Places & spaces: Synapse Tech Lounge in Kirksville, Missouri
Posted: April 14, 2026
The Synapse Tech Lounge: Kirksville, Missouri
A recently renovated, cross-departmental initiative serves as a hub for students, faculty, and staff to convene, study, and collaborate across disciplines.
Tech zone
A virtual and augmented reality area offers a guided, hands-on experience to acquaint students with the latest technologies and inspire innovative applications in healthcare education.
Study space
Complete with adaptable, modern seating and charging stations, the huddle space is designed for small-group collaboration and video conferencing, as well as studying and relaxation.
Philanthropy focus
Monthly Bridge Builder Break-Time events connect students with donors to learn firsthand the power of philanthropy and the value of giving back to the people, causes, and communities they support.
Philanthropy in action
The Synapse Tech Lounge is more than a renovated space; it is a hub for innovation, connection, and community. Located at the heart of ATSU’s Kirksville, Missouri, campus, the lounge serves as a gathering place for Bridge Builder Break-Time events, where students and donors come together to share stories and explore the lasting impact of philanthropy on healthcare education.
Conversations extend beyond scholarships and University support. Students hear directly from those who choose to invest in their futures and who believe education, innovation, and human connection builds healthier communities. For donors, the experience is also meaningful because they have an opportunity to visit face to face with students whose lives are being transformed by their generosity.
“Through engaging conversations with generous ATSU donors, students gain firsthand insight into the heart and purpose behind their support, including why they give, what they believe in, and how their contributions shape the future of the University and its students,” says Brad Chambers, director of development. “These encounters illuminate the profound impact that giving can have, not only on education but on lives and communities.”
The name Bridge Builder draws inspiration from a poem by Will Allen Dromgoole, a reminder that true giving is not about recognition but about establishing pathways for those who will follow. Like the old man in the poem, donors help build bridges of opportunities for future healthcare professionals to reach their dreams.
David Young, DO, ’81, and his wife, Jill Young, were featured donors at a Bridge Builder Break-Time event in spring 2025. They are recipients of the Diplomate Lifetime Giving Award and are passionate about supporting Dr. Young’s alma mater, ATSU’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM).
“Giving should be a guiding principle for anyone able to do so, as there is deep personal fulfillment in helping others,” says the couple. “Our family has been fortunate to provide for ourselves and share with others. ATSU-KCOM has profoundly shaped our lives, and supporting the school has always felt essential. Ensuring its financial strength is vital to educating and training the next generation of osteopathic physicians.”
The Bridge Builder
An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening
cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and
deep and wide.
Through which was flowing
a sullen tide
The old man crossed in
the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had
no fear for him;
But he turned when safe
on the other side
And built a bridge to span
the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow
pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength
with building here;
Your journey will end with
the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm,
deep and wide,
Why build this bridge
at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his
old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path
I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must
pass this way.
This chasm that has been
as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may
a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in
the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building
this bridge for him!”
– Will Allen Dromgoole