Kansas State Board of Education Supports KSSB - Make48 Team

The recent board meeting of the Kansas State Board of Education, hosted at the

Kansas State School for the Blind (KSSB), focused on a bigger question than policy

alone. It centered on how Kansas continues to create real opportunities for students

across the state.

Make48 was invited into that conversation to show what that can look like in practice.

Instead of slides or theory, the moment belonged to three students. The team, Dream

Makers, made up of Vivi Petelin, Sydney Parcell, and Heaven Gabrielson, shared their

journey from classroom challenge to national champions.

Their story started at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), where they competed in a

Make48 event in 2025. What began as a team-based design challenge quickly turned

into something more. They advanced, earned their way to the national stage, and

walked away as national champions.

That could have been the finish line. It wasn’t.

The Dream Makers are now continuing to develop their product with the goal of bringing

it to market. Later this year, they will travel to Washington, DC to meet with investors

and keep pushing their ideas forward. That kind of trajectory doesn’t happen by

accident. It happens when students are given a chance to step into something real and

are supported along the way.

Dennis Hershberger, KS State Board of Education-District 7, attended the ceremony. "The girls were so encouraged in their efforts to work as a team, and the joy was obvious as they shared how the opportunity gave them purpose and vision for the future.  It was a highlight of our SBOE time at KSSB."

Teachers played a major role in that support system. Vicki Davis and Pam Arbeiter were

with the team at nationals, while Lydia Moreno, a Women in STEM and KSSB makerspace

teacher, helped build the environment where these ideas could take shape in the first place.

Make48’s role at the board meeting was simple. Show what is possible.

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Not just for one team, but for students across Kansas. Because the reality is, talent is

not limited by zip code. There are students in every corner of the state who have ideas

worth building and voices worth hearing. The difference is whether they are given the

opportunity to act on them.

That is where Make48 fits in. With the support of teachers and administrators, students

are given a platform to create, solve problems, and present something that is entirely

their own.

The Dream Makers did more than share a win. They showed what can happen when

students are trusted with something bigger.