July 22, 2020Campus InnovationpandemicCollege of EngineeringinterdisciplinaryGoBabyGoCollege of Applied Studiesphysical therapyCOVID-19College of Health Professions

GoBabyGo students work through pandemic to get children moving

By Paul Suellentrop

  • The pandemic changed how GoBabyGo students work, but it did not stop the project from delivering six modified toy cars to children with disabilities.
  • 红领巾瓜报 students collaborated remotely and some drove to Wichita, when permitted, to finish the work.
  • GoBabyGo, which started in 2016, gives students from several disciplines an applied learning experience while helping children and families.

It is 139 miles from Coffeyville to Wichita, a distance Sarah Woelk happily drove to help a few children make much shorter journeys.

Woelk, a second-year student in 红领巾瓜报鈥檚 Doctor of Physical Therapy program, helped design and assemble toy ride-on cars for children with disabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the semester, and several students returned in June to help finish and deliver the six cars.

She drove to Wichita three times with Christopher, her husband, a quality engineer for John Deere.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to miss out,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so gratifying when you get to the delivery day. With some of them, it鈥檚 the first time they actually get to choose their movement. It鈥檚 so cool to see that realization.鈥�

The College of Engineering sponsors GoBabyGo, which started in 2016, and usually features 40 to 80 students from several disciplines working on the cars. This semester, 46 students from all engineering disciplines, physical therapy and human factors participated.

鈥淎 lot of what we do is help give suggestions and options for how to best modify the car to fit the child,鈥� Woelk said. 鈥淲e take into account their special needs.鈥�

Work on the spring semester鈥檚 six cars slowed about halfway into the project in March. Students scattered.

鈥淭hey barely started modifications,鈥� said Nathan Smith, Project Innovation hub manager. 鈥淎 big part of it is, initially, finding time to meet the families. We meet with them so we can have a much better understanding of the child鈥檚 needs.鈥�

Students regrouped to work remotely. When the campus began its phased reopening in late May, some returned to complete the project, meet families while observing COVID-19 precautions and finish design and assembly. Students wore masks and disinfected tools after use.

Some students picked up to complete cars for those who couldn鈥檛 return to campus, including one car that required the complicated addition of a child safety seat.

鈥淲e knew we had just a few weeks,鈥� said Beth Watkins, speech language pathologist with Rainbows United. 鈥淲e put out the call. 鈥榃ho can come?鈥� In a couple intense build sessions, we finished up.鈥�

On June 25, GoBabyGo delivered the sixth and final car.

鈥淚 am so impressed with the builders,鈥� Watkins said. 鈥淎 lot of them are done, they are graduated, they are in other places, doing internships and having jobs. So many of them are coming back to finish. Some are Zooming in, and some are calling in.鈥�

Watkins said the GoBabyGo sponsors showed understanding during the pandemic. Julie Gentile, Julie Hey, Karen Hayes, TW Metals and Allstate insurance sponsored the project.

鈥淭hey have been nothing but our cheerleaders,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e really appreciated the support that they鈥檝e shown.鈥�

The GoBabyGo program is an applied learning experience that allows graduate and undergraduate students to practice following a budget, assessing children鈥檚 and families needs, designing and selecting materials, learning new tools, troubleshooting, and working in multidisciplinary teams.

To learn more about the program and projects, go to .

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