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Katy Arons ’24 is developing two award-winning venture platforms

Dedicated to improving the communities around her, Katy Arons is currently working on two startups that facilitate safer connections between people.

Katy is majoring in Information Management and Technology with a minor in Information Technology, Design, and Startups (IDS) through Syracuse University’s iSchool.

Katy is working on her first startup with team members Jada Knight, Ben Simpson, and Souurabh Gavhane. CommUnity is a peer-to-peer platform for on-campus reselling of goods and services by students, and the app idea placed first in its category for SU’s Blackstone LaunchPad x Deloitte Digital’s Innovation Sprint. The idea behind CommUnity is like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, but safer for students since it requires people to verify enrollment at their university.

Katy was inspired to pursue the idea her first year, when the semester was ending and she noticed the trash rooms were filled to the brim with gently used items students discarded, such as headboards, bean bags, and even a flat screen TV.

“It was a lot of waste from products that students didn’t need any more or have space to keep for next year,” Katy lamented.

With CommUnity, students can sell these items to their peers, building on the ease of finding items are all within walking distance on campus. The app will also provide an opportunity for students to advertise services of their own, such as cutting hair or doing nails, which can be a more affordable alternative for students who cannot drive off-campus to receive such services.

Currently, the team is receiving mentorship from Deloitte to develop target market analytics, generate interest for an initial baseline of SU users, and plan for the next stages of their product development. The team recently created a profile on Instagram, @mysucommunity, and will be posting more actively in coming weeks.

Aside from this, Katy is also working on Continual, a relationship health and safety platform focused on innovating conversation around consent and intimacy. The app would be centered around a user profile, where identity and health information are verified within the platform, which provides privacy for an individual’s personal information. For example, users can receive a check mark on their profile if they are on birth control or they might indicate the last date they received an STI test without disclosing the particulars of the confidential medical information. Users can connect to each other to send their profile but customize at their discretion what is displayed depending on the context and the level of anonymity they want to maintain.

“College students can sometimes drink too much, and there is nothing to facilitate important conversations around consent. And imagine you meet someone in a bar — it’s tricky to have conversations around sexual health and boundaries when you meet someone for the first time. We need tools like this to provide a less awkward way to check in with a potential sexual partner,” Katy explained.

The application will also feature safety functions, such as emergency contacts for when you’re going on a date. “You can notify a friend of an approximate location, and if you hit a panic button, it will send the exact location,” Katy said.

Katy’s idea placed first in the Health and Life Sciences category in the on-campus qualifier for Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s IDEAS Competition. Continual also advanced to the final round of the Impact Prize competition, hosted by the Blackstone LaunchPad at SU Libraries.

Along her journey, Katy is learning about herself and business development.

“One thing I’m continuing to learn is how to narrow my ideas down by honing them down to a core value proposition. Ideas should be built up initial seeds, not developed all at once,” she reflected. She added that having people with previous experience on similar projects is extremely valuable in doing this because it can be overwhelming to narrow down immediate next steps. Likewise, structure — whether it is through mentorship or through a class with deadlines — is incredibly helpful as well.

As Katy works with different teams, she ponders the meaning of teamwork. “Teamwork is collaboration. It’s knowing people’s strengths and weakness and how they work in conjunction to produce a result we are all happy with. It is understanding that we are all human and that it’s important to make exceptions for that, so you all support each other.”

Something Katy has been grappling with is the difficulty in reinventing the wheel in the tech world. “How do you leave your mark?” she wonders when it seems like there is already an expansive amount of technology and a handful of large companies dominate the field.

When considering what it means to be an innovator, Katy offers an analogy she once heard that stuck with her: “Thomas Edison didn’t invent the lightbulb by designing candle 2.0. Innovation is about producing something entirely new and creative to improve the world. That’s what the iPhone was — it was a lightbulb, not candle 2.0. We can’t even envision what the next computer will look like because it won’t be like the one in front of us today.”

Anyone interested in Katy Arons’s startups can reach out to her at kharons@syr.edu or on her LinkedIn.

Story by Sasha Temerte ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow; photo supplied

Ud Joseph ’25 creates a mentoring network to support youth and build communities

Posse Scholar and Syracuse student Ud Joseph ’25, studying Information Management and Technology in the School of Information Studies, is committed to creating connected and uplifting community. 

Born in Arcahaie, Haiti and raised in Miami in a family of immigrants, Joseph knew what it felt like to struggle to build success. Being the oldest child of a janitor and an Uber driver suffering from health issues, the pressure to be “the best” was tough. Living in a lower-income neighborhood in Miami, Joseph witnessed young immigrants who grew up fall victim to some of the rampant drug and violence surrounding his community. “In Miami we were in a low-income part with drugs and violence, and a lot of immigrants feel like a victim there”, said Joseph.

