A kindergarten student in Menands is getting a helping hand from students in RPI.
Two groups of aspiring engineers at the prestigious college are working with William Gangemi, a kindergarten student at the Menands Union Free School District. One group of students from the Introduction to Engineering Design class at RPI is working to make him more independent in his transfers from his wheelchair to walker and back while another group is working to improve his fine motor activities, said Menands physical therapist Jill Hepp.
During a recent class at Menards, RPI students Shilong Wang, Robby Santos and Eric Gonzales observed Gangemi coloring.
“We are following the engineering design process from start to finish and hopefully we can come out with a product that will be beneficial to people and we will learn something in the process,” Gonzales said.
“It’s all part of the process to improve his life and the lives of others,” added Santos.
During a visit on Dec. 9, Santos, Gonzales and classmate Isaac Pan tested a prototype device they engineered to help Gangemi take better control of his writing and coloring.
The test of the “Doodle Do” found that more work was needed to increase the range of motion he had while using the device.
“This is good information for us,” said Gonzales.
Fellow engineering student Ben Driscoll was part of a group that was working on improving Gangemi’s transfers from wheelchair to walker.
“It has been amazing. Most of our classes are in a lecture hall, taking notes and taking exams. This is the first time we have come up with a project that helps people,” he said.
Driscoll said they have created a prototype of an item that would attach to Gangemi’s wheelchair and help him make the transition to walker
“Even if our project doesn’t work, we have learned a lot more from the process than we would if we were just in a class,” he said. The prototype is being evaluated for safety currently.
Driscoll’s group included RPI students Matt Hoover, Miles Lafferty, David Rowe and Peijing Xu.
Driscoll said the prototype may be expanded on and even manufactured by my upperclassmen at RPI.
The students were introduced to Gangemi and Menands School through a chance meeting between Hepp and RPI professor Deanna Thompson.
“Deanna and I met through a mutual friend and chatted about what needs students with different abilities may have. She took this list to her class and the two groups were formed to meet the needs,” Hepp said.
While it may be intimidating for a young student to interact with college students, Gangemi has no qualms with the process.
“William has been the perfect host and showed them how funny and terrific he is,” Hepp said.
As to the RPI students, they were thankful for the lessons they learned at Menands.
“Will is amazing. It has been great working with the Menands school district, and I appreciate this opportunity to learn and grow,” Driscoll said.