(Note from Mary Couzin: This is part one of a two-part series. To maintain fairness for all participants of the Young Inventor Challenge, we will not share photos or specific details prior to the event. However, we wanted to highlight a crucial role of mentorship and creativity in this journey. Stay tuned for part two, where we'll share this young inventor's full experience after the event!)  

While a lot of little girls carry around dolls, my daughter doesn’t leave home without her invention notebook. She jots down all kinds of ideas daily – some of them are pretty good, others are what you would expect from a nine-year old. That invention notebook was my daughter’s escape during a particularly rough year in school separated from her best friend in a difficult learning environment. On top of that, she was diagnosed with ADHD and didn’t like the idea of being “different.” But, none of these ideas in my daughter’s notebook went beyond the sketches on the pages until a meeting with an incredibly inspirational inventor and entrepreneur: Maxine Clark.

As summer approached with its long days of free time, my daughter thought it would be fun to interview adult inventors and entrepreneurs for her new YouTube channel. At the top of her interview wish list was an inventor from her hometown: Build-A-Bear Workshop founder Maxine Clark. My daughter carefully crafted an email and sent it off to her. To her great surprise, Maxine not only responded but said she would love to sit down with my daughter for an interview. It was a gift, especially since the interview date was on my daughter’s birthday.

My daughter arrived at the interview with thoughtfully prepared questions and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her face. Maxine welcomed my daughter with a birthday gift and a warm hug, and that began one of the best interactions of my daughter’s nine years. Maxine answered my daughter’s many questions and told her relatable stories about being an entrepreneur even as a kid when she was a motivated Girl Scout.  Maxine gave my daughter incredible advice for not only becoming an inventor and entrepreneur but also for life. My daughter took all of Maxine’s words to heart, especially the advice to look for a problem or challenge in the world and come up with a solution for it.

Once home, my daughter went back to her invention notebook and started working diligently on one of her ideas to help kids like her with ADHD who often have big feelings. She also started looking for ways to meet more entrepreneurs and inventors and pitch her toy idea to them. That’s how she came across the People of Play Young Inventor Challenge. She now comes home from school every day and works a bit more on preparing for the challenge: working on the prototype, creating the display board, writing her pitch for her invention, editing her entry video, taking photos of the invention.

I have a happy little inventor in my home now. She’s proud of what she’s accomplished, excited about what’s to come and motivated by Maxine’s words. I can’t tell you how happy my husband and I are about this change in our daughter. We are so thankful to Maxine and all the people who make opportunities like this possible for kids like our daughter. We’re looking forward to seeing many of you in a couple of weeks and thanking you in person. Your words and actions make a tremendous impact on our world’s young minds.