that their product is a prototype; it’s not going to be perfect, and failure is OK because we can always fix things based on what we learn from it,” she says. β€œThey learn how to communicate their brand with problem and solution statements. The books also cover easing those presentation nerves and learning to support your friends even if you’re competing.”

Prior to launching Innovation Station kits in July 2025, she conducted a six-week focus group with the Girls Scouts of Citrus Council, where she was able to test the kits with girls ranging from 4 to 12 years old. One 4-year-old invented a soft pencil because she was just learning to write, and regular pencils hurt her hand.

“It’s meant to teach them to be problem-solvers,” she says.

Since then, Shea has been promoting Innovation Station kits while also working in manufacturing, helping others bring their own inventions to life. She is piloting the kits this semester in partnership with fellow teacher education alum Chuck Burgess ’92. The kits will debut in nine Tampa-area elementary schools through local nonprofit High 5, Inc., which offers a variety of after-school and recreational programs.

β€œI took a chance on myself, and I decided that this is what I want to do.” β€” Kelly Shea ’23

She aspires to collaborate with school districts to introduce them into today’s classrooms.

β€œI took a chance on myself, and I decided that this is what I want to do,” she says. β€œI want to inspire and have an impact on the next generation and help create core memories by facilitating those light-bulb moments of, β€˜Wow, I can be an entrepreneur.’”

Even though it will sit in an inbox unread for the next 16 years and 8 months, she’ll write all about the wonderful, miraculous chaos that has marked the last year-and-a-half of her college experience, and how it made her even more determined to obtain her bachelor’s in elementary education.

On her son Brayden’s 18^th birthday, she’ll hand over the password to the account she created for him where he will discover moments from his childhood captured in photos, videos and emails, including this momentous milestone they shared together.

β€œIn the beginning, I had a mindset of I needed this degree to get the job that I wanted, and then when I found out I was pregnant, there was going to be nothing that stopped me from getting my degree,” she says. β€œIt [the pregnancy] threw a curve ball in my life, but I think it motivated me more.”

Parenthood to PedsAcademy

Palm wanted to be a teacher for as long as she can remember. As a teenager growing up in St. Cloud, she babysat, nannied and tutored children, and set her sights on getting the college degree her parents never did.

She enrolled in the program at Valencia College and arrived at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ in 2018. By that December, she found out she was pregnant. She made it through the spring and summer A sessions before her son was born in August 2019. She took off the fall semester and enrolled in a full schedule of courses for Spring 2020.

She says childcare and time management were a constant struggle, but her husband and extended family were as committed to Palm earning her degree as she was and helped watch Brayden when she needed to get schoolwork done. In a way, becoming a mother helped prepare her for her future profession and her last semester as an intern at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s .

β€œEverything I thought I knew about kids went out the window when I became a parent,” she says. β€œI think the biggest thing I learned was how everything is so unexpected. I think with working in a hospital, it’s the same thing. You don’t know what to expect and you just have to be able to adapt and transition into the next thing without looking back. I think having him helped me a lot with that.”

Teaching Moments

Her experience with PedsAcademy made a profound impact on her career aspirations. The pediatric school program is a collaboration between ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty and student teachers and Nemours staff that aims to keep patients engaged academically during their hospitalization through a variety of innovative educational technology tools, including the use of robotics, augmented/virtual reality and 3D printing.

Palm spent six weeks in online modules to learn about the technology she would use with the patients later in the semester. To accommodate COVID protocols, she worked one full day a week at Nemours once face-to-face visits started.

On site, she was assigned a list of patients and worked to schedule sessions with her students between their doctor visits and therapy.

β€œThese kids are in the hospital, which can be stressful and scary, but they would get so excited when we walked into the room,” she says. β€œIt made me realize that this is what I want to do. I remember this day I had with one young girl. We read a story and then we started playing with the robot β€” she had to launch a ball, and I made up a point system for her. We were adding up the points and she looked at me and she said, β€˜I get it!’ I said, β€˜What do you get?’ She said, β€˜We’re doing reading and math.’ She was so excited and proud of herself that she was learning reading and math. It was awesome to see her connect it all together.”

Rebeca Grysko, school program director for PedsAcademy, says Palm’s kind and supportive demeanor combined with the knowledge she gained from her internship will make her better prepared for her future as an educator.

