San Diego’s all girls InvenTeam has only a few more steps to complete before a June trip to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) campus to display the prototype of their invention, a wearable drink-spike detector meant to lower sexual assault rates. The celebratory EurekaFest brings together the eight recipients of Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams Initiative grants to showcase their inventions— and the hundreds of hours of work it took to get there.

“I thought [InvenTeams] was just gonna be a competition. You get a certificate sent to you and then that was it,” said Shania Chelsea Mancol, a Shelltown resident who immigrated from the Philippines. “Having the chance to go to San Francisco last year to present to CEOs and then now doing it in Boston to MIT is crazy. School projects don’t ever go that far. Having this is just crazy.”

The four seniors representing e3 Civic High, the charter school located inside the San Diego Central Library in East Village, still have more to do before June: finish their provisional patent application, refine their tech into a smaller form, and create silicone molds to make duplication of the product faster.

The time-intensive program has been “overwhelming” for the small team, but the potential impact of their product kept the team going. The invention prototype can test up to 12 beverages at a time for date rape drugs like rohypnol and ketamine.

“This is something that affects a lot of people. Our product and what we’re working on could help … prevent drink spiking and what comes along with that, like sexual assault,” said JoAnna Castro Liggins, the team’s communications lead who grew up in Oak Park. “Not everybody has the opportunity to do this and to put something like this out into the world.”

The girls took on the project as a way to make youth safer in social settings after learning about a survey from the American Addiction Center showing that 44% of men and 56% of women have unknowingly had their drinks spiked.

“Half of those took place while people were in college and then 19% of respondents were in high school,” said Shessly Gonzalez of Logan Heights.

In its final form, the Guard D-rink (pronounced guard dee-drink) will be shaped like a watch with a circular test strip with 12 places to test a drop of a drink. The watch will include a reusable dropper as well. The test strip can be replaced so the watch will be a functional spiked-drink detector on more than just one occasion.

Of the eight national teams selected as grant recipients in a competitive process last year, e3 Civic High has the smallest team and the only all girls team. They are actually one of the smallest teams ever selected for the grant since its inception 20 years ago, a reason cited for their rejection the first time they applied. When they applied a second time last summer, they were selected, but quickly saw why a larger team was preferred. Each took on huge tasks that would normally be split between two or three students.

“We all tackle our own things, but we also help each other out,” said Desiree Chavez-Lopez, a Sherman Heights resident and the finance lead for the group. At a mid-grant technical review on Friday, Feb. 23, representatives of the Lemelson-MIT Program praised the team for its cohesion and commitment despite difficulties.

“It was just a lot of mentally and emotional toll to be honest,” said Mancol, who has been named one of the 25 Most Remarkable Teens of San Diego for her innovative work.

e3 Civic High started Design Thinking classes in 2019, in the style of invention education, that teaches independent thinking, research and collaboration skills. Design Thinking (DT) groups are only three to five students. The InvenTeam dedicated their twice weekly DT classes to the grant program but also met after school and occasionally stepped out of non-core classes for chemistry experiments.

“It is a lot of work. But I just knew that we had it,” said Melissa Woods, the team’s advisor and the Dean of Instruction, DT, and Workforce. “I just knew that this team would actually go far.”

The team has a second advisor, Mikaela Buesusesco, an e3 Civic High alum and current freshman at University of California Los Angeles who was part of the first grant proposal before graduating. Buesusesco and Woods can only oversee the girls though – not even help type the application.

The mid-grant review was a moment of triumph for the team, with each stating they felt proud of how far they had come.

“We’ve all had our moments where we struggled with the project and we were very apprehensive about it. Friday was a moment where all of our hard work paid off,” Castro Liggins said. “We’re glad to see the reward that working hard has shown us and we know there’ll be more in the future. We’re just preparing for that.”

None imagined when they initially applied that this could land them with a patent or even the start of a tech company before graduation.

“I just thought it was a silly [Design Thinking] project. It’s way more now,” Chavez-Lopez said.

In addition to making the prototype smaller so each member can wear it to Boston and preparing a 20-minute presentation, the group is fundraising for the trip itself. The $7,500 grant only covered expenses related to the invention. As the June festival approaches, pressure is higher than ever on the students.

“A lot of people are more interested and watching our progress and where this is gonna go. So now it’s like, we really got to do this,” Mancol said.

Still, the technical review presentation in the Neil Morgan auditorium reassured the group that they are capable of success.

“We’re gonna do great,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve all worked really hard and we should be proud of ourselves.”

To donate to the team’s trip to Boston, visit e3civichigh.com.