In high school, Joseph devoted himself to his studies and work. Confirmation for all his hard work came in being selected as one 1,400 nominees to be a recipient of the Posse Foundation Scholarship. Posse is a program that carefully selects a small group of diverse, talented, and academically excellent leaders to receive a full-tuition scholarship to a university of their choice.

Coming to Syracuse University, Joseph decided to pursue a highly technical degree in the field of cyber security and technology with plans to study abroad in Korea. Joseph did not want to forget his roots and wanted to find a way to help the community.

Hoping to do something to lift up communities like his, Joseph began to dream of ways he could meaningfully give back to his community and impact others towards success.  As he dove further into his degree and studied the technology he was so passionate about, he began to search for a way to combine his studies with social impact and utilize his passion for giving back to community.

When Joseph was a sophomore, he decided to step outside of his comfort zone and challenge himself to take classes that would push him and fuse his passions for technology and innovation with his desire to contribute to his community. He took the IDS 301 “Big Ideas” course in the iSchool, which challenges students to develop various innovative ideas and pitch them to business leaders and innovators in the Syracuse community. His time in the class also introduced Joseph to the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse, where he found a collaborative community and encouraging space to further pursue his dreams of giving back to his community.

Joseph has participated in Blackstone Launchpad competitions like the Ideas Competition, Deloitte Digital Innovation Sprint, and most recently the Impact Prize. Through Blackstone Launchpad, Joseph was invited to be a panelist for GenZSpeaks hosted by RippleMatch where he and other college students discussed Diversity and Inclusion within the current job atmosphere in front of Executive Leaders and Recruiters.

Reflecting on his time growing up, Joseph realized something that is essential to his and many individuals’ success is the power of positive role models and supportive mentors. “Being a first-generation college student, I always felt lost and didn’t have anyone to turn to,” reflected Joseph. “I always knew I needed a program that aligned with my passions. I am happy the iSchool and Blackstone Launchpad helped me find that avenue.”

With this in mind, Joseph set out to create his own nonprofit mentoring immigrant communities of children and teens. He hopes with support and encouragement to pursue ideas and dreams with practical advice to do so, that children growing up in areas with lack of access to opportunities or external support will feel more supported  to pursue education and enriching careers.

Joseph is currently implementing his venture idea in Syracuse. He’s involved in ongoing conversations with the Mayor of Syracuse’s office, identifying community partnerships and Syracuse neighborhoods to launch a mentorship program. Particularly with Syracuse as a diverse city with particularly high rates of income inequality, Joseph’s program has the potential to impact immigrant youth towards a future filled with opportunities.

In thinking about the motivation for starting his nonprofit, Joseph thinks first of his family. “My parents played a big part in my education and career journey. Seeing how hard they work and the amount of effort they do for their children makes me feel like everything I’m doing has to mean something. “ For Joseph, the meaning doesn’t just lie in his own personal success but in using his success as a catalyst for those around him.

Story by Claire Howard ’23, Global Fellow.

Mauricio Luna ’24 makes attending U.S. colleges more accessible for students in León

After 12 hours of travel and three layovers, Mauricio Luna steps off his flight from León, Guanajuato to Syracuse, New York. As he boards an Uber for his dorm, a flurry of eager and nervous anticipation flutters in his stomach. Far from the colorful architecture of his warm hometown in Mexico, Mauricio is unsure what to expect from his new home at a U.S. college campus.

Since his arrival at Syracuse University, Mauricio has come a long way. Now a junior majoring in policy studies at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with a minor in history, Mauricio is thriving as an involved member of the campus community.

“Coming here, I saw educators who genuinely care about students’ wellbeing and growth,” Mauricio said, comparing the stark differences to what he saw in many for-profit high schools in other places.

Just about 13,000 students from Mexico study at U.S. colleges each year, only a handful of which are from León. With few mentorship opportunities on U.S. college applications available in León, high school seniors have limited help with applications, making the idea of attending an American university a distant thought for most. Students know next to nothing about the foreign application process, don’t have guidance to prepare for standardized tests, and have trouble navigating the cultural differences and new lingo like “Advanced Placement” or “SAT Scores.”

Despite being a bustling business district — the shoe capital of the world— León currently has no college application preparation companies, like Mexico City does. At the same time, León’s challenged school system leaves creative, motivated students with minimal options for pursuing a robust higher education.