β€œLindseyΒ is positive, willing to work hard and demonstrates all the characteristics of a reflective, competentΒ and caring educator,” Grysko says.Β β€œShe displays a high level of professionalism,Β as well as flexibility, adaptabilityΒ and initiative. I am pleased and proud of the personal and professional growth that Lindsey demonstrated throughout the semester.”

Palm hopes that an assistant position will open up so she has a chance to apply to stay involved with the program. In the meantime, she’s planning to find a job and save up money for childcare so that she can work to get certified as a child life specialist β€” a healthcare professional who provides additional support by focusing on the mental, emotional and social needs of their patients, rather than their physical health β€” and of course, continue to care for her family.

She encourages other parents, especially young mothers, to chase after any dream they have.

β€œI hope there are moms out there, especially young moms, who feel like they can accomplish whatever they want and reach their goals,” she says.

So, on Thursday, the science fair came to them β€” thanks to the help of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty and students β€” in the form of the first-ever STEM Day at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Poster boards detailing projects as varied as fish prosthetics and bouncing marbles were on display in the hospital’s lobby, each awaiting the arrival of a special panel of guest judges.

Thursday’s event was put on by ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ PedsAcademy at Nemours, which provides highly specialized schooling to chronically ill children in a way that’s tailored to their specific disease. STEM Day wrapped up the first academic year of PedsAcademy, which launched in August 2018. The program is run by about 50 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty members, student researchers, postdoctoral scholars and student interns who specialize in mathematics, engineering, science, the humanities and special education. Megan Nickels, Ph.D., an assistant professor of STEM education, heads the program.

β€œEvery school needs a science fair. We wanted to give the kids center stage so everyone can see their good work.” β€”Β Megan Nickels, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ assistant professor and PedsAcademy faculty director

β€œEvery school needs a science fair,” Nickels says. β€œWe wanted to give the kids center stage so everyone can see their good work.”

The lobby of the Lake Nona hospital also hosted labs from across the university, enticing children with opportunities to touch sea turtle shells, get up close with bugs and learn how muscles generate electricity.

August Terry, 10, was captivated by the crabs brought by the Coastal and Estuarine Ecology Lab. She completed three projects for the science fair: one on silicone in paint; another with a 3D-printed replica of the Castillo De San Marcos fort in St. Augustine; and a third exploring the best materials for building bridges.

Terry, who is still undergoing treatment for bone cancer, won an award for β€œmost likely to change the world.”

Terry’s St. Augustine project was particularly special to her, as she was unable to attend her fourth-grade field trip to St. Augustine because of her illness.

β€œI can’t put a price on it,” says her mother, Wendy. β€œPedsAcademy has made hospital visits something August actually looks forward to.”

One of the judges was Katie Seymour, wife of Interim President Thad Seymour. She had high praise for the tailored, one-on-one instruction PedsAcademy offers children on a daily basis at the hospital.

β€œI love seeing the spark in each of these children,” she says.

PedsAcademy, a first-of-its-kind program, provides specialized schooling to chronically ill children tailored to their specific disease while undergoing care at Nemour’s Children’s Hospital. The program includes more than 50 ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty and student teachers who teach STEM curriculum to the children.

What started as an idea when Nickels was in her doctoral program in mathematics education at Illinois State University, is now a comprehensive model for what education looks like for children who are hospitalized long-term.

β€œAfter years of teaching elementary school, I missed the daily interactions with children when I went back to school to complete my Ph.D.,” Nickels said. β€œI was trying to think about what I could do to be around them again, and that’s when I realized there was a children’s hospital not too far away from the university, so I signed up to be a volunteer.”

β€œNone of my training or years as a teacher had prepared me for what these children encounter in terms of education and how best to teach them. Chronically ill children are a forgotten population.”

Nickels says she couldn’t have predicted the overwhelming need of educating the children who were hospitalized.

β€œNone of my training or years as a teacher had prepared me for what these children encounter in terms of education and how best to teach them,” she says. β€œChronically ill children are a forgotten population.”

PedsAcademy does three things: studies the specific needs of children according to their disease; provides tailored curriculum for their needs, and prepares student-teachers to teach hospitalized children.

β€œWe are meeting a need that is not met, and, largely, not even understood,” Nickels says.

Instructors are instrumental in teaching children through science, technology, education and mathematics lessons using virtual reality, robotics, 3D printers and makerspaces. They are also involved in the research of how to teach children based on their disease. For example, cancer affects working memory, so Nickels’ team develops curriculum and teaching methods to help prevent memory loss. The team of researchers is currently beginning work on developing profiles for children with spinal muscular atrophy.

