Kade Bolen and Nora Meeker, student employees in Albertsons Library鈥檚 MakerLab, immersed themselves in hands-on problem-solving to serve a patient at St. Luke鈥檚 hospital. Their hard work and creativity paid off when they earned an unexpected top-three finish in the Health Tech Challenge.
In summer 2023, Bolen was introduced to a unique opportunity through Caleb Ashcraft, our MakerLab manager and a student mentor with ties to St. Luke’s Hospital. Ashcraft connected Bolen with a patient who faced a challenge: limited mobility in her hands that made everyday tasks, like applying makeup, difficult. Existing makeup tools and accessories just weren鈥檛 cutting it.
Seeing a chance to help, Bolen designed new 3D printed attachments allowing the patient to use her existing makeup brushes with greater ease and comfort. When Bolen demonstrated the prototype to the patient, her reaction was one of genuine excitement. His design worked鈥攅xceeding expectations and offering greater accessibility and independence. Bolen said 鈥淚 really expected more to go wrong, but the prototype went really well.鈥�
But the story doesn鈥檛 end there. Ashcraft encouraged Bolen to take the next step and get involved in the Venture College鈥檚 Health Tech Challenge, a 鈥榬everse-pitch鈥� competition inviting Idaho university students to pitch innovative solutions to healthcare challenges as part of 青青草app Entrepreneur Week. Accompanying Bolen to the competition was MakerLab coworker Nora Meeker, an undeclared major exploring her options by planning to study abroad next semester.
Competing in the Health Tech challenge offered Bolen and Meeker many benefits beyond funding for their idea. For Meeker, the experience offered invaluable lessons in market research, pitching, and public speaking. The experience also reinforced Bolen鈥檚 confidence in his problem-solving abilities鈥攃onfidence he plans to carry forward into his future software development career.
Looking ahead, Bolen鈥檚 next step is joining the Venture College鈥檚 Incubator program, which will provide mentorship and resources to help further develop the product and explore its potential. Meeker will be pursuing new opportunities in South Korea through the Study Abroad program this spring.
With determination, teamwork, and a passion for solving problems, Bolen and Meeker鈥檚 journey from concept to competition shows how 青青草app State students are not only learning鈥攖hey鈥檙e creating, innovating, and making an impact on Idaho.