Chaney STEM students heading to statewide stage, with expert advice

YOUNGSTOWN

A team of Chaney students got some expert help in preparing their presentation for the Believe in Ohio competition.

The team of Victor Tenorio, Rayonna Booth and Zach Wright, all juniors, is the only Chaney team selected from the regional entries to move on to state.

Their pitch is a 3-D-printed prosthetic leg that can be customized for individual amputees. To help them prepare for this weekend’s competition, Pam Lubich, Chaney’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics coordinator, called in help from someone who hears 3-D project pitches for a living.

Rich Wetzel, additive manufacturing business coordinator at the Youngstown Business Incubator, suggested word changes, presentation tweaks and more research.

“Overall, I think it’s really great,” Wetzel told the students.

He urged the team to include a photo of Victor that appeared in The Vindicator last summer. Victor attended Biz 3D, hosted by the Youngstown Business Incubator and Youngstown State University at America Makes, for area high-school students.

It will impress the judges, he said.

“It’s the largest 3-D printing lab in the country,” Wetzel said, referring to America Makes.

Read more about the team and the competition in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.