Garrison MS students shine in STEM Contest

Congratulations to Garrison CTE STEM students Hanen Mohamed, Mia Roughton and Miriam Hutchens, whose project was selected as a State of Innovation Challenge honoree. The team designed and built a prototype smartphone app to address the problem of teen mental health issues. Out of nearly 90 projects received from over 200 students statewide, their project was one of only eight projects selected for this recognition. Their project was commended for its creativity, detail, and effort.

The State of Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the State of Washington, was designed to engage youth in creating solutions to the real world problems facing our state. This year’s Challenge’s subject was COVID-19 and the team selected from three distinct challenge cases: The Food Chain, Responding to COVID-19, and After COVID-19. The project began when the girls volunteered to participate and soon discovered that each girl had a mutual concern about teens who experience mental health issues, highlighted by the pandemic.

They had an idea to create a non-profit business plan designed to fill in gaps in the mental health resources available locally. After the girls conducted thorough market research, they discovered an abundance of social services and could not find any gaps. Another venue would be a duplication of service so they developed a new plan: Connect teens who may be experiencing mental health crises with available services through a smartphone app.

Working initially through zoom, the girls sought guidance by discussing their project idea with members of the local community as well as an expert in human centered design. Once they started creating the prototype, they thought about different features for their app. Not only could teens use the app to find therapists and resources, they wanted to create an environment for teens to feel fellowship, and so they incorporated a safe space for people to connect. Additionally, they incorporated a prototype bot they named “Zen.” Similar to Siri or Alexa, Zen would enable users to open up about their problems without being self-conscious about speaking to an adult.

To test their prototype, the team even designed and implemented a survey and asked their classmates to answer questions about the app’s features and qualities in a focus group setting. That feedback enabled them to refine the app design even further.

The team was coached and led by Mr. Bertram, STEM Teacher, and Mr. Hammon, 21st CLCC Program Director. “It was challenging to create and nurture a team through Zfirsoom meetings, but in the end, the students performed brilliantly and we couldn’t be more proud of their hard work and achievement. Well done!”