A Helping Hand

Carsyn Beachy, 7th grader at Westminster Christian Academy, is one unique 13-year-old with one unique heart. While many of her peers simply hope for a decent grade, Carson hopes for much more.

In her STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) class this spring, students were assigned a project based upon an area of personal interest. Having just studied skeletal and muscular systems in her science class, Carsyn discovered her love of anatomy – and the topic for her then-upcoming STEM project.

“This is a girl who loves learning for the sake of learning, not for the grade” says 7th grade science teacher Anne DeRousse. “To look at her face as we study, to see the wonder in her eyes – there’s nothing like it for a teacher!” So on the heels of a science assignment in which students were to read and annotate an article of their choice, for which Carsyn chose an article on prosthetics, her STEM project topic was a no-brainer.

After researching “e-NABLE,” a community of volunteers that specializes in creating free 3D printed prosthetics for individuals without fingers or hands, Carsyn downloaded a free design for a prosthetic hand and used Westminster’s 3D printer to create it – a project that took about 20 hours. But she didn’t stop there. After seeing the difference it can make in the lives of kids and their families, Carsyn has solicited donations from family members and used some of her own savings to order a 3D printer. Once it arrives, she will begin making prosthetic hands; in the interim, she is trying to find additional contacts outside of e-NABLE who can help connect her with families of children who could use a prosthetic hand.

“I want to use my skills in this way – to help kids who don’t have hands or fingers and just want to be able to do some of the normal things other kids their age can do,” says Carsyn, whose devices provide a basic functional grasping motion. Cost is an inhibiting factor for many families in need of a prosthetic. State-of-the-art prosthetic replacements that are powered by batteries and motors can cost thousands of dollars and are thus an impractical investment for a growing child, but the materials for a 3D-printed prosthetic itself cost as little as $20 to $50.

Dale Beachy, Carsyn’s father and middle school math teacher at Westminster, has been Carsyn’s primary encouragement. “It’s one thing to do your best on a project,” says Mr. Beachy. “But for her, it was much more than that. She wanted to apply what she learned in STEM to help others. I’m very proud of her.”

Carsyn’s STEM teacher Katie Long says she is impressed by Carsyn’s persistence and continued research. “Carsyn is really unique among my students in that she is excited to apply what she’s learned in such a selfless way,” says Mrs. Long. “I’m so impressed that she’s able to use her gifts in STEM at such a young age, and that she came up with this idea all on her own.”

Mrs. DeRousse says the work that Carsyn is doing is something you might expect of a junior or senior but not many 7th graders. “Carsyn perfectly embodies Westminster’s vision [to prepare more young people to change the world for Jesus Christ],” says Mrs. DeRousse. “She didn’t stop at the grade or the praise from other kids about her ‘cool’ project. She kept going; she took it where we want all of the kids to take it. She is 100% focused not on herself but on the world around her, intent on helping as many as she can.”