High School Innovators Making a Difference | The Glenelg High School Robotics Club

Honestly, I feel like we're really lucky. I don't think many people already get to do the stuff we're doing. The soccer game that we went to, just getting to see all the smiling faces of the kids who got to play soccer, which is something they don't normally do. It just feels. I can't really describe it. It's just so fulfilling. And I'm just so glad that we get this opportunity to do something this meaningful and this impactful that will hopefully go on for not just while we're in high school, but hopefully be something out of high school for a long time that people can keep innovating and keep building things to help people.

Welcome to the Mental Health Entrepreneur Podcast. We are here to inspire creative ideas and connections for entrepreneurs and advocates working to address our mental health crisis. As you listen, I hope you will experience new ideas and motivation to innovate in your business, your community, and in your life. Welcome back, everyone, to the Mental Health Entrepreneur Podcast. I am your host, Rachel Harrison. And with me today, I have an inspirational group of young innovators from the Glenelg High School robotics team, including Amitav Kohli, who's the team leader and founder, Annabelle McLemore, who is in public design, Tommy Farrick, who's in manufacturing, and Tommy Huan, who's in outreach. So I have to tell our pod listeners, I met this group of students at an event hosted here in Maryland by the ARC of Maryland, and it was called Spark Tank, and it was to highlight different innovations that were helping individuals with disabilities. And I saw Amitav and Anabel present, and I had to have them on the podcast. So I'm going to jump in and start asking them some questions so you can understand how they are promoting innovation and mental wellness at their school. So let's start with a little bit about this team. How did this team get started?

The team was started two years ago when a member from our own school's adaptive sports team, which is a team dedicated to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, was unable to participate in his soccer matches. He was in a wheelchair. And so seeing this, I developed something so that he could actually play soccer. It attached on his wheelchair. And then after, like, seeing just how much of an impact this had on him, he had a new sense of confidence on the field and off the field. In fact, the first thing he did, he didn't even play soccer with it. He, like, showed it off to the girls soccer team, who's sitting on the sidelines. So, like, seeing how much confidence this Actually gave him. We wanted to make this bigger, and the ARC of Maryland reached out to us about the Spark Night, and we presented there two years ago. We won the first prize there, and then it's grown bigger and bigger.

Okay.

As, like, an outside member, I wasn't here when Amitav founded it. I just happened to come in right after school and saw Amitav and Annabelle and other members just working on their devices. I just asked Amitav like, oh, what's this? And he told me all about the story. And then I just felt that it was such a nice thing to do and such a good thing to do for the community that I felt inclined to join. And I've just been part of it ever since. So it's been, yeah, a great journey.

Amazing. And so I want to break down that story. Because you noticed a student that wanted to play soccer but was not able to play soccer. Right. That's how this started. Were you having a conversation with this student? What was happening there? How did you decide that you could help?

So the adaptive sports team has, like, their special coaches. And so the coach actually came to the workshop, which we're sitting in right now, like our school workshop, and asked if somebody could make something for him. And so I saw him, and then I had a family member with a very similar situation who was in India. Distance, cost, so many things, so many factors in the way of that. I wanted to find some way to help kids in similar situations. So seeing that he had a soccer match that afternoon, and so I actually, I was able to skip class. So that's another good thing about it. I developed something in a few hours so that he could actually play soccer that afternoon.

Okay, that's pretty brilliant there. How did you come up with the model? How did you do that in just a couple of hours?

I looked at different things online, and then I realized that they're very cost prohibitive and they don't actually fit onto the wheelchair. So I just went with, like, a very simple approach. Something that would just roll the ball or push it forward and catch it. So it was like a small U shape that attached to his wheelchair. And then to attach it, there were small clips on his footrest so it didn't interfere with his legs or feet.

Amazing. And what was it like seeing him actually use that the same day? What, did it take some practice? Was it pretty seamless?

So it was different? Because otherwise he'd usually just be on the field going back and forth, or they'd have to give him the ball and Then it was just a hassle to get everybody to participate. And so this way he was going up and down the field chasing after the ball. He did score a goal completely himself, which was a huge thing, not just for him, but also everybody watching. Like it was a. Was a pretty cool thing, pretty heartwarming thing to see. And instead of scoring a goal, he just like went straight through. He actually knocked over the goal that we put like temporary goals up. He just went straight through it. He was so excited. So it was like something amazing to see how much something that we take as so simple can be such a big help to those in need, not just physically, but also emotionally.

Oh, definitely. I think the emotional piece of this is huge. And the confidence and feeling like you can do something that you want to be able to do. What have been some of your other projects? I'd love to hear a little bit about that.

Yeah, we also make soccer devices, like he mentioned with that person when Amitav brought him in. But we also make things like bowling devices like bowling ramps, which are like, really, really helpful for students in wheelchairs as well. So we make them out of very, very inexpensive material. And we also give them away for free. So we deliver these bowling ramps to different schools or different people who need them. And they actually come in with like a laser bumper system.

So, yeah, so this helps them actually align the ball, like hand eye coordination better. And so this attaches, it's made of PVC pipe and something like this would attach there and the laser plugs in. And so when it's attached on the ramp, it shines a green laser light down the ramp so that they can actually see where the path of the ball.

Oh, that's fantastic. How does somebody contact you? How does this happen? You said you give these away for free in the community. So how do these requests come in? Or do you find people and offer your services? How does that all work?

I think it's a little bit of both. Especially when we go to those places like the ARC and all these presentations, people do come up like, oh, what do you do? And then we're able to tell them what we do. And especially with the bowling ramps, we were actually able to bring some to the presentation. And I do think we gave somebody one when we were there. I don't know if they took it or we delivered it to them after. But also we have a website and people can email us through there. And after that we just have to schedule a date and what they want or what they need. And we're able to drop it off to them. I don't remember the name of it, but we did go to a soccer game recently. We talked to a bunch of people there that we were actually able to give two of the soccer attachments away. But the presentations that we do, we try to bring as much as we can. Like we brought two bowling ramps to every presentation we do. And if anybody wants one, all they have to do is just show a little bit of interest and we're like, oh, we have some, we're willing to give them. Like please like take it, tell us if you like it. And it's pretty much giving it to them at these like actual in person activities. Or we also have a website and people can reach out to us through the website, through our email and then all they have to do is schedule like a pickup or a drop off and we can give it to them through that too.

Okay, well that leads me to the question of funding. How do you fund these projects if you're able to just give these things away to anyone that would like them?

Yeah, it's actually quite interesting. There's lots of events, competitions around the Howard county area. Not just Howard county area, but also the Maryland area. And we're able to go to these events. Like recently we went to Vantage Point, it's a nursing home around here. And they hosted a competition called the Big Ideas Competition. And basically five teams selected from around the county, five of the best teams selected from around the county get to go to Vantage Point to present their idea. And we went there, presented about all of our adaptive equipment, we had prepared a pitch deck, we showed off our equipment and we ended up actually taking first prize at this competition. And we were extremely grateful to receive $1,500. Also last year we won the Spark Tank grant which supplied us with another $10,000, $11,000. So we using this money we've been able to like expand all of our like equipment manufacturing and we just be able to fund this project really well. We also go to like conventions around the Maryland area. We went to this one at University of Maryland and it was just a bunch of people from around the state, around the dmv, all passionate about helping disabled children. And it's just been really helpful to see everyone from around the industry, everyone people surrounding disabled children. And that's how we just get our money and fund our project.

And we don't only do things for the public, we also do like private designed for example, a company called Athletes Serving Athletes. We're designing attachments for their large strollers so that people don't get their limbs stuck in the wheels or any moving parts of it. And so companies like that will provide funding for us to make things for them. And then generally, they also do donate some money to help our cause.

Wow.

You're all in high school, correct? Yeah. You're in high school and you're already innovating, raising money, working for companies, building products for them. What is that experience like for you?

So, honestly, I feel like we're really lucky. I don't think many people our age get to do the stuff we're doing. But, like, Animal mentioned the soccer game that we went to. Just getting to see all the smiling faces of the kids who got to play soccer, which is something they don't normally do. It just feels kind of like. I can't really describe it. It's just so fulfilling. And I'm just so glad that we get this opportunity to do something this meaningful and this impactful that will hopefully go on for not just while we're in high school, but hopefully be something out of high school for a long time that people can keep innovating and keep building things to help people.

Yeah. Two years. Correct. You've been doing this for two years. This is a lot of growth in two years. What do you think is the reason for that kind of boom? This is booming.

