10 minute read
SCALING WALLS & SAVING LIVES
Michael Finn-Henry stopped by a fall student assembly to share his commitment to athletic and entrepreