Start-up Founder and Harvard-bound Cleveland Clinic Intern Lands NSHSS Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship
Olivia Wenzel, senior at Ohio’s Laurel School and recent intern at Cleveland Clinic hospital, was awarded the NSHSS Claes Nobel Future Female Leader Scholarship.
The $1,000 scholarship is awarded to female seniors who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills in their schools and local communities.
Olivia is more than just an outstanding leader in the academic sense. She's also the founder and CEO of a medical technology start-up called AltruTec, a company that makes non-invasive wearable devices to help patients who experience symptoms of Cervical Dystonia, or very painful and involuntary muscle contractions of the neck.
AltruTec was born just months after Olivia's internship at Cleveland Clinic hospital where she worked with patients with severe head tremors and Cervical Dystonia symptoms. “I’m interested in pursuing ways to improve people’s quality of life,” Olivia told local Cleveland news sources when asked about her future aspirations.
The device is one among many prototypes in this 18-year-old's blooming portfolio, as she's pivoted her focus toward a product called Memorcize, a virtual reality (VR) application designed to improve the quality of life among those with dementia.
“We’ve explored virtual realities as a medium. We’re kind of overlaying images and creating activities that are meant to be fun and helpful for elderly individuals to actually engage in meaningful cognitive and physical exercise.” Olivia told Cleveland.com.
Olivia added that she'll be spending a great deal of her summer working on ways to introduce cognitive stimulation, physical exercise, and "just general engagement and joy to seniors -- especially those with dementia and Parkinson’s disease."
Learn more about future female leader and NSHSS scholarship winner Olivia Wenzel by reading the full story at Cleveland.com.