Valley STEM Awarded $10K for Invention that Tackles School Shootings

CANFIELD, Ohio – Valley STEM+ME2 Academy is one of fifteen high school teams across the country that has been awarded a $10,000 grant through the Lemelson-MIT Program for the 2018-2019 school year. The grant will be used for high school students to invent technological solutions to real-world problems.

A group of eight students, led by Rachel Young, STEM coordinator and Megan Kovach, English instructor, came together in the summer of 2018 with the goal of solving a real-world problem that they were passionate about.

Valley STEM students chose to tackle school shootings. The goal is to invent a system that will make classrooms safe and secure during an emergency situation.

Students worked diligently to write their initial grant and were awarded the funding to begin building their prototype in October of 2018. These eight students are currently in the process of creating their second prototype to present at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June.  

In order for the Valley STEM+ME2 Academy InvenTeam to travel to MIT in June, the students need to raise $6,500 to cover the cost of their trip. Anyone that is interested in supporting the young inventors can contact the school at 330 729 4000, ext. 1720.

Pictured in back row: Jacob Blasiman (West Branch), Colin Smith (Austintown), Justin Culp (Boardman), Bryce Schmid (Poland) and front row: Alexis Ellinois (Austintown), Hannah Kelly (Canfield), Hannah Rowbottom (Western Reserve) and Ariana Valentin (Campbell).

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