We Are Creators: Ingenuity Takes Over Bridgeport International Academy

Photos courtesy of BIA

“When designing my product, I had the ultimate goal of it being used to serve others. Not only do I believe it’s the moral thing to do, but it’s also the most effective from a business standpoint,” says Alan Vianale. “Showing that you care for your customers is an increasingly important thing to do to make people appreciate and believe in what you are doing. I believe that’s what drives people to God.”

Vianale, a junior at Bridgeport International Academy (BIA), was among the students who recently explored their entrepreneurial side during the Connecticut school’s “Global Studies Week.” From March 13 through 17, students let their ingenuity take over with marketing projects for orignal products they designed. 

“My team and I came up with the idea of creating a translation device,” says Vianale. “We thought this industry would be good to make a new product for as it has a ton of untapped potential.” 

Vianale’s team ultimately decided to create an earpiece that automatically translates audio. For as long as Vianale can remember, he’s found great joy in exercising his creative muscle. “Back in my early youth, I had a blast making cities and tools out of cans and cardboard,” he recalls. “The infinite possibilities that lie in front of me waiting to be actualized with my arts and crafts truly inspires me. It’s the idea of making something novel and unique — Taking two or more things, mixing them up, and making something new out of it is my favorite way to create something.”

Fellow junior Michelle Fayad-Costa and her team also set out to create something widely beneficial, inventing a waterproof, wireless bone conduction translation and language learning device with motion and thermal sensors. “It was made with the intention of inspiring independence and self-sufficiency,” she says. “Originally, I wanted to make a telepathic communicator, and my teammates wanted to make a communication device that would not make our customers dependent on our device and help them grow as individuals. In the end, we decided on a non-telepathic translation device that would also teach spoken and unspoken languages.”

Other students, like senior Daniel Sohn, decided to pursue the route of information technology. His team created a fitness app called Huyoi, designed to accurately scan the nutrition value and calories of food by taking a photo. “I came up with this idea because of the many diseases being diagnosed in young adults today,” he says. “Health is a huge problem, which is only getting worse, and I thought an app like this one would be able to help young adults be at their best performance and at their healthiest every day.” The Huyoi app produces graphs to show nutrient intake, as well as the amount that should be consumed daily for different body types and body weight goals. 

While BIA’s student inventions ran the gamut, many drew inspiration from their peers and our ever-evolving society, as well as their faith — with God as the supreme Creator. “Seeing crazy creations put to work, and the wonders they help achieve, inspires me to create things I can be proud of,” says Sohn. “I wanted to create something that could help people become better versions of themselves, where they can be healthy and strong.”

“Religion often says God made the world in His own image,” he continues. “I guess, similarly to this, I made a health app because I want to become a healthier person myself … and I thought of something I would want, something that would help me and [other people].”

The students believe innovation is the way of the future, and an entrepreneurial mindset is an important skill for young people to hone early on in their education to successfully launch new startups. “I think it is a magnificent way to relate to people,” says Fayad-Costa. “The world is changing and more young people are inventing new business concepts and ideas. Because of this, learning the basics of entrepreneurship at an early age is a must so that people with these new ideas can take full advantage of it and make something of themselves.”

“I feel like people, especially those in the newer generations, possess boundless creativity,” adds Vianale. “It makes sense to tap into the interests of young people and teach them ways they can use their gifts to give back to the world.”

BIA’s Global Studies Week gives students the opportunity to get out of the classroom and fully immerse themselves in developing projects to benefit the world in different ways.

You can learn more about BIA here, and Global Studies Week here.