This is where Pathway Prep comes in.

Last summer, Mauricio connected with a student from León who expressed that she wanted to go to an American university. Unfortunately, receiving tutoring internationally seemed expensive, and most companies’ tutors seemed older and far removed from when they went through the application process themselves. Nevertheless, the hopeful high school senior needed help with the SAT and Common Application, and Mauricio was a student who recently underwent the same experience. Mauricio got to work, tutoring the girl in SAT questions, coaching her on her personal statement, and guiding her through filling out the final application.

“Her diagnostic SAT test score was very low — not because she didn’t have the capability to reach a high score, but because she had never seen an SAT before. After 2 months of working together, she took another test and saw a score increase of 430 points. Seeing the score increase made the girl’s confidence about going to college skyrocket,” Mauricio recalled. He hopes to inspire this same feeling in other students from his community.

Since then, Mauricio had been approached by more high schoolers, so he decided to develop a tutoring and college consulting company that will assist León students with SAT preparation and U.S. university applications. Pathway Prep would be a more affordable solution for students in León, offering both 1:1 coaching and less expensive group tutoring sessions, which most other companies lack.

“Most people only know the name Harvard,” Mauricio lamented. “I want to introduce students to other amazing schools they can apply to because they don’t know what’s accredited and reputable and what’s not.”

Besides introducing students to the limitless possibilities of universities they can apply to, Pathway Prep will also acclimate students to the lengthy and confusing U.S. college application process. From defining terms in the application to consulting students on their persona statement essays, Pathway Prep will equip students from León — and eventually, all of Guanajuato — to submit strong applications that highlight their potential for success.

Mauricio plans to build a pipeline for students to attend American universities by partnering directly with high schools in León. To do so, he is contacting principals, who welcome Mauricio to share his experiences at the schools and can connect interested students with Pathway Prep.

Mauricio reflects on the importance of having a support system, both in his education and in building his startup. He has been receiving mentorship from professors, SU’s Blackstone LaunchPad, and advisors back home, who have encouraged him to take his idea seriously and received a better understanding of how to structure the business. He has already created a business model, competed in the recent Blackstone LaunchPad Impact Prize competition, received valuable feedback, and plans to continue working on his venture with help from the Syracuse University innovation ecosystem.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out to people for help,” Mauricio recommended to other budding entrepreneurs nervous about starting their idea.

Mauricio finds a lot of value in leveraging collaboration to grow and improve. In building a team, he seeks equally motivated individuals with complementary skillsets that can fill in his own gaps of knowledge and provide innovative ideas of their own. Recently, he recruited another student, Sasha Temerte, as a business partner, and he hopes to continue expanding his team.

Pathway Prep is currently hiring paid English and math tutors to develop a comprehensive SAT preparation curriculum and be able to offer services to more students. If you adept at tutoring English or math for the SAT, please contact Mauricio at jmluna@syr.edu.

Story by Sasha Temerte ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow; photo supplied

Ben Delmarsh ’22 wins the first LaunchPad AR/VR Innovation Challenge with his death tech innovation

Ben Delmarsh ’22 (VPA major in communications and rhetorical studies) won the LaunchPad’s first AR/VR Innovation Challenge for Afterlife AR – a concept to capture a person, their stories and memories in AR. The competition was judged by SU LaunchPad alum Shawn Gaetano, a recent graduate of the Techstars LA music accelerator who is building his AR company, Solace Vision, in Tulsa. 

It’s the one thing we can’t escape. Death — specifically death tech — has become a growing industry in the face of an aging population. Research indicates that 111,320 baby boomers are likely to die this year, 221,347 will die in 2029, and 388,860 in 2039. Boomer deaths will reach a peak in 2044, when 420,236 people born between 1946 and 1964 will die.

But it is not just planning for death. It is facing the challenges that accompany aging and life stage planning. Every 65 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease will be diagnosed this year Those are small numbers compared to the 1.7 million people of all ages who die from a chronic illness each year.

With those numbers comes a market opportunity to capture stories, memories and make meaning for those facing mortality.  Death tech is increasingly focused on Innovations that provide people with tech enabled solutions related to end-of-life planning, with startups pioneering innovations around end-of-life space for families, aging populations, people facing challenges such as Alzheimer’s, ALS, MS, Parkinson’s disease or other chronic conditions, the terminally ill, or those planning for the inevitable.

Delmarsh is working on an idea for a mobile app that uses augmented reality (AR), which is a digital interface – both iOS and Android — on a smartphone, iPad or tablet, to display a virtual model of la person, layered over wherever it is being viewed, using photogrammetry (PG).

