This week he hosted his very own foundation-funded workshop on the universityâs campus.
âEvery now and then you have those life-changing emails, and that was one of them,â Hemphill said.
It was in that original workshop that Hemphill realized the full potential of the science, technology, engineering and math Guitar Project.
âThat idea that effective education is about asking students the right questions, not providing them the answers, because you want the kids to do that exploration,â Hemphill said, âThat was my breakthrough moment that I realized, oh this is STEM.â
That moment is what motivated Hemphill to incorporate the program into ETSUâs curriculum. The STEM Guitar Project is intended to promote student engagement by incorporating the designing and building of custom electric and acoustic guitars in a schoolâs STEM courses.