I can’t help but believe that the future will be won by the young people. Each day, we see how they rise to the occasion, looking at problems and actively working to find solutions. Two teenagers began their freshman year of highschool by making a choice that would end up changing not just their lives, but the strangers. They signed up for the school’s robotics team.

Yariselle Andujar, 17, and Daniela Moreno, 15, were best friends at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School in Cleveland, Ohio, when they both decided to take a chance and join a team. After signing up for the robotics team, the girls began working with 3D printers which allowed them to make parts for their robots. But both of the girls, now juniors, said they wanted to make a bigger mark on the world.

Yariselle Andujar, left, and Daniela Moreno, sit with their robotics team project: a 3D prosthetic arm. Photo by Ken Blaze

“It started off with a team idea,” Andujar said. “We were trying to figure out how we could impact our community as a first year robotics team. What do we have to provide to our community? We later thought of the idea to use 3D printers to make prosthetic parts, like hands. We figured out that it’s lightweight, but very strong, so we used 3D printers to make the prosthetics.”

We later thought of the idea to use 3D printers to make prosthetic parts, like hands.”

The girls, along with their team, worked with a nonprofit organization called IMAHelps. Along with the group, and a grant from The Great Lakes Science Robotics Initiative, they began working on a prosthetic for a young girl. “We started making a prototype for Samantha, a 12-year-old girl from Ecuador who lost her arm in a bus accident,” Andujar said. “We took her measurements and made prototypes, then the originals. IMAHelps brought the prosthesis back to Ecuador and it fit her perfectly and worked well.”

“Samantha had a dream to write, and we wanted to help her do it,” Moreno said. Once they had their prototype, they displayed it at a high school fair. It was there they met Ernest Priester, a 13-year-old who was also missing an arm. Ernest asked the girls if he could try their prosthetics out. After seeing how happy it made him, they offered to make him a free prosthetic. “He started crying, it brought so much joy to his eyes. And his mom was crying,” Andujar said.

Ernest Priester tries on a 3D printed prosthetic arm. Photo by Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School

After Samantha received her prosthetic, other children in Ecuador that were missing limbs wanted new arms as well. So during the summer, the robotics team traveled to the country and delivered four more prosthetics to those in need.

We were happy to be able to help,” Andujar said.

The girls, who are nearing the end of their high school career, are already planning their futures. “We hope to be roommates at Kent State,” Andujar said, “and become pilots,” Moreno added. The best friends plan to continue making their 3D projects.

“You can do whatever you want to do when it comes to helping people and changing the world,” Andujar said. “There are no limits or age restrictions.” “By offering a little bit,” Moreno said, “we can change a lot.” Watch these future world-changers below!

Sources: People | HIS.edu | Great Science