Poolesville Students Compete in Design Challenge (Videos & Photos)
The AbilityOne® Design Challenge is a national competition for high school students that inspire students to develop assistive technologies to empower people with significant disabilities in the workplace. Among the five finalists are two teams from Poolesville High School. A team from Poolesville High School was the 2012 winner, and this year the high school submitted a record 18 entries. The competition took place on Friday, Feb. 15 in Alexandria.
The high school students work directly with people with disabilities to create a device or system to increase employee productivity or open a job to an employee who could not previously perform the tasks associated with the job. The High School Design Challenge requires students to create a functioning prototype of their device.
In collaboration with a local nonprofit that trains, hires or provides jobs opportunities for people with significant disabilities, the high school teams work through the fall to research, design and submit a discussion paper and video presentation of their device. Five finalists are selected from hundreds of entries nationally and travel to the Washington, DC area to present their devices before a panel of judges and compete for scholarship awards.
The two teams from Poolesville worked with the Scott Key Center in Frederick to create an assistive device for the staff at the Scott Key Center.
The Tea-Packaging Device placed second and won $3,000 in scholarship money.
The Tea-Packaging Device enables efficient packaging of tea packets by employees with multiple disabilities who have difficulties counting objects at the Scott Key Center. The device is an accordion shaped guide insert that uses color coding and automatic arrangements for employees to pack the tea bags.
Team: Dennis Levin, Ryan Cho, and Carlos Gonzales
Coach: Kevin Lee
The Rain Barrel Cradle placed third and won $1,000 in scholarship money.
The Rain Barrel Cradle is a device that holds and stabilizes a rain barrel while an employee cleans or attaches parts during the assembly process. The device was designed for employees with cognitive disabilities and traumatic brain injuries and has allowed 80 additional of the 120 employees at the Scott Key center to perform the job.
Team: Neel Deshmukh, Jessica Law and Brian Liu
Coach: Kevin Lee
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- Tea-Packaging Device Team Photo | AbilityOne
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- Tea-Packaging Device Team with Trophy Photo | AbilityOne
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- Rain Barrel Cradle Team Photo | AbilityOne
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- Rain Barrel Cradle Team with Trophy Photo | AbilityOne
The annual national challenge is sponsored by NISH – Creating Employment Opportunities for People with Significant Disabilities. Established in 1974, NISH (www.nish.org) is one of two national, nonprofit agencies designated by the U.S. Ability one Commission™ to support nonprofit agencies participating in the AbilityOne Program.
The AbilityOne Program provides employment opportunities via the manufacture and delivery of products and services to the Federal Government for people who are blind or have significant disabilities.
Learn more about the AbilityOne Design Challenge at www.a1designchallenge.org
There were five entries in the contest. Only the 2nd and 3rd place finishers are listed. Who came in first? Fourth and fifth?