I went to high school with a kid named River. Yes, his name is River, like the body of water. He was the quirky, goofy kid that talked to everyone. When he ran for class president his slogan was, "Water you waiting for? Vote for River!" to put things into perspective. He was the kid who knew a lot about everything and was always the kid who always had a smile on his face. River was the type of guy who was always able to put you in a good mood even if you were having a rough day.
Looking back at high school, it was hard to imagine then where everyone would end up. Some of my peers went off to their dream schools and some returned home quickly after. Some stayed home and continued life here. Others went on to flourish, one of them being River.
Before even graduating college, River was the founder and executive director of Havenlabs, a non-profit assembled by engineers, programmers and thinkers. Havenlabs' purpose is to design custom 3D printed prosthetics for American veterans. This innovative technology only takes 10 dollars to make compared to the thousands of dollars medical companies charge. As of right now, Havenlabs is designing prosthetics for upper limb amputees, but is looking to create prosthetics for lower limb amputees.
"My ultimate goal for Havenlabs is to be able to work on a wide array of bio-medical engineering projects for those in need with the use of 3D printing. We are hoping to create a platform where anyone in the world that has access to a 3D printer can print out our designs," River told me.
I asked River what his biggest take away has been through this experience. His answer? "Life is short."
"I have realized a few things on my journey in co-founding Havenlabs: time is the most valuable commodity in the world and what you do with it is crucial. I would also say you need to embrace failure, as it is the only way to obtain success. When you fail, it forces you to retrace your steps and problem solve what went wrong and allows you to improve upon what it is you are doing. Failure has helped to push and innovate your work in ways I could never imagined," River expressed to me.
Considering the only knowledge I have about 3D printing was through watching a few "Grey's Anatomy" episodes, it's amazing to me that someone I know is excelling at something so spectacular.
People in high school can be judgmental, some people probably never expected River to go off and create a non-profit that is growing each and every day. River is a prime example of why you should never judge a book by its cover, or doubt people's abilities. I am proud to know River and I cannot wait to witness his growing success.
To support Havenlabs and donate to their cause, check out their GoFundMe page. To learn more about River's story, check out his Ted Talk here:
