Basil Kuloba | UWF Graduate '18
The Outside Force.
By Nick Gray
Before we sat down for his interview, I called Basil prior to learn more about his background and what motivates his efforts behind INERTIA. What I found was someone who is the very definition of inspiring.
I found someone who doesn’t just admit his own faults, but uses them to his advantage. I found someone who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable for the sake of learning. I found someone you immediately root for because you believe in his passion to help others.
We shared a moment during our conversation when he revealed to me that he felt overwhelmed during a period of rapid growth about a year and a half after INERTIA had launched. He attributes finding the courage to overcome this feeling from his mentor at the UWF Center for Entrepreneurship, Jim Sparks. “I wanted to give up,” says Basil, “but I’m really glad Jim didn’t let me because now I see the impact we can have on others, and that’s what keeps me going.”
With regards to INERTIA, the Center for Entrepreneurship helped us take what started out as a simple after-school program and turned it into what it is today. I knew nothing about being the CEO of a not-for-profit organization when we started this journey, but Jim Sparks and Dr. Ed Ranelli guided me every step of the way. I can't thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me and for INERTIA!
Today, INERTIA is an established 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that works with local schools to provide supplemental education, helping students find joy in studying science and math through a variety of in-school and after-school programs. INERTIA believes building students’ confidence unlocks their ability and it’s the realization of that ability that makes learning fun.
The INERTIA team sees not only the potential in their participants but in their own growth as well. Their goal is to eventually work with every school in Escambia and the surrounding counties. Under his bio on the INERTIA website, Basil proclaims, “I want them to have the opportunity to see science [and math] for what it can be. I want them to know that if I can do it, they can do it too!”
In science, inertia is defined as a property of matter by which an object stays in its continued state unless acted upon by an outside force. Basil would say the teachers in his life are what helped him realize his own ability; in other words, they were the outside force for him.
Now, he is the outside force.
BE A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY. BE A ROLE MODEL TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. BE THE NEXT BASIL.
If you have an innovative idea that could impact Escambia County or change the world, reach out to the Center of Entrepreneurship at UWF. We can help make it a reality.