How an Engineering Professor Is Inspiring Students One Bike at a Time

A Murray State University professor shares his story on how students can learn soft skills while helping those less fortunate.

A group of students repair a bike as a part of the Murray State University Mechatronics course. (Image courtesy of Jake Hildebrant.)

A Murray State University professor is inspiring others through his initiative to help the homeless.

In spring 2018, Jake Hildebrant, a professor at the Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology, was awarded $1,000 through the university’s Faculty Innovation Initiative. It took Hildebrant one year to collect bikes, teach his students the mechanics behind a bike, as well as deliver the bikes to a homeless population of over 300 individuals.

Not only did the project support community engagement, but it also helped students in the Mechatronics course learn how to install parts such as brake cables, brakes and tires as well as how to mechanically calibrate derailleurs. This helped students learn various calibration methods of instrumentation and simple mechanical processes.

The bikes required extensive repair work. (Image courtesy of Jake Hildebrant.)

“When we first started, we had a bike that we converted to run on electricity, so an e-bike. We used that to learn about feedback control loops in one of my instrumentation classes. Students also had to understand the mechanics of the bike as well as the derailleurs and gear set. We then had students go out and try to find these bikes that people weren’t using to donate to the project,” explained Hildebrant. “Students would assess the bikes and determine if they were working mechanically. If not, we needed to improve them and make them safe. Students were able to transfer knowledge from what we learned from industrial concepts and apply it to these bikes.”

The end result. (Image courtesy of Jake Hildebrant.)

The bikes were then delivered to Nashville to the Bridge Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

“We started with about 12 bikes. Since we put parts together on some bikes, we ended up with six or seven. Getting those bikes to Nashville was a problem because it’s about a two-hour drive from Murray State and, at the time, the university did not have the vehicles that we needed, so I ended up driving my own vehicle,” said Hildebrant.

The Bridge provides a haven for individuals who are outside of the current societal system. Working with community-based philanthropic and educational organizations, the foundation provides resources to combat substance abuse and addiction for adolescents and young adults as well as delivers educational and financial assistance for recovery housing, services and programs.

With the help of Hildebrant and his students, some of those who are less fortunate were given a mode of transportation. (Image courtesy of Jake Hildebrant.)

The Bridge itself also has an impressive backstory. “There’s a bridge in Nashville called the Jefferson Street Bridge. It was always known as a place for the homeless to gather. The famous country music artist Candy Christmas started this organization called The Bridge because at one point she fought her depression by going to the bridge and just handing out food to the homeless people. And, that grew,” explained Hildebrant. “Now every Tuesday, you can volunteer and meet underneath this bridge in Nashville. The homeless population from all over the city comes to this.”

According to Hildebrant, modes of transportation like bicycles make a huge difference in the lives of the homeless. It helps them travel to a shelter for food, water, clothing, medical care and a clean bed as well as sustain an employment opportunity. Due to their limited quantity, many of these bikes are given away through a lottery when they are available.

Since homeless people cannot pay taxi or bus fare, bicycles are one of the few ways that they can get to where they need to go such as jobs, medical appointments or community resources. (Image courtesy of Jake Hildebrant.)

Due to the cost of the initiative and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Hildebrant was unable to continue the program for the past two years. However, he plans to continue to build on this program due to the positive influence it has had on his students.

“One of the feedback that we get a lot from the industry is that our students lack a lot of the soft skills, and that’s hard to teach, especially in an engineering program. One way to increase some soft skill awareness is through volunteer and community service, which gave me the idea for doing the project and applying for the grant,” said Hildebrant. “Personally, that’s one thing that engineering programs tend to leave out. None of our projects teach our students to be selfless and to put others first. I think this is important because it’s fun but also helps students grow socially, and as citizens, as well as teaches engineering skills.”

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