CNN Hero’s Brilliant Bus Tour visits Auburn University

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Estella Mims Pyfrom, honored in 2013 as a CNN Hero, brought her Brilliant Bus and Brilliant Minds Kids Tour–with more than 100 students from Southeastern states–to the Auburn University campus July 17-18. The visit was part of a program hosted by Auburn’s Center for Educational Outreach and Engagement, an office of Auburn’s University Outreach.

"CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" is an award-winning television special created by CNN to honor individuals who make extraordinary contributions to humanitarian aid and make a difference in their communities.

Estella’s Brilliant Bus, formerly known as Project Aspiration, was founded by Pyfrom, who is nationally celebrated for her commitment and dedication to helping the underprivileged. Brilliant Bus is a customized mobile learning center, designed to travel to communities and deliver services to children and families throughout the nation and world.

The stop at Auburn was part of a 12-day tour from South Florida to Jackson, Mississippi, giving students from underserved schools educational training and self-help experiences to empower them with lifelong learning focusing on technology. Throughout the tour, students will engage with area professionals and academics, learning computer coding and entrepreneurship.

While at Auburn University, students attended technology workshops, took a campus tour, enjoyed a trivia night and attended an admissions information session. They stayed at The Hotel of Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center and in celebration of their commitment to educational improvement, attended a dinner at the hotel with live music, dinner and dancing. Featured Auburn University speakers encouraged and inspired students to continue their pursuit of technology.

Pyfrom grew up in an underprivileged household and has a passion to help underprivileged families improve their standard of living. Her vision is that parents will be empowered with better skills and get more involved with their children’s education and lives, thus improving the quality of life for the family.

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Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.