Families of loved ones could enjoy AR encounters with loved ones from anywhere, offering personalized memories, reflections and experiences which can cross over time and space through generations to come.

And, for those that like to explore old graveyard and gravesites, someone could scan a barcode, and virtually meet interesting individuals and learn more about them in their own words.

Delmarsh plans to use photogrammetry, a series of photographs at both close and long range of a person which can be collected and analyzed with software, and converted into accurate 3D models. It is a cost-efficient means to quickly produce very accurate models for AR at scale. By contrast, custom built AR requires memory of how an object looks to build its digital equivalent and is extremely time consuming and bespoke.

Using PG technology, photos will be transformed into three dimensional digital assets that can be configured with software and AR apps typically built for mobile devices using tools through engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, Vuforia, and ARKit.

Coming in second place in the LaunchPad AR/VR Innovation Challenge was the team of Jack Ramza ’22 G’23 and Zach Goldstein ’22 G’23 for their concept for DIVR, an AR platform to discourage driving under the influence.

LaunchPad AR/VR entrepreneurial challenge Friday, November 18

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https://www.roadtovr.com/mother-meets-recreation-of-deceased-child-in-vr/

Join us for an AR/VR entrepreneurial challenge competition Friday, November 18 at 1 p.m. in the LaunchPad. The event is open to SU students who are working on concepts using AR/VR and interested in bringing them to market. One top prize of $100 will be awarded the winner. The judge is SU alum Shawn Gaetano, a recent graduate of the Techstars LA music accelerator who is building his AR company, Solace Vision, in Tulsa. Come with a five minute pitch in any format. This is an in person event with virtual judging.

Neil Adams ’24 prioritizes entertainment when creating advertising content

With his headphones in and deep focus in his gaze, Neil Adams peers at the video editing software on his computer. He turns to a notebook on his desk and jots down some ideas for relatable trends he can incorporate into his most recent client ad. Flipping a few pages back, he also passes by a list of content idea for his own social media pages.

Neil Adams is a Television, Radio, and Film major in Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications and the founder of Candid Content Creation, a social media management company with an emphasis on entertainment before sales.

Neil understands that it’s important for ads to mirror the content people already watch on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to make the videos engaging enough for viewers to finish watching. When creating content that is entertaining first—and selling someone something is the afterthought, rather than the priority—the sales come more naturally.

Neil noted, “The world of entertainment is changing at an exponential rate. Companies need help advertising to this changing world of entertainment.”

Growing up on the internet, Neil noticed there was a whole world of possibilities to forge his own path in life. Neil’s dad was also a video producer with his own company, so being taught to record and edit videos at a young age was influential for Neil to view video editing as a promising opportunity. Neil has always sought to learn the skills that aren’t taught in school, often turning to mentors such as his dad or free resources on the internet to teach him innovative video editing skills, interaction strategies to grow social media pages, and the mindset of hard work and delayed gratification.

“You might not see results for a long time,” Neil said. What matters is persistence in building skills and making decisions that will ultimately grow the business. “Put in the hours and work at the beginning when you’re not getting recognition because those are the things that will help you succeed in the future.”

As Neil developed his business acumen, he learned how to convert one-time projects into consistent, long-term clients. Since starting, Neil has worked with clients ranging from a local yacht chartering company to big names such as Dot Cards, DoorDash, and Dell. He explains that to foster strong client relationships, it is important to show respect and make people feel valuable and appreciated.

Neil explained that above all, results matter most. “People will keep coming back to you if you’re successful.”

Nevertheless, Neil has also learned the value of saying no to projects to preserve his time for the initiatives that matter most and to focus his attention on future business growth.

Another lesson Neil has learned is how to partner with other creators.

“By the first deadline of working with someone, you can usually tell whether they will be able to successfully complete everything they need to,” Neil said, encouraging other entrepreneurs to trust their intuition when it comes to working with people.

While his business focus is on content creation for clients, Neil also films content for his own social media on YouTube and TikTok. Much of his content is about college lifestyle, travel, and making money online.

When asked what it means to be an innovator, Neil said, “It’s to start something based on your own ideas and ambitions, rather than what the people around you are telling you to do.”

In the coming years, Neil is planning to hire more people and work with new clients. He especially hopes to immerse himself more in creative videography.

Neil’s portfolio can be found on @candidcontentcreation on Instagram.

