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The Henry Ford Innovation Project
https://www.theinnovationproject.org/

REAL STORIES OF IMPACT

Innovation Generation

Each of the students we showcase is beginning a journey. We’re fortunate to have met them and to have been able to support them in a variety of ways. We see their promise. We share their dreams. We look forward to following their journeys and seeing where they take us.

Some of the young people we meet will change the world on a global scale. Others will make the world a better place within their own communities or families. No matter which, The Henry Ford believes every child should have the opportunity to achieve their potential.

INNOVATORS WHO INSPIRE HER:
Her mom and dad, Rosa Parks, Ray Eames, Black Girls Code

AHA MOMENT:
Because of her leg braces, Ishani was always last to recess. So, she invented the Mochi Ka Boot.

WHAT SHE ASPIRES TO BE:
An inventor, something in the field of medicine or, after her experience on the campaign photo shoot, possibly a film director

ISHANI

PARTICIPANT, 2018 MICHIGAN INVENTION CONVENTION AT THE HENRY FORD

Ishani was born a barrier breaker. Weighing a slight 1.5 pounds at birth, she spent the first few months of her life in NICU at St. John’s Providence Park Hospital in Novi, Michigan. As a result of her premature birth, Ishani has a condition that requires her to wear leg braces and receive frequent treatments and physical therapy. This never slowed her down...

more about ISHANI

INNOVATORS WHO INSPIRE HIM:
Charles & Ray Eames, Nikola Tesla, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison

AHA MOMENT:
Growing up playing LEGOs and video games like SimCity and Cities: Skylines, inspired him to purse design and architecture.

WHAT HE ASPIRES TO BE:
Architect or Urban Planner that designs the city of tomorrow.

WILL

STUDENT, HENRY FORD ACADEMY

Will is a throwback. Spend five minutes with this plainspoken high-school student and you quickly learn he is an old soul. Frank Sinatra’s crooning, 1950s-era design, Charles and Ray Eames and urban planning are all at the center of his universe. Will grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, with an insatiable curiosity and early interest in building.

more about Will

INNOVATORS WHO INSPIRE HER:
Rosa Parks, Melinda at Liberty Craftworks at The Henry Ford, Emily and Tim in the Youth Mentorship Program (YMP)

AHA MOMENT:
The YMP at The Henry Ford pushed her outside her comfort zone and allowed her to see something in herself she didn’t know was possible.

WHAT SHE ASPIRES TO BE:
Pursue a career in medicine and help moms and at-risk teens.

SYLVIA

MENTEE, THE HENRY FORD YOUTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Sylvia is soft-spoken and deep-thinking. Reserved but driven. She believes that life is about more than yourself and when opportunity knocks, you answer.

more about SYLVIA

INNOVATORS WHO INSPIRE HIM:
Nikola Tesla

AHA MOMENT:
While waiting to takeoff on a commercial flight, he saw a blind woman using her cane to count the seats for her to find her own. This formed his idea of a hands-free solution he now calls Seeing for the Blind.

WHAT HE ASPIRES TO BE:
To become an Aerospace Engineer and design jets that run on clean electricity, as well as establish his own foundation to help train next-generation inventors.

SIDHARTH

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT

In 2016, Sidharth had been mulling over an idea to create a high-tech, low-cost, easy-to-use solution for helping the blind navigate their surroundings. This formed his idea of a hands-free solution he now calls Seeing for the Blind.

more about Sidharth

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