Local students on path to success with new invention

    Murphy – Seven Murphy Middle School students could be millionaires by the time they graduate from high school.
    They created a product called a Smart Syringe, for which they have already earned $750 in Smart Tank competitions to create a prototype and get a patent for their idea. Teachers and Smart Tank judges have told them their non-reusable syringes are a multimillion-dollar idea.
    “It’s kinda crazy,” Bria Haines said. “I never thought that as an eighth-grader I’d be at the start of a company.”
    The students – Haines, Lyden Raxter, Lexie Graves, Trista Allison, Jonah Hardin, CeCe Ward and Trinity Mickens – are all eighth-grade students in the Academically & Intellectually Gifted program. They were approached by the middle school AIG coordinator early in the school year about creating a team for the Smart Tank competition.
    At first, they were just doing it for fun, although they had a very serious reason for their idea – they wanted do something to fight the drug problem in our community.
    “How many times have you gone to the park and seen a needle on the ground?” Haines said. Two students on the team added that they are no longer living with their parents because of drug use.
    The Smart Syringe is a plastic syringe with a metal needle that retracts and locks into place after one use so the needle cannot be found and reused. If someone tries to pull out the needle, it breaks. It is for medical use, but the design prevents those finding a disposed needle reusing it for illegal substances.
    “I think it will actually change lives,” Haines said.
    The students were coached by Tonia Forrister, the middle schools AIG coordinator, and Breeze Raxter, the AIG liaison at the school. Forrister said the kids ended up not needing coaching, everything from idea to presentation was done by the students with minimal help from teachers.
    Each student had a role – Hardin and Raxter worked on the development and design, Allison handled finances, Mickens created the power point for their presentation, Graves designed their T-shirts, Haines was the spokesperson and Ward performed a variety of duties.
    “I can’t begin to tell you how impressed I am with this group of students,” Forrister said. “Not only are they forward-thinking problem solvers, they are compassionate young men and women that truly want to change the world for the better. As adults, we could take lessons from these students.”
    This is the first year Cherokee County students have participated in Smart Tank competitions.
    In the Smart Tank competitions, student team pitch their idea for a product and earn funds to proceed with their project, similar to the television show Shark Tank. The students first presented their idea in the county competition, where they won $100. They advanced to the regional competition at Southwestern Community College in Sylva, where they were given $750.
    Larry Trout, one of the regional judges, advised the team to work with Western Carolina University’s Rapid Center to develop their product prototype and business plan.
    “We hope to start mass producing as soon as possible,” Haines said.
    The team, which works under the business name Educate to Eliminate, is already thinking of other products to complement their Smart Syringe.