Both plans include AP Physics 1 prep (~1 hr/day, ongoing) alongside project work (2-3 hrs/day).
The trainer gives her access, supervision, and a real problem to work on.
Weeks 1-2: Learn the trainer's world
- Shadow the trainer for several sessions. Watch assessments, screenings, taping, rehab exercises.
- Learn what injuries are most common across Homestead sports, how they're assessed, what tools the trainer uses.
- Ask the trainer: what's clunky, manual, or missing in your day-to-day workflow?
- Build anatomy and biomechanics foundations alongside (3D anatomy app, relevant reading).
- By end of week 2: she has identified one specific problem worth designing for.
Weeks 3-4: Design and build
- Design a solution in CAD (Fusion 360 or similar — she has IED experience).
- 3D print a prototype. Test it — ideally with the trainer's input or in the training room context.
- Iterate, print v2.
- Document the full process: problem, research, design, prototype, testing, what she'd improve.
- By end of week 4: a functional 3D-printed prototype and a design case study.
What an evaluator sees: "Worked with school athletic trainer, identified a gap in injury assessment workflow, designed and 3D-printed a prototype tool, tested it in context."
No external dependency. Uses her own body, the 3D printer, and available resources.
Weeks 1-2: Reverse-engineer a medical device
- Get an existing device — a knee brace, ankle support, wrist splint, compression sleeve, or rehab tool. Something she can take apart or study closely.
- Document every component: what it is, what it does, what material it's made of, why it's shaped that way.
- Research the biomechanics it's designed to address. Learn the relevant anatomy.
- Identify one thing about it that could be better — fit, function, weight, adjustability, comfort.
- By end of week 2: she understands how the device works and has a specific design improvement in mind.
Weeks 3-4: Redesign and print
- Model her improved version in CAD.
- 3D print it. Test on herself or family members (fit, comfort, range of motion with/without).
- Compare to the original — what's better, what tradeoffs did she make?
- Document: original device analysis, her redesign rationale, printed prototype, comparison.
- By end of week 4: original device teardown, a redesigned 3D-printed version, and a writeup.
What an evaluator sees: "Reverse-engineered a medical device, identified a design limitation, redesigned and 3D-printed an improved prototype, documented the engineering tradeoffs."
- Anatomy and biomechanics foundations from the project work
- AP Physics 1 concepts starting to settle in
- A completed artifact that demonstrates engineering thinking
- Enough context to engage meaningfully with the orthopedic surgeon's work