admin @ Tue, 2006-09-12 08:00
Years ago, when most students were busy playing tag, discovering the opposite sex and trying to avoid scary mobs of middle-schoolers, Cassidy Goldstein had bigger things on her mind.
At the age of 11, Goldstein, a sophomore communications and rhetorical studies major, invented a plastic tube that makes it easier to color with the broken bits of crayon found at the bottom of children's crayon boxes.
"When Cassidy first showed me her crayon holder … I felt that she had come upon something that might have a greater value to others," said Norm Goldstein, Cassidy's father. "However, for Cass this was an everyday occurrence. She was always singing, dancing or looking for something to do … always being inventive."
Now, seven years later, Goldstein is one of the youngest patent holders in America. As she reaps the rewards of her creativity, Goldstein's invention is now sold at Wal-Mart for $2 a pop. She was recently named Connecticut Woman of the Year for 2005, Youth Inventor of the Year for 2005 and also won a scholarship from the Girls Going Places Scholarship Foundation.
"It all really started with a school project," Goldstein said. "I had to draw a picture for a class at school, but all my crayons were broken and small so I couldn't hold them. My dad had just bought my mom a bouquet, which had come with a small plastic vial of water at the bottom. I never used to throw anything away, and so I got the idea to use it to hold my crayons."
Goldstein is currently on the board of advisors for By Kids For Kids, the company she created with her father to help other children get their ideas patented and sold. In partnership with the National Education Association, By Kids For Kids produced 2.8 million kits to be distributed this year to teachers to inspire kids in their classrooms with incentive. The kits include a step-by-step book to help stimulate ideas, problem solving games and other educational materials.
It wasn't until August 2005 when a local paper broke the story that anybody in her town of Scarsdale, N.Y. even knew about Goldstein's invention or the work she and her father had been doing.
Goldstein's work with inventions hasn't sidetracked her from her college career. School and work definitely take top priority for Goldstein, Hamilton said.
"(Cassidy) has thoroughly enjoyed the attention, but the crayon holder does not define who she is," her father said. "She has many, many interests and puts her whole heart and soul into anything that she does."
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