Local student helps disabled Goodwill workers with new device

She’s helping change the lives of Goodwill workers everywhere, and it all started with a device to help eliminate pain.

Mikya Berryhill is a sophomore at Indianapolis Met High School who helped create a device that is essentially a hand-held door hinge, with four small rods that attach to a soft carpet square. Its purpose was to help alleviate thumb pain that disabled workers at Goodwill Commercial Services experienced after the repetitive motion of closing slides all day. Workers place a slide under the door hinge and press on the carpet pad to securely close it.

Mikya, along with Indianapolis Met High School Principal Mark Forner, show us the invention and how the students’ idea let them to Washington, D.C.!HOW IT ALL BEGAN:

• Students submitted the design to the SourceAmerica Design Challenge and were selected to present their design to judges in Washington D.C.

• The team needed business casual clothes to wear for their presentation in D.C. and for congressional meetings. The girls didn’t have the right clothing and knew nothing about dressing professionally. Fashion Blogger Whitney Smith from PumpsandCircumstance.com helped them find outfits at Vintage Vogue.

• Judges in D.C. were impressed by the low cost to make the device (only $20), compared to other schools who spent over $3,000 to make their devices.

• The design team placed 5th out of over 80 schools that submitted designs for the contest.

• While in D.C. they visited the White House, National Monument, Smithsonian Museum and met with Congressman Andre Carson and Senator Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly.

• Three of the girls applied for a summer internship with Conexus, after an executive saw their design and encouraged them to apply.

• Indianapolis Met is a small public charter school that provides hands-on learning opportunities in a smaller school environment.

To learn more, visit: www.Indianapolismet.orgwww.facebook.com/IndianapolisMet