LJWorld.com

There is no time to waste when it comes to a child's education, according to Billy Hudson, the man who hopes to change children's lives one busload at a time.

Rural students often log hours traveling by bus to and from their public schools each week.

They've got "45 minutes to talk to friends, get in trouble on the bus, beat up on your friends; that still happens today, big time," Hudson said.

Hudson, who grew up in Grapevine, Ark., worked at Kansas University Medical Center for 28 years and is now a scientist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., launched a pilot academic initiative three years ago. The program maximizes idle hours on a commute.

The Aspirnaut Initiative involves technology, a bus and students grades six to 12. The pilot school bus, or a one-room school house, as Hudson puts it, is wired for Internet. Students can take computer-based individual Advanced Placement courses with an emphasis on mathematics and science. So far, a dozen gifted youths in his hometown are halfway through the pilot program.

"They like it because they get personalized attention," Hudson said.

With donated funds, students also have a chance to take Advanced Placement courses and use satellite classroom time with a teacher twice per week.

"Often high-ability kids in the U.S. are the ones that are held back," Hudson said. "They don't reach their full potential.

"I want to find those of high ability and those who are highly motivated and put them on a career path for high-level education."

Students are excited and receptive, he said, because he's making education fun.

The story of his initiative is gaining national attention. Friday evening, on "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," Hudson was featured on a program series titled "Making a Difference." Hudson said a feasibility and impact report is being conducted now. If successful, he wants to replicate the program throughout rural America, an overlooked area compared with inner-city programs, he said.

Hudson, 66, knows firsthand that rural schools can be overlooked.

He traveled 45 minutes to go to school in Arkansas. He said that ride is now an hour because of rural school consolidation.

In Kansas, rural bus rides can last anywhere from five minutes to 65 minutes, said Dale Dennis, deputy commissioner for the Kansas State Department of Education. He said nearly 200,000 students are transported to schools across the state by bus.

Hudson said he was fortunate to escape an abusive father and "dsyfunctional family."

"A miracle happened and I got transplanted to another environment, so this makes me know that the environment matters as much as nature," Hudson said. "So I want to change the environment of the kids."

Hudson's long journey from Grapevine to Vanderbilt University has been focused on education. He moved to Kansas in 1974 and became the chairman of biochemistry at KUMC and was the dean of research until 2002.

He's currently professor of medicine, biochemistry and pathology at Vanderbilt University. He's also the director for the Center of Matrix Biology.

"It's my own personal journey of acquiring an education, and I know how powerful that is, not just for me but for others," Hudson said.

"To the extent I've been successful, I've had some help; now I'm trying to help youth with circumstances similar to my own."