Third graders build special bike for girl with mobility challenges

Students at Rise STEM Academy surprise classmate with a life-changing gift

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Cheers filled the Rise STEM Academy as a group of third-grade girls shared their excitement in giving, surprising Sophia with a special bike they assembled.

Sophia faces mobility challenges, and her grandmother says biking is one of her favorite things to do.

“She loves to ride a bike, she doesn’t run, she doesn’t play sports or anything like that, so this is one of her outlets, she likes to go in the neighborhood and ride a bike,” said Georgietta Cunningham, Sophia’s grandmother.

The bike, specially designed for Sophia, was supplied by the nonprofit Bluegrass AMBUCS, but it was the third graders who built it piece by piece.

“Every girl had one step of making the bike, so it took a lot of patience on their part which I’m very proud of, and then after about 45 minutes to an hour it was done, and they got to see the teamwork and the community within that, that they worked together to do, it was very special,” said third-grade instructors Tayver Allen and Mary Thom Adams.

Even in the process of giving, the students at Rise Academy said they learned something new.

“We learned about like how the adaptation works for different people, and like some people have disabilities that are different so we have to build some different stuff,” said third-grader Nia Hostler.

Sophia explaining the excitement best,

“I feel happy,” said Sophia.

Her grandmother said she even asked to stay home from school to ride her bike but may wait for the snow to clear first.