Story by Sasha Temerte ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow; photo supplied

Gabriel Davila-Campos ’25 on fusing technology, entrepreneurship and academic excellence

Man in a check shirt

Gabriel Davila-Campos ’25, studying Applied Data Analytics with a concentration in Information Security Management along with a minor in Innovation, Design and Start-Ups, in the School of Information Studies, has always been dedicated to excellence. From receiving a full tuition scholarship from the POSSE Foundation to attend Syracuse University to developing a technological startup while in school, his dedication to his work is marked with passion.

Davila-Campos’ journey of success has not been linear path, but rather one marked with perseverance. Born and raised in Miami, Florida to a Nicaraguan Mother, he has always maintained a focus on getting an education and academic success. The Posse Scholarship identifies talented high school students with extraordinary leadership potential and gives them full tuition scholarships to partnering universities. Davila-Campos’ attained the Posse Scholarship while in high school, securing his entry into Syracuse University, and was one of ten students to be chosen from Florida, out of thousands of applicants.

As a first-generation college student, he struggled with feelings of belonging and adjusting because he was new to the Syracuse University campus. Davila-Campos joined the Resident Hall Association as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion as a much-needed resource for other struggling students of color and to foster a better sense of community. His hardships continued to take a toll on his mental health, and as the first semester of his freshmen year ended, he realized that something had to change: for both his own well-being and his academics.

“I realized there was a job to be done. I can’t afford to not be successful – I need to get my family out of the situation they are in. If I don’t succeed academically, what will I be able to do?” said Davila.

He decided to try a new path and find his newfound drive to create change for himself and those around him. He is determined to surround himself with other incredible students and a community that is encouraging and collaborative. Davila-Campos enrolled in the School of Information Studies’ IDS 301, the first of the Innovation, Design and Start-Ups Minor courses, and was introduced to the world of entrepreneurial ideation. He discovered a newfound passion for technology and innovation under the sense of creative entrepreneurship.

In his second semester, he poured himself into his studies and was rewarded with an outstanding 4.0 GPA, with the distinction of being on the Dean’s list and a new calling for himself: technological innovation.

He spent this year pursing entrepreneurship and developing his own startup. He recently attended the ACCelerate Festival in Washington D.C., a national celebration of innovation and creativity which partners various universities in a four-day convention. Student representatives come together and meet in the Smithsonian Museum of American History in a national convention to foster new creative ideas through cross-collaborative teams, possible entrepreneurial opportunities and to promote their universities’ own projects. Davila-Campos represented the School of Information Studies Innovation, Design and Start-Ups program. He interacted with hundreds of interested parents, students, alumni, and faculty during the convention. For the Syracuse University booth, he helped facilitate a creativity competition to inspire interest in the Innovation, Design and Start-Ups Program.

He was featured in a published short film by Newhouse, the School of Communications. He also recently participated and pitched in a Digital Transformation Challenge co-hosted by the Blackstone LaunchPad and Deloitte Digital.

Davila-Campos has now created his own company that draws from his interests in technology: Pro-Tech. Pro-Tech is a company that utilizes blockchain technology as a router to provide digital security to the everyday consumer. The router can secure digital assets and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) into one streamlined mobile app and notifies the consumer of any security breaches, and automatically moves information to protect it.

“Pro-Tech is a constant safety blanket, that regardless of a device’s Wi-Fi or data connection, you know you have control over your digital footprint. I am interested in IT (Information Technology) and being a part of advancing technology because you can create anything you want, with endless possibilities in a digital world.”

Today, Davila-Campos continues his interests in numerous ways on campus while he works on his company Pro-Tech. He is now the Director of PR and Marketing in the Resident Hall Association, where he continues his passion for being a mentor for others and an advisor of resident hall policies on campus. Moreover, his work with marketing does not end there, as he is a social media sales and marketing intern for Syracuse Cultural Workers, aiding them in their mission to “…nourish communities that honor diversity and creative expression, and inspire movements for justice, equality, and liberation while respecting our Earth and all its beings.” Utilizing his skills in content creation to help improve overall media traffic by 50%. He is also an ITS Lab Attendant, where he prepares technological laboratory equipment and resolves experimental data issues relating to software design, game study, and projects in digital humanities.

His path at Syracuse University led to discovering a newfound passion for technological innovation through incredible and continuation of passion. Davila-Campos’ story is not only one of a tenacious individual with remarkable persistence but one with incredible dedication to his community and a successful student entrepreneur.

Story by Claire Howard ’23, LaunchPad Global Fellow.

