Canton High School’s Community Problem Solving (CmPS) team is very excited to launch their
new project, New Pathways.
Community Problem Solvers, CmPS for short, is a branch of the Future Problem Solving Program International (FPSPI) and is a six step critical thinking problem solving process in which students recognize a prevalent problem in their community, promote
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awareness about the problem, and develop solutions that are then executed to positively impact the community. The group of 11th graders aims to help students who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, as well as helping their struggling families cope with the impacts the
injuries have in other aspects of their lives. The project was inspired by two students at Canton High School who had experienced such rare injuries. Team member Ben Aronson said “This idea is bigger than CmPS, it’s about improving the lives of kids just like us who have had injuries like this”.
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The group recently met with fellow classmate Xavier Machuga on September 20th, who recently
suffered a brain hemorrhage. After his surgeries, he was left having trouble speaking, and barely
being able to move. He spent a couple of months in Boston at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital,
where he underwent physical, speech, and occupational therapy. Machuga recalls being
extremely frustrated about “knowing how to walk and talk, but not being able to do it”.
The team consists of Shourik Choudhury, James Vo, Kevin McGonigle, Michael Mazzola, Jenna
Hamrock, Sarah Collins, Ben Aronson, Ally Chin, Ashna Patel, and Eli Julier-Albert. Their
coach is Renee Hanscom. Plans include working with the Pappas Rehabilitation Center and
Spaulding Rehabilitation Center to start their project.