Last updated on April 28th, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Is is possible to invent a better backpack? High school students Amaya Zambrano and Kimber Lane think so.
The duo won first prize in the 2025 South Georgia Innovation Day, held in February at Southern Regional Technical College in Thomasville. The event included more than 100 elementary through high school students as part of Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize competition, which challenges students to find solutions to challenges they encounter in their lives.
South Georgia Innovation Day is supported by Georgia AIM as part of its K-12 education initiative. The event and the K-12 InVention Prize are hosted through Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing, which connects K-12 students across Georgia to innovative STEM-based learning.
At South Georgia Innovation Day, student inventions included a creative machine that takes the dirty work out of cleaning chicken coops; a dog collar with a built-in fan, sprinkler and air tag; a portable wheelchair ramp; and Zambrano’s and Lane’s backpack designed especially for high school students who carry lots of books and supplies.
“Through the Georgia AIM grant, we are reaching students in Southwest Georgia, helping them see new opportunities for themselves and their communities,” said Danyelle Larkin, director of the K-12 InVenture Prize. “We are bringing Georgia Tech to Thomasville and nearby communities and creating a pipeline and a partnership to expand innovation, AI, and manufacturing education. This grant continues to provide us with opportunities to highlight current and future career pathways in Thomasville and nearby Southwest Georgia communities. Next year, we plan to host even more students as we continue to expand our work in rural communities through Georgia AIM.”
Georgia AIM is a $65 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The project’s goals are to support a statewide initiative combining artificial intelligence and manufacturing innovations with transformational workforce and outreach. The grant is also designed to increase job and wage opportunities in distressed and rural communities.
Read more about this year’s South Georgia Innovation Day.
South Georgia Innovation Day was also featured by local news station WSWG-TV CBS 44.