I always think that we don't have enough growth. There can always be more. There's never a reason to stop. So when I look at it, I see not what we've done, but what we could have done or can do. And I think one of the reasons that we are growing fast, because I think we are, is there's a demand for this. All of this stuff is very cost prohibitive on the market. There's lots of costs. And then things don't fit on wheelchairs, walkers, or they don't accommodate everyone. What we try to do, we try to make things universal so that they can fit on any wheelchair. Any wheelchair can fit under our bowling ramps. The soccer attachment can go on walkers, wheelchairs, and then it has, like, a new level into, like, the. The depth at which someone can actually participate with it.

Yeah. Like Amitav said, a lot of the companies out there making these similar types of products, they want to make money from them. So they're charging, like, insane prices for just things that we give away for free. So that's another, like, aspect of how we can grow so fast. Also, we're always inside the workshop every day after school while other students Are like, not to brag, but like, while other students are like going home and like doing homework, we have to come into the shop. I think it all boils down to the amount of hours we actually put in into the project. So that's what enables us to grow as much as we have grown and as much as we will grow in the future.

Some dedication. Like, there's nothing like a little bit of grit and hard work. Are you all pretty close as a team? How is that team functioning going?

Yeah, we are. We are all pretty good friends. Like after the soccer game we were talking about, we went to a really good hot dog place. We, we do stuff together as friends and as a team so that there's great dynamics within the team and anyone who joins the team, usually we include everyone and it's a lot of fun. Right, Annabelle? Right, Tommy?

Yeah. So I'm the newest member. All of them except me are fourth graders. So as they're trying to expand, I'm going to be an 11th grader. So I'm the youngest year. But I've been friends with Amitav and Annabelle and Jack, who couldn't join us through other things like track and things. So we all get along really well.

That's awesome. The three of you are seniors with one junior here. So. Yeah. What's the succession plan here? What's going to happen Next?

We're not 100% sure. It could be me taking it when I go to college and including everybody still. But I think Annabelle can talk a little bit more about if that didn't happen, what would happen in the actual school?

As of right now, especially in the summer, it's a little bit more difficult. But we're really trying to find some kids in some younger grades. Like my sister's joining and she'll be in ninth grade this year. And I've been like, if you have any friends who would love to do anything like this, like you would, we would really want them to come and join with us. They don't have to, but just to come and see what we're doing. Because it's one thing to like read about it and be like, oh, yeah, no, I see what they're doing. But it's another thing to actually be in the workshop and see what's actually happening. In my opinion, it's a lot of fun. I really like it. So hopefully we'll be able to pull together enough people that we can keep it running here at the school.

Yeah.

So, like, I want to go into engineering in college. So it Fits really well with all this stuff. And this is not just great for the community. It's also great for us to learn and grow. Tommy can also talk about how many different skills he's been able to grow upon being a part of the team. Whether it be like CNC machining using the lathe laser cutter. We have a CNC mill as well. We were the first people to actually use the CNC mill just because we have more experience with these things, because we're trying to innovate on things that already exist. It's a lot of different thinking, new thinking innovations that we have to do just to make our devices right.

Yeah. Like Amitav was saying, I have no engineering experience at all. I started my first engineering class this year and it's actually been crazy how much I've learned just within adaptive equipment versus that class. Like every day I come in, work on like the laser cutting machine, cnc, like he said. And it's just I haven't learned as much about technology or engineering more than here and anywhere else. Like, I've Learned about caddying, 3D modeling, and it's just been fantastic to learn about so much engineering while also improving my skills as like a business person and handling outreach and all that sort of stuff. So it's not just a wonderful experience for the community, but it's also a wonderful experience for us. Learning about engineering, business and everything like that.

Yeah, and leading and fundraising. There's a lot of things there. How do you recruit new members? What kind of skill level is needed?

We have this program at our school called Project Lead the Way, which is basically like, across four years, there's five classes for engineering. So I was in those classes and I joined the robotics team. And Amitabh's also on the robotics team. So we started talking and I saw him and my other friends doing all this stuff and I wanted to join. So I asked them and they agreed to, like, they've asked me about my friends and people I know in my grade who are also in PLTW. Our mentor, Mr. Gerstner, is also the teacher for PLTW. So sometimes if he'll see kids that he thinks would be good for us, then he'll talk to us about that. But yeah, we try and look at people in the classes and who we know personally just to see who might be a good fit in terms of skills required. I'm not sure if there's really a requirement that we need. Mostly just if you're a hard worker, if you'll do Things like cncing the other. Tommy said he didn't know anything about it, so we can teach those things, but we mainly just want, you know, hard workers who are passionate about what they're doing.