One of the inspiring things about PedsAcademy is its ability to be modeled elsewhere – which is a large part of why Nickels’ received the Marchioli Award. Nickels is in talks with a few children’s hospitals on how to replicate the model. She credits her partnership with Nemours Children’s Hospital on making it all possible.

If it’s not feasible for a hospital to have educators on-site, Nickels has another option: virtual reality.

β€œOur immersive virtual reality, or VR, platforms will provide multiuser virtual classrooms if a hospital can’t support in-room educators,” Nickels says. β€œAll they need is the equipment and their patients could [virtually] attend PedsAcademy here in Orlando.”

Thanks to the $5,000 in prize money from the Marchioli Impact Award, Nickels says she will purchase additional VR equipment to take expand the program. The award was made possible by Nelson Marchioli β€˜72, chairman of the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Foundation.

Lisa Jones, associate provost for strategy, says ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s strategic plan requires the university to innovate and then scale successful innovations to achieve greater impacts, as this project has done.

β€œThrough Collective Impact, we are leveraging ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s existing culture of innovation and focusing the innovations towards solutions that help us move the needle on our metrics,” she says. β€œWe created this award as one way we can encourage and reward innovations that are aligned with our strategic plan.

β€œFaculty and staff are the heartbeat of all that we do at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½. We cannot and will not fulfill the promises outlined in the plan without faculty and staff using their creativity to test new ideas or enhance existing programs/projects to help achieve the metrics and Dr. Nickels is the perfect example.”

Jan. 1 – Β After ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ completed their first perfect football season and a 34-27 defeat over Auburn at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ linebackerΒ Shaquem Griffin ’16Β admires the championship trophy. Shaquem made history in April when he became the first one-handed player to be drafted in the NFL, joining his brotherΒ Shaquill Griffin ’16Β on the Seattle Seahawks’ team.

Jan. 21 – A student takes some time between classes to stretch out on Memory Mall.

Feb. 23 – Engineering graduate student Estefania Bohorquez ’17 shows off her aerial acrobatic skills.

March 14 – Studio art major John Currie ’18 works on a special portrait of John C. Hitt to honor his 26 years of service as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s fourth president.

April 5 – Singer Jesse McCartney performs at CFE Arena during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½estival’s concert night.

April 7 – This year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ raised more than $1.5 million for Knight-Thon, an annual dance marathon that benefits Children’s Miracle Network.

April 13 – Director of jazz studies and Pegasus Professor Jeff Rupert conducts a performance during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Celebrates the Arts.

May 1 – After a six-month closure, a cute pup takes a dip in the newly renovated Reflecting Pond, which now has a new foundation and color-changing LED lights. *Note: Dogs are not allowed in the water, so don’t try this on your own.

May 3 – During his final commencement ceremonies, former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President John C. Hitt conferred degrees to more than 8,100 students. In October of last year,Β Hitt announced he would be stepping down from the presidency on June 30, 2018. Former ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ provost Dale Whittaker became the university’s fifth president on July 1.

June 5 – Senior studio art major Jenna Chastain works with clay during an art class in the Visual Arts building.

June 5 – Β While in a lab, aΒ student works on a project involving display screens and motorcycle helmets.

June 20 – Two students raced to the top of the Climbing Tower located in the .

June 29 – Construction on the new ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Downtown campus is underway and on schedule to open Fall 2019.

Aug. 2 – After partnering with two other institutions to manage the Arecibo Observatory earlier this year, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker traveled to Puerto Rico for a visit to the facility.

July 27 – An instructor at the demonstrates how to put out a fire during a cooking class.

Aug. 21 – Afternoon Florida storm clouds cover campus as students make their return during the first week of fall classes.

Sept. 5 – The sun rises over the Charging Knight statue outside ofΒ Spectrum Stadium.

Sept. 5 – Campus on a quiet morning.

Sept. 19 – After more than a year of waiting, popular local taco spot Gringos Locos opened its ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ location in Knights Plaza.

Sept. 21 – The get ready to perform on the football field during half-time at the game against Florida Atlantic University.

Sept. 29 – Knightro and the cheer team entertain a packed stadium during ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s game against Pittsburg, which ended in a 45 – 14 win for the Knights.

Oct. 2 – During the evening, the Pegasus on the lights up the building.

Oct. 3 – After serving as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s interim provost since April, Elizabeth A. Dooley has become the university’s provost and vice president for .

Oct. 30 – In August, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ partnered with the Nemours Children Hospital to create PEDS Academy, a program that provides specialized STEM education to children hospitalized at the facility.

