Amanda Hensley, a graduate student in the Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health program, has received an Aspire! Award for Curiosity. The recognition is one of many given throughout the academic year, as Virginia Tech celebrates students, faculty, and staff who embody the university’s Aspirations for Student Learning.

Hensley’s curiosity serves her in and out of her studies, benefitting all aspects of her community engagement, one nominator said.

“She asks questions and, more importantly, she listens,” said the nominator. “She hears what people have to say because she genuinely wants to help.”

Beyond her graduate curriculum, Hensley maintains an active presence in community service through her volunteer work at local libraries, participation in food drives, and support of COVID-19 vaccination clinics. Her work particularly resonates in a region focused on expanding public health outreach and education.

Hensley has been the driving force behind Flip the Fair, an annual science fair for graduate students to present their research to local elementary school students who judge their presentations. The event was designed over three years ago as a capstone project. Now, it is a collaborative community event organized in partnership with the Roanoke Public Library and Roanoke City Public Schools.

Hensley’s nominators said that she is committed to the event’s long-term success because she wholeheartedly believes in its ability to change students’ lives.

“The challenges of the communities we serve make it incumbent upon us to ask questions, learn, and grow to be better scientists,” Hensley said.

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Students watching and grading presentation
Flip the Fair is a play on traditional tri-fold board science fairs, allowing fifth-graders to judge Virginia Tech graduate students' research presentations. Photo by Lena Ayuk for Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech Student Affairs contributed to this campus notice.