EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) – The University of Evansville announced the winners of its 9th annual Changemaker Challenge. Five high school students from the Tri-State were awarded significant scholarships.
The challenge is designed to motivate young people to take on a leading role in identifying and solving challenges in the world through innovation and creativity.
A panel of judges first heard the top 20 pitches and then six ideas were selected for the championship round.
In first place was Tyler Myers from Evansville Day School who won full tuition. Myers project was labeled Heroes Among Us, an interactive application that will equip schools with a curriculum that allows them to educate kids about sensory needs.
Sophie Rodionova and Maryam Adeel from Signature School won second place, $27,000 per year. Their project focused on the matter of the language barrier that many people face when seeking healthcare. Ticket to Health is a medical booklet that will contain questions tailored to each doctor’s needs in different languages. The most common languages in Evansville: Spanish, Ukranian, Russian, Urdu and Mandarin will be included. Different colors will represent different specialties and each language will have a translation to English.
Prab Jayachandran and Kaden Oberlander’s app QuickSports won them third place, with a prize of $23,000 per year. The app connects sports players and brings them to the best sports location near them.
The university says projects from previous years can be found throughout Evansville and include:
- The Upgrade Bike Share stations
- The solar-powered CommuniTree at Mickey’s Kingdom Park
- The Toyota Trinity Stormwater Park