Nov. 8 – Students light up CFE Arena during Homecoming 2018‘s Concert Knight, which featured performances from rapper A$AP Ferg and singer Ella Mai.

Nov. 9 – Students show off their excitement as they prepare to take part in ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½’s biggest Homecoming tradition – .

Nov. 9 – During this year’s Spirit Splash, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ President Dale Whittaker jumped into the Reflecting Pond alongside students. He promised take part in the tradition if 50,000 students would attend the first five home football games of the 2018 season – more than 55,000 students took on the challenge.

Dec. 1 – Β After joining Knight Nation this football season, makes an appearance at the American Athletic Conference Championship game, during which fans wore leis to show their support for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton. ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ Athletics gave out 40,000 leis to fans in the spirit of #10hana, a movement that started in the local community and on social media.

Dec. 1 – During theΒ American Athletic Conference title game against Memphis,Β 45,176 fans packed the stands as ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ secured a 56 -41 victory, extending their undefeated streak to 25 games and advancing them to the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2019.

β€œThese children can miss out on weeks, months or even years of schooling,” says Megan Nickels, a ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ assistant professor in the College of Community Innovation and Education and the College of Medicine, and PedsAcademy faculty director. β€œOur goal is to provide a rich, meaningful, educational experience so they aren’t just keeping pace with their healthy, typically developing peers, but they are actually getting extraordinary educational opportunities while in the hospital.”

The program launched in August and uses robots, immersive virtual reality, telepresence, 3D printers and MakerSpaces to deliver lessons that range from basic computer programming to learning about undersea worlds. Lessons are personalized to a child’s interests by incorporating themes such as superheroes, animals, or sports. Teaching methods are based on Nickel’s research into cognitive development and the effects of certain diseases on learning, so patients are taught in ways that are conducive to their physical limitations and sensory conditions.

For example, a child with cancer who likes superheroes might have a math session that features Spider-Man and uses robots to prompt engagement. Because chemotherapy can cause problems withΒ focus, working memory, and identifying visual and spatial relationships,Β the assignment might center around an activity that involves mental rotation, repetitive programming and small increases in task difficulty.

β€œIt’s such a nontraditional way of delivering education and is tailored in a way that is as fun as it is intellectually stimulating,” says Norman Jeune, director of Patient and Family Centered Care at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. β€œNo one has done anything like this before.”

Instruction takes place at the bedside of inpatient children, and will soon begin in outpatient settings such as the Nemours’ Infusion Center where cancer and blood disorders, kidney disease, and immune-system disorders are treated. In some cases, the virtual-reality goggles and scenarios are such an effective distraction that they are used as an alternative to sedation during treatments.

“It’s such a nontraditional way of delivering education and is tailored in a way that is as fun as it is intellectually stimulating.” β€”Β Norman Jeune, director of Patient and Family Centered Care at Nemours Children’s Hospital

On an average day, up to 60 children are taught through PedsAcademy at Nemours. Patients can receive at least three hours of instruction per day and may begin participating in the program as soon as they are admitted. Instruction is for children up through 12^th grade and also is available for siblings of the patients.

The PedsAcademy team is comprised of ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ faculty members, student researchers, postdoctoral scholars and dozens of student interns. The students, all pre-service teachers, complete a semester of study at Nemours and provide instruction to patients under the supervision of a faculty member. This gives them the opportunity to learn new skills for teaching special populations such as hospitalized children.

For ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ student Julisa Vinas, the mission of PedsAcademy hits home. In her third year at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ as an accounting student, a mixture of illnesses led to her medically withdrawing from school and undergoing an extensive procedure to have a stem-cell transplant. Upon her recovery, she vowed to continue her education in something she felt would make an impact. She’s now in her senior year at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ studying elementary education and a PedsAcademy intern.

β€œWhen this opportunity [PedsAcademy] came up, I thought this is perfect for me because I know what it feels like to be extremely ill and want to have an education, to want to go to school and not be able to. Being able to now go to these kids and provide that for them – it’s an amazing experience,” Vinas says.

The program was inspired by research that shows children who face life-threatening illnesses or suffer from chronic health conditions will have their education disrupted, often resulting in an inability to keep pace with their peers and perform at their grade level. This disruption in education can affect children into their later years by limiting their achievements and social mobility. Each year, eight out of every 100 children are hospitalized in the United States.

The program is funded through grants and private donations.

Visit the to learn more.