High School Robotics Team Builds Custom Wheelchair for Little Girl

A high school robotics team in North Dakota recently created a special set of wheels for a little girl in need.

In the past, the Thunder Robotics Team, comprised of students from Northwood and Hatton High School, designed robots that could do things like pick up and toss a ball.

However, this time the team focused its efforts on making life a little easier for a four-year-old girl named Emma Basting, who was paralyzed by a tumor on her spine, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

Following months of work, the team built a motorized wheelchair for Emma, complete with pink wheels.

“We made the actual joystick to control the chair, be able to swivel in and out so she can get in and out of the chair more easily,” said Dylan Enger, a junior at Hatton High School.

“She has a whole life ahead of her and anything we can do to help her take that life back is well worth it,” he commented.

This week, she got her new chair and has begun chasing her brother around the house in it. Her mother said their home has been filled with laughter since the new wheels arrived.

“It gives you a chance to inspire others,” said sophomore Myelle Redding. “There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing that smile on that little girl’s face.”

In May, a robotics team from Farmington High School in Minnesota was honored by first lady Melania Trump for its design of a motorized wheelchair for a little boy named Rocco Zachow, who had a rare form of dwarfism.

The first lady commented:

Using plans donated to them by the organization Go Baby Go, the students modified another power car into a motorized wheelchair by rewiring, coding and programming the chair’s electronics, redesigning the joystick, and customizing the seat just for Rocco. Over the last few weeks, the team has been hard at work and I am happy to say that members of the Farmington High School Robotics Team, and their Coach Spencer Elvebak, are at the White House with us today to present Rocco and his parents – Kynde and Jeremy – with their new powered chair.

“This is truly what it means to BE BEST,” the first lady noted during the ceremony in the Rose Garden. “These are the kinds of stories I will continue to highlight with the hope that other students, citizens and organizations will use their talents and resources to help children.”