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Ignacio Valley InvenTeam wins Lemelson‑MIT award; board OKs EurekaFest trip
Summary
Students from Ignacio Valley High’s InvenTeam described a Lemelson‑MIT $7,500 grant and secured board approval for an overnight, out‑of‑state trip to EurekaFest June 9–15, 2025. The team said it still needs local fundraising to fully cover travel costs.
Students from Ignacio Valley High School’s InvenTeam told the Mount Diablo Unified Board of Education on Feb. 12 that they had won a $7,500 Lemelson‑MIT Inventing Grant and will travel to the Lemelson‑MIT EurekaFest in June. The board approved the team’s overnight, out‑of‑state trip to EurekaFest, June 9–15, 2025.
Justin Latore, a senior and president of the Ignacio Valley InvenTeam, told trustees the team won one of eight nationwide Lemelson‑MIT awards and is the only team in California selected this year. Team members said their project is an assistive device to help people with limited hand mobility grasp objects and to support communication through hand gestures.
Gabrielle Marie Love described the project’s origin: team members saw a student in special education struggle to use a pencil and reached out to orthopedic professionals for guidance. Althea Bivar and Anaya Taylor described prototype work and the team’s goals to make everyday tasks easier for people with limited hand function.
Team members told the board they are seeking $25,000 to cover trip and competition costs and reported they had raised $10,000 so far. A board member pledged $1,000 toward fundraising during the meeting; the pledge was made from the dais and was noted on the record. The students provided contact information and said they would share a sponsorship proposal by email and on their InvenTeam Instagram page (yvhs_InvenTeam).
The board’s motion to approve the overnight out‑of‑state trip was made by Trustee McDougall and seconded by Trustee Mason and carried on a roll-call vote of the four trustees present (with one trustee absent) and the student trustee’s support.
The trip approval requires the site to submit final trip logistics and a chaperone roster to district offices before departure. Team members invited trustees and staff to an in‑district mid‑grant technical review on Feb. 26 and a robotics showcase on March 5 at Ignacio Valley High School.
Quotes from the students appear verbatim in the board record. The board’s action was limited to approving the overnight travel; fundraising and prototype development will continue under the site’s supervision.