Definitely. Do you ever hear from people that you have sent something to or donated something to about how the impact has been for them?

Yeah.

So we gave some stuff last school year to a group in. I think it was Montgomery County. And so a few weeks after they emailed us pictures of all the kids using the ramps with the laser. And like, you could see they blurred out their faces, but by their hand motions, they were all, like, overjoyed to use it.

Once again, you can sit here and you can, like, make all of the equipment, but actually seeing somebody benefit and, like, being able to use it, it's just like a whole different level. We were at a soccer game recently, and I think we did two of the soccer attachments after putting them on. I think it was a walker and a wheelchair. Actually being able to see them and play with them after was eye opening. You just want to keep doing it and you want to not just do it, you want to make more. Like, even with the different types of sports, we're trying to focus on a lot of stuff, but with soccer and stuff, we want to be able to do a lot more sports. And it's just eye opening and it's really fun.

And adding on to what she said after the soccer game, we got Ahmedab, I'm pretty sure, got an email from one of the parents of one of the kids that really helped. And it was just like, made me just so happy. Like, I showed my mom it because I was just so proud of, like, what we've done and how much it's helped people.

Yeah. And I think that idea of improving not just physical ability, but you're right, like mental wellness to me. Right. When you're describing, like, the hands and the cheering and the feel good that comes from being able to do new things with the equipment that you provide. I think that impact is huge as well. So good job. I'd like to wrap us up and maybe have each of you answer this question, if you would. What is one thing that you would like to leave our listeners with, no matter who they are? Maybe it's something about innovation. Maybe it's something about serving others. Your inspiration. Just one thought that you would like to leave everybody with. I know it's a big question.

I would like to say that especially in this group, I am not the strongest with math or science or Any of that. I still feel like even though I cannot cat or any of that. Whatever. Whatever that means. That's a question for one of them. I still feel like I'm doing stuff, and I still feel like I can help. Where I'm going with this is don't feel just because you aren't good at math or you aren't good at science that you can't help, because there's definitely things that you can do. You just need to talk and figure out what you can do. Because there's a lot of stuff that doesn't revolve around that. Once you figure it out, it's a lot of fun and it's worth a little bit of nerves getting into it.

I love that.

I would say that one thing that has really been important to me is sometimes helping others leads to opportunities for yourself. I've been working in this group and helping others, and it's led to so many opportunities for me in terms of college and in terms of just meeting people and networking and just putting myself out there. So I'd say it's very important to just whenever you can, help others, and it will, a lot of times, lead to good coming to you.

Fantastic.

Being part of this program, like, really put into perspective everything that I take for granted. Seeing those people play soccer, like everyone already said, it's a different feeling. Because when I play a sport or when I'm at a practice, all I think about is, like, oh, how much do I want this to be over? Like, I'm a swimmer. So, like, during swim practice, like, when I'm swimming laps, like, I'm just thinking about, like, how much it sucks, how much I don't want to be here. But it's not just that that makes a sport a sport. It's the camaraderie of being in a team. The amount of joy you get from scoring a goal, amount of joy you get from knocking down all the pins, and just seeing the amount of joy that these sports can give to all of these people, it just puts into perspective how much I take for granted the opportunities I already have. So I think it's important for everyone to realize the amount of stuff that we take for granted and to be always grateful.

Yeah, I mean, kind of a mix of everyone else's. Everybody does have a place on this team, and really every team, it's just a matter of you do want to work hard and really show that you can be a part of this team, which is what everybody on the team has done. And there's always more to be done. There's always more work to be done. There's always improvement to be done. Don't settle and keep going because there's always something more. One more person, one more design change that anyone can do.

So brilliant. Well, you all are an inspiration. I think you're going to be inspiring entrepreneurs twice your age and all kinds of folks out there. So thank you for coming on and talking on this podcast. For everyone listening, all of the details of how to get in touch and learn more about this team will be in the show notes along with some pictures of their work. So please don't hesitate to reach out. And all of you, thanks for being here. Thanks for sharing your story and I look forward to more big things to come from you.

Thank you.

Thanks for this opportunity.