Multiple districts — West Michigan juniors and seniors from this year’s Wege Prize High School Collaborative Studio, hosted by Kendall College of Art and Design, spent their summer designing accessible and sustainable parks, fashion and prescription pill bottles.
Twenty students applied and were accepted to the two-week program. Guided by KCAD professor and Wege Prize organizer Gayle DeBruyn, they learned about the planet’s most complex and “wicked” problems.
DeBruyn facilitated workshops at KCAD and field trips to community organizations like Kids’ Food Basket, John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids Public Museum and BAMF Health, to hear from local leaders in conservation and sustainability.
Students were divided into four teams and brainstormed ideas for creative and innovative designs to address global and regional challenges through the lens of a circular economy that minimizes the use of resources and waste.
At the end of the program, each group proposed a thoughtful solution to an issue they were most passionate about.
‘I want to learn how I can take care of the environment for living things and help the ecosystem on a local and state level.’
— Charlie VanderMeulen, Grandville High School junior
New Ideas for Future Sustainability
Students from Grand Rapids, Hudsonville, Forest Hills and Byron Center high schools banded together to form Team Quool and collaborated over a shared passion for inclusivity and challenging the stigma surrounding mental health.
“Pill bottles have two main problems that we’re aiming to solve: they’re bad for the environment and they’re difficult to open,” City Middle High School senior Jay Dombrowski said.
Since the FDA prohibits prescription pill bottles from being reused and their No. 5 plastic keeps them from being recycled, they end up in landfills, according to Team Quool’s research.
The group proposed a bottle made from kelp powder, with a suction top instead of the current twist top design, making it easier to open for people with all abilities.
Avril Taber, a senior from Hudsonville High School, said their prototype was inspired by learning about accessibility while walking around John Ball Zoo with inclusion consultant Jon Cauchi and accessibility specialist Jackson Botsford from Disability Advocates of Kent County.
“A lot of the (ADA) laws that we have today are helpful, but they’re not up to what a lot of people need and they’re often the bare minimum,” Avril said. “We want to normalize people’s experiences and let them be seen and heard. I think people deserve more, and that should be the standard and normalized.”
Faith Pawloski, Forest Hills Central junior, added that the key to making a difference is education.
“By educating yourself and others about the realities of mental health and medications, you can help to build a kinder world,” she said.
The Animal Crackers, bringing together students from Byron Center, Forest Hills, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Grandville and named after their favorite summer snack, challenged fast fashion norms with a circular brand designed by Gen Z for Gen Z.
The group’s goals included designing and manufacturing clothing with more eco-friendly fabrics, upcycling current clothing and challenging overconsumption. Some of their proposed clothing items featured more inclusive styles, like magnetic buttons for people with disabilities.
“I want to be trendy, but sustainable,” Forest Hills Northern junior Jessica Liu said. “Our brand provides a better alternative to fast fashion brands.”
Other student designs included plans to revitalize vacant buildings in West Michigan to provide more affordable housing and to create more sustainable, community-grown green spaces in Detroit.
Creativity Inspires Career Plans
In addition to designing creative solutions to problems, DeBruyn said the program exposes students to career opportunities and “the benefits of being actively engaged with the world around them.”
“By providing teens with the tools to become active contributors in their communities, we’re aiming to help them invest in creating a better future,” she said.
KCAD has hosted the Wege Prize, an international design competition for college students since 2013, and students earn a stipend for their participation.
Faith said she applied for the program because she wanted to be a part of something bigger than herself.
“I want to do good, I want to help people and I want to network with people,” she said. “Alone, we can’t really do much on our own, but it’s when we get together that we can really make a difference.”
Walking through the farm at Kids’ Food Basket, Grandville High School junior Charlie VanderMeulen (who uses they/them pronouns) said they wanted to pursue a career that would allow them to “get my hands dirty.”
“I want to do something in agriculture or entomology,” Charlie said. “I learn better hands-on and want to do something that will continue on in the community.”
Ultimately, they said, “I want to learn how I can take care of the environment for living things and help the ecosystem on a local and state level.”
Read more from our districts:
• Students dance, sing their way through theater camp
• Reimagined summer school ignites creativity in the community
