In the spirit of Black Women’s History Month, we spotlight this young Black teenager who has come up with a life changing invention. New Orleans student Naya Ellis recently designed a stroke-detecting watch, earning a championship in the National STEM Challenge at just 14 years old. Read more about her invention inside.

Ellis is a student at John F. Kennedy High School in New Orleans, who is being praised online for her latest invention. The NOLA teen designed a stroke-detecting watch named WingItt, earning a championship title in the National STEM Challenge. The invention is driven by her passion for science and helping others and particularly influenced by her personal familial experiences.

Naya’s research was first inspired by her own experiences of caring for her mother during a health battle and motivated by a desire to address real-world health issues. Initially intrigued by the idea of detecting seizures, Naya later shifted her focus to stroke detection once looking into her data. It also aligns with her personal experiences as her grandmother suffered from a stroke.

As a freshman, Naya was able to design an innovative device she named WingItt, which identifies potential strokes by monitoring nerve impulses and heartbeats, targeting adults over 55, a demographic more prone to strokes. Naya aims to make her lifesaving device affordable, distinguishing it from costly health-monitoring technology.

“I want to do something I’m interested in that will also change the world,” Naya shares in an article with Know Your Rights Camp.

According to an article, Naya is preparing to showcase her invention at the National STEM Challenge festival in Washington, D.C. She hopes to make an impressionable impact in the world and has huge aspirations of becoming an obstetrician-gynecologist, embodying her commitment to empowering women and bringing new life into the world.

Ellis is one of 2,500 students recognized nationwide who will present at the inaugural National STEM Challenge festival in Washington, D.C.

Congrats, Naya!