Rivet High School Students Earn Top Honors In Recent Competitions
Three Rivet High School seniors noticed the increasing problem of school shootings occurring in the United States and wanted to do something – anything. So, James Hancock, Cameron Klein and Colten Mouzin said they made it their goal to “come up with a solution to help solve this problem.”
The 18-year-olds invented LyfePack, a tech-integrated Kevlar backpack that promotes energy efficiency utilizing solar panels and improves student safety. LyfePack’s mission is to: “Improve the safety and efficiency of our world one day at a time, one person at a time, and one LyfePack at a time.”
In early April, Hancock, Klein and Mouzin entered their invention in the Innovate WithIN high school pitch competition in Indianapolis, and they won. It was the second annual statewide competition, which this year attracted 422 students from 88 high schools across Indiana.
The competition is hosted by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Indiana Department of Education and Ball State University. Students, who worked individually or in teams, were tasked with creating an innovative idea for a business, product, service or venture.
The Rivet trio advanced through two rounds, which included a video pitch and a regional cities competition, to make it to the state finals in Indianapolis on April 4. In the final round, students pitched their ideas to a panel of judges from Indiana’s entrepreneurial community.
For winning the competition, Hancock, Klein and Mouzin each received a $10,000 cash prize, $10,000 toward one year of in-state tuition, mentoring services and internship opportunities.
LyfePack was also awarded the People's Choice Award for receiving the most votes during the Innovation Showcase, which offered each team the opportunity to display their ideas while allowing the public to vote for their favorite at state finals.
“Every person has a ‘why’ that motivates them to do great things,” the boys said via email. “We spelled ours with a “y” because we feel like the LyfePack is our why.”
Hancock, Klein and Mouzin hope to continue communications with manufacturers and get a patent on their product.
Additional Rivet students earn honors in other recent competitions
On April 16, Rivet’s Academic Teams competed at the State Qualifying meet at North Knox High School.
The Rivet English Team finished first, with Coach Jill Herb and team members Savannah Cook, Tia Tolbert, Abby Niehaus, Kathryn Herman and Taylor Lammert.
Two of the teams placed third. The Social Studies team with Coach Joe Hopf and team members Kathryn Herman, Grant Freeman, Abby Niehaus and Brynn Phillips. And the Interdisciplinary team also placed third with members Taylor Lammert, Savannah Cook, Grant Freeman and Cedric Schleiss.
The Math team finished fourth, with members Drake Dunn, Cedric Schleiss and Luke Weiss.
While the Fine Arts team tied for third place, but ultimately lost in a tiebreaker. Fine Arts team members are Noah Donovan, Taylor Lammert, Colten Mouzin and Tia Tolbert.
On March 12, Rivet High School students competed in TEAMS — Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science — at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Rivet had one junior varsity team which competed at the freshmen/sophomore level, and one varsity team which competed at the junior/senior level. Both teams were coached by Beverly Adams.
Before the competition, each team wrote and submitted essay questions. At the competition, each eight-member team worked together for 90 minutes to solve 80 multiple choice questions focused on eight engineering scenarios related to the annual competition. The teams then had 75 minutes to complete a hands-on design challenge using designated material.
The varsity team won the local competition at Rose Hulman and finished first in Division 1. Varsity placed second overall in the state out of 16 teams. They finished first in design/build, third in essay, and eighth in the multiple choice portion.
Rivet’s varsity team was made up of Savannah Cook, Jack Whitsett, Aaron Wyatt, James Hancock, Grace Waggoner, Cedric Schleiss, Noah Donovan and Grant Freeman. This summer, the varsity team will compete in the National Competition in Washington, D.C.
Rivet’s JV team finished fourth out of 10 teams from across the state in the essay portion; fifth in design/build; sixth in the multiple choice category, and ninth overall in the state. The JV team consisted of Katie Daugherty, Danica Dunn, Drake Dunn, Maddi Halter, Kathryn Herman, Charlie Niehaus, Emma Spurgeon and April Tripp.
Rivet administrators celebrated all participants and coaches with congratulatory social media posts.
