High School Students Build a Prosthetic Hand for 7-Year-Old Boy

A group of high school students is building adaptive devices for children in need.

A diverse group of Buffalo, New York students is helping impact their community through technology as part of a free summer program, AT&T Hand in Hand, sponsored by WNY Stem Hub.

This year, the students are creating a prosthetic arm for 7-year-old Josiah Reid Clark, who was born with one hand. Simone Ragland, WNY STEM Hub’s executive director, told local WKBW-TV, “The students are the ones that make adjustments.”

“In this case, they created a specialized hand for him to use on his dirt bike. They had to design something that would allow him to do that,” Ragland said.

Josiah’s dad, Joel Reid Clarke, told the station his son is inspiring and does what typical little boys do.

“He’s a normal kid,” Clarke said. “He does everything. He plays soccer, plays basketball, skateboards, rollerblades, dirt bike.”

Josiah has shown his family he can do everything with one hand.

“He’s shown us he does everything,” Clarke said. “He plays video games with his nub. He’s a Fortnite fan.”

Though he’s learned to do so much, Josiah’s excited to gain a second hand through the program.

“He’s been talking about this the whole week! He’s so eager to try it on with his bike,” his dad said.

One of the students, Elias Humphrey, a senior, said building an arm for a child is a rewarding experience.

“To see him now and bring his idea to life with the colors he wanted and everything, it’s very impactful,” Humphrey said. “I want to be a mechanical engineer. This helps me run the mechanics and use 3-D printers.”

The team of students still has to make the final touches on Josiah’s new arm. He requested Black Panther and Space Jam colors. The new arm is set to be done by fall.

The high school students aren’t stopping with one child, though. They plan to send adaptive devices to Ghana as their program continues.