Boyd’s Station is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Program fellowship and grants, which are awarded to college photojournalism and writing students to live and work during the summer in Harrison County, Kentucky.

Lukas Flippo, a senior at Yale University originally from Amory, Mississippi, is awarded the $3,000 Reinke Grant for Visual Storytelling. Flippo will begin working in Harrison County beginning in May 2023 following graduation from Yale.

“I am interested in the stories where people and place intersect, those complex businesses, intersections, farms, and roads where the past and present collide across generations, politics, and socioeconomic status to build a future,” Flippo said. “I hope to approach Harrison County with an open mind and an empathetic sense of respect and honor for the people who make their lives there, focusing on stories that mold those people and the places they hold dear. I will learn about the challenges a community like Harrison County faces to inform my ongoing passion for documentation of rural America.”

Abigail Pittman, a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill originally from Four Oaks, North Carolina, is awarded the $3,000 Bell Family Storytelling Grant recipient. She will begin her work documenting Harrison County beginning in May 2023.

“Because I’m also from a rural area in North Carolina, I’m interested in what rural storytelling can look like given time,” remarks Pittman, “Working with the Boyd’s Station project would give me tools to document my hometown. I’m confident that, again given time, one could find equally interesting and important stories as in a metropolitan area. Voices in rural areas are not heard often, especially minority voices, and it’s important to recognize both things.”

Sophia Liang, a senior at Harvard University studying English and neuroscience and originally from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is awarded the $3,000 Mary Withers Rural Writing Fellowship. She will be working on articles for Project 306.36 and for Boyd’s Station’s media partner, the Louisville Courier-Journal, in June 2023 following her graduation from Harvard.

“I’m an aspiring science journalist, and I think this fellowship would provide me a unique opportunity to examine rural healthcare systems,” notes Liang, “which tend to be overlooked and underreported. Although rural Kentucky is a far cry from my suburban New Jersey hometown, I’m so excited for this opportunity to develop my reporting skills, explore the outdoors, and meet lots of new people.”

The three grant recipients for 2023 represent the 5th class of students at Boyd’s Station. Our alumni have gone on to become professional photographers, writers, and artists throughout the country, and continue giving back to the program.

The Boyd’s Station Project 306.36 Visual Documentary and Writing Program is the annual archive project focused solely on documenting the people and places of Harrison County, Kentucky, creating an archive of these student journalists' work while providing world-class mentoring and guidance to this next generation of storytellers. 

To learn more about Project 306.36, please visit www.boydsstation.org/about-306. 

Boyd’s Station thanks the Clyde N. Day Foundation and Clifford Craig Heritage for the continued funding and support in making these highly competitive grants and fellowships possible for the success of Project 306.36 each year. We also would like to thank Photoshelter and The Louisville Courier-Journal and Nikon Professional Services for their yearly support of providing their amazing services for use by the student taking part in Project 306.36.