Domenic Gallo ’24 is reimagining alternative and assistive communications tech to empower individuals with speech disabilities

“I have always been drawn to creative problems, yet I have always solved those problems in technical ways. I am very left-brained. But people need to know being left-brained can be just as creative as being right-brained. In fact, if you are forced to pick the perspective of just one side, you lose the overlap between them. That is where all the good things happen.” This is a personal philosophy explained of Domenic Gallo ‘24, a sophomore in the industrial design program at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

This semester, Domenic has enjoyed the opportunity of putting his creative problem-solving skills to the test in an inclusive design class offered through the Intelligence ++ program. The elective—available to both undergraduates and graduates—challenges students to ideate and build solutions for challenges unique to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

In a DES400 class, Domenic has been working alongside fellow VPA sophomore, Bella Young ’24, and his new friend Chase Coleman, a student from Syracuse University’s InclusiveU program. “Chase has a form of autism that makes it difficult for him to communicate verbally,” he told me. “Typically, individuals who struggle with this use a type of app called an AAC—which stands for augmentative and alternative communication—so that they can talk with people. It is basically a grid of images on a touch screen or keyboard with text editor used by people who have non-verbal autism to speak. You string together sentences using the images on screen and then the software speaks it for you.”

“But the problem is that most of these systems are antiquated and outdated in terms of current technology,” Domenic continued. “Most of them use ClipArt images and interfacing that can feel infantilizing or even demeaning for someone like Chase to use. The other issue is that for someone like me who usually communicates verbally, I have the liberty of being able to use words in a way that expresses my personality. But Chase’s interface on the other hand, it is not tailored to his personality or how he speaks. If he wanted to tell a joke for example or use humorous connotation, that is something he cannot really do right now.”

So, what should be done about this communications roadblock? Domenic gave me the rundown of his solution, maintaining his cool, calculated demeanor as he spoke. “What we want to do is modernize ACC, and we are trying to do this in two ways. One is by implementing AI technology to create better predictive text pathways that feel more natural to use. The hope is that it would be able to match whatever speech style Chase wants to use and suggest things he might want to say next. The other thing we have been thinking about is creating more dynamic layouts. The AAC grid is very structured right now, basically just a grid of squares. We are seeing if laying it out in different formats would allow for better personalization.”

Another aspect of Domenic’s product development process is exploring the idea of creating a brand new, keyboard-like interface by utilizing his CAD and 3D printing expertise. “When you are using an AAC on an iPad, you are pressing the touch screen for haptic feedback. You must go through the different categories to select the words you want to use. This works for some people, but what I want to test out is if it might be more beneficial for the disability community to have a dedicated physical interface. I am thinking that it might be less ‘busy’ than navigating a tablet.”

Domenic said that he had taken inspiration from DJ soundboards for his initial design. When asked how large he wanted the product to be, he unfolded his arms and estimated the rough dimensions with his hands. “Probably like a foot-long square; 8 x 8 with 64 buttons total. I want it to be something that is portable enough to fit in a backpack. I designed the physical model using CAD software, and now I am working on an app that can interface directly with the buttons. The idea is to have them light up with different options based on which word is being chosen. So, if Chase presses the word ‘I’ on the grid for example, a group of most-likely words or phrases with their associated colors and images will pop up for him to select next. In time, the goal is to have it adapt to his most frequent choices and preferred style of speaking. Think of it like iMessage recommendations, but on an actual keyboard.”

His proposal, “Reimagining AAC,” supervised by Professor Donald Carr, just received a SOURCE Fellowship of up to $5000 to continue research on the project.

Domenic describes what he is enjoyed most about his industrial design program thus far. “What’s great about the major is we do a ton of different things,” he says.” We cast a wide net.” Prior to the inclusive design class, Domenic worked on a couple of different projects, including one with the Smart Visions Systems (SVS) Laboratory at Syracuse University, where he organized brand language and a concept for an occupancy detection software. He was brought on towards the end of the project to help develop an HVAC system which utilized cameras and AI technology to determine how many people were occupying a given space. Based on how many occupants there were, the system would then adjust the temperature of the room accordingly to conserve energy costs. Domenic also held a summer internship at a 3D printing laboratory where he made a print farm and learned about cloud-based rapid prototyping. “I built 3D printers from scratch,” he said. “I didn’t know much about electrical engineering before then, so half the fun was learning how to wire without blowing myself up.”

Perhaps Domenic would have been exposed to it earlier had he chosen to go into mechanical engineering like he had initially intended as a high schooler, but he found that it did not offer the level of creativity he was looking for. “The other thing that I love about industrial design is that some of my classmates are artistic, while others are not as much. But there is an entire spectrum of industrial design projects, and you get to choose where you want to land on it. Especially with this thing I am working on now, I get to talk with expert users and people with disabilities who can tell me directly if what I am doing is working for them. We are designing with them, not just for them, and that feels fulfilling to me. I cannot wait to see how it turns out.”

