CONCORD, CA (Aug. 14, 2025) — A group of Ygnacio Valley High School students are giving new meaning to grabbing hold of life and running with it.

The school’s InvenTeam wrapped up the school year by earning accolades for a prototype of an exoskeleton hand controlled through a phone app. The team won the Golden Beaver Award for the most technological advanced invention while competing against eight other schools at MIT’s June EurekaFest.

“I hope it inspires other young inventors like us to keep designing with empathy and to make the world a little more accessible, one invention at a time,” said Althea Danae Vivar, a rising junior.

The team was inspired after observing the daily challenges of a nonverbal special education student at YVHS who faced limited hand mobility, according to engineering teacher and co-group advisor Joseph Alvarico.

“This experience sparked their desire to create a meaningful solution,” he said. “To deepen their understanding, the students also consulted with special education staff and outreach professionals, learning how impaired hand mobility can significantly limit a person’s ability to communicate and actively participate in daily activities.”

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Helping ease daily struggles

The team included graduating seniors Johnathan Perez Baltazar, Justine Latorre and Leqi Li; juniors Aniyah Taylor Carroll, Raymundo Martinez Garcia, Natalie Wong and Gabrielle Love; sophomores Brianna Marie Woods and Vivar; and ninth graders Rubab Haris, Landon Love and Luis Zamudio.

“What meant the most to me was realizing that something we helped create could possibly make a difference in someone’s daily life,” said Vivar. “This wasn’t just a school project to be graded and checked off for credit.”

She believes this invention is a step toward greater inclusivity for people who face challenges that society often overlooks.

“It felt like a real opportunity to help and connect with people in a meaningful way. That realization, knowing our work could ease real struggles, made all the hard work and challenges completely worth it,” Vivar continued.

Multi-step process

The students received the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant for $7,500 in October 2024 and then spent about eight months developing the invention for the competition.

They began by outlining the concept and defining a problem statement, researching possible causes of limited hand mobility and existing solutions, and consulting with professionals. Prototypes involved developing a glove with servo-motor-driven finger actuation, which they controlled via an app. Block coding enabled gestures like grasping objects and simple hand signs.

During a mid-grant technical review in February, the team received community and expert feedback to allow for further refinement.

“This device will provide an affordable alternative to the too often priced-out devices on the market right now,” said Love, citing a driving force in the development of the device given their school and community’s demographics.

“Not only that, the exoskeleton design gives way for adaptability, making it accessible for anyone anywhere. Whether someone is recovering from an injury, living with arthritis or experiencing long-term mobility challenges, we want this device to open doors – literally and figuratively,” she added.

Community-wide support

Alvarico identified the following individuals and organizations for playing a vital role in making this journey possible for the team:

• Mt. Diablo Unified School District. Approved travel to MIT in Cambridge, Mass., and New York City and continues to support innovation and STEM equity across its schools.
• MDUSD Career Pathways and CARES Expanded Learning Program. Covered travel expenses and hotel accommodations.
• Mt. Diablo Education Foundation. Sponsored dorm accommodations at MIT.
• The Andreason Group at Morgan Stanley. Contributed $10,000 to help sustain and grow the student-led invention work.
• Rotary Club of Concord. Sponsored visits to historical and cultural sites in New York City.
• Calitho. Printed professional posters and booklets they handed out at EurekaFest.
• Foley IP Law. Provided pro bono legal services to help the team file a provisional patent application.
• Dr. Shelby Edgar. The director of hand therapy at Golden State Orthopedics & Spine offered expert input during early design stages.
• The YVHS community. Support included generous donations to the InvenTeam’s GoFundMe campaign.

Read more stories by David Scholz.

David Scholz

David Scholz is back in journalism as a freelance writer and photographer after nearly two decades in education. Prior to moving into teaching in 2000, he worked as a full-time journalist since 1988 for rural community and small daily newspapers in Central Ohio and Northern Nevada, and later in California with The Business Journal in Fresno and dailies in the Bay Area, including The Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. More recently Scholz also worked in an editing, writing, and page layout role with the Rossmoor News.