Story by Jack Rose ’24, Global Media Fellow

Emma Rothman ’21 Writes About “Living Like She’s Dying” in Her New Book, “Things My Therapist Told Me Not to Say: Ten Years Post Heart Transplant”

On a first impression, it’s unlikely you would assume that Emma Rothman ‘21—a former Blackstone LaunchPad Global Media Fellow and the 2019 Hunter Brooks Watson Scholar at the LaunchPad —received a life-changing heart transplant when she was just twelve years old. From that day on, she was prescribed a new life structure that never felt like her own. Struggling to find balance between being “normal” and chronically ill, and dealing with issues of body image, guilt, anger, and ego, Emma has been on a long journey to recovery that went beyond her physical health. It’s this exact journey which she shares within the pages of her newly released book, “Things My Therapist Told Me Not to Say: Ten Years Post Heart Transplant.”

Every author sets their sights on the day when they’ll be able to hold their finished book in their hands for the first time, and just a few weeks ago, Emma finally reached that long-awaited finish line. Four carboard boxes showed up on her front doorstep containing a few hundred print copies direct from her publisher. As a first-time author myself at the querying stage, I can only imagine the elation she felt to see her hard work paid off in a tangible form. I was eager to congratulate Emma on this huge accomplishment and dive deeper into her experience with the writing and publication process.

For this book, Emma decided to partner with New Degree Press (NDP), a community-owned hybrid publishing house based out of Potomac, Maryland. Think of it as “guided self-publishing.” Authors who publish with NDP are entitled to the full creative control, intellectual property rights, and royalties from sales of their book, yet maintain the added benefit of marketing, editing, and distribution services like that of a traditional publisher. And for first timers like Emma, NDP also offers a community-based book writing initiative called The Book Creators Program to help authors develop a first draft manuscript over the span of about five months, all while working alongside a cohort of fellow passionate writers.

Emma at an authors’ book reading and signing

“Now that I’m finished, I definitely thought it would feel much easier in hindsight,” Emma told me. “I didn’t really know what to expect going in. It was a huge learning curve, and I had to do a lot more leg work than I’d thought initially. For example, we put a lot of effort into launching and rallying support for a pre-sale crowdfunding campaign last April which paid for the cost of publishing the book, which I’m grateful for. Most of the time, authors are expected to front all the money for publishing, which can easily become a huge barrier for authors of different socio-economic statuses. This type of approach can be great for helping certain stories and voices reach the public that might not be able to otherwise.”

Readers who pick up a copy of the book will be greeted by a colorful, pop art, blue-haired likeness of Emma taking a selfie at a bathroom sink, with the heart transplant scar on her right breast front and center. Generally, the first impression a reader will get from a book is based upon its cover, which is why it’s important for an author to think about a design that best represents their book’s contents. That’s why I wanted to ask Emma—who had legitimately rocked a full head of blue hair at one point in life—what her inspiration for the cover of the book was. The answer that she gave me was incredibly insightful. “The subject matter of the book is pretty deep,” she said. “So, I wanted to have something that could easily reflect that. The cover art is actually based off a random mirror selfie I found in my camera roll that I had forgotten about. But when I discovered that picture again, I liked the premise my book cover being like that mirror selfie because you can’t really hide anything in the mirror; what you see is what you get. I also wanted my scar to be front and center to show that I’ve reclaimed it for myself, because it was something I tried to hide for so long. And then the pop art? That’s just I style I enjoy. The contrast is intense, and I like how it jumps out at you.”

I had the opportunity to read about halfway through Emma’s book before my conversation with her, and I must say, the cover is surely an accurate representation of what’s written on the pages. Emma’s written voice is emotionally raw, courageously unfiltered, and invitingly conversational as she leads you through the personal accounts, experiences, and thoughts that have impacted her life post-transplant. I don’t want to spoil too much—because there is some genuinely good stuff to be spoiled, and I’d highly recommend that you pick up a copy and read for yourself—but something that resonated with me as a reader was the feeling of resentment that she associated with having a traumatic, life-altering event thrust upon her involuntarily. As a transplant recipient, Emma was unable to preserve the same privacy and normalcy that was afforded to other kids her age, and she involuntarily became the poster child of Hearts for Emma, a 501(c) 3 organization spearheaded by her own family and her local community to aid families of children with heart disease and support educational initiatives relating to heart transplantation and organ/tissue donation.

While Emma remains incredibly proud of the effort put forth by her family and community towards the cause, a great deal of her past resentment stemmed from the fact that she was hardly given any agency as to who she wanted to share this vulnerable piece of her life with, not to mention when she wanted to do it and how much she wanted to share. But now that Emma’s had the opportunity to reclaim that power and agency for herself through her own penmanship, she’s feeling a bit differently about it: “There was a lot I had to share with my family and let stew in my own head for so long, and it was getting to be suffocating towards the end. It felt like I was in this cage that’s starting to corrode with rust, and I needed to free myself before it could collapse on my head. But once I hit submit and I saw my book go out in the world, I felt like I shed ten pounds of emotional weight and trauma right then and there.”

Emma continued: “The hard part with authoring about personal experiences is that you’re not just thinking about yourself anymore.  You’re also thinking about different audiences and what they can get out of your story too. I had early drafts written where I was trying too hard to write objectively and hold back my emotions, and the result was a manuscript that read too flatly. So, I made a promise to myself on later drafts to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. When something started to feel icky while writing, my first instinct was to run from it, but because I was also on a deadline and people were holding me accountable, I just needed to keep pushing forward. There are so many things I shared on those pages that I didn’t think I ever would, but the reward that’s coming from that has been hard to fully explain. My truth set me free, and I think it’s doing the same for others.”

Through her book, Emma’s hopes to provide insight into the experience of what it’s like to lead a life as a heart transplant patient, as well as offer her perspective as a child who spent a great deal of her life in and out of the pediatric healthcare system. “When we picture heart transplant patients, we often picture older people who are at the end of their old life,” she said. “But that isn’t always the case, and these people—me included—aren’t as physically incapable as we’re assumed to be. Part of the reason why I chose a conversational style of writing is because I wanted to put some humanity back into the perception of hospital patients.”

Yet, even if you aren’t someone who has experienced a life-altering procedure or is closely related to someone who has, Emma’s candid struggle with her own identity and emotional state is sure to resonate with you in one way or another, because there remains underlying theme to Emma’s message that she wanted to make sure readers understood as we wrapped up our conversation: “When you are talking to people who are transplant recipients, or anybody who has gone through something difficult in general, always let them come to you first. Some might not be as comfortable or willing to talk about their trauma as others, and those individuals can sometimes receive questions that come across as intrusive or hurtful. I know that isn’t always the intention behind it, but what it does show me is that there’s a lot of room for education. People usually come from a place of wanting to know more about what an individual has gone through so that they can orient themselves to better help that individual, but it isn’t always the traumatized person’s job to teach you. Sometimes what that person needs are the time and space to process it for themselves before they open it up to the people who care. I’m hoping readers can take that away from the conversation.”

“Things My Therapist Doesn’t Want Me to Say: Ten Years Post Heart Transplant” is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback formats. If you do choose to purchase and read a copy of the book, please remember to leave a review if you enjoyed it, as it helps independent authors like Emma reach even more readers who could benefit from her story. You can also get in touch with Emma on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok

Story by Jack Rose ’24, Global Media Fellow

Come to a Grater Things pop-up November 17

man with a hat
Aidan Turner ’25, founder of Grater Things

Grater Things is taking over the Blackstone Launchpad in Bird Library this Thursday, November 17 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for its debut solo pop-up shop in Syracuse. The first 100 paying customers will find a FREE Glazed and Confused donut waiting for them.

The brand has also put together countless experiences such as a tote bag painting station run by members of the charity organization Ottothon, an exclusive t-shirt release of a collaboration between players on the Syracuse Football team and Out2Win Sports, the Camp Kesem charity selling their newest corduroy hats, a limited edition bucket hat collaboration with the Syracuse School of Architecture, student artists displaying their sculptural art, and to top it off a photo booth to show off your new purchases! 

Commonly found in J Michael shoes and a proud participator in the Popcycle pop-up shops, Grater Things was founded by Aidan Turner ‘25 (School of Architecture) in 2020. Grater Things is a premium loungewear supply brand dedicated to following your dreams and achieving success while also enjoying the journey you take to reach that point. The motto of making the most of life experiences is expressed through the brand’s logo–a cartoon cheese grater–which emphasizes having fun with your journey to success since that is what you will remember the most out of life. 

Syracuse University longs for a student-run, hometown clothing brand–and here it is. Come down this Thursday to shop Grater Thing’s newest styles and support this year’s largest student-run brand pop up.

Grater Things pop-up this summer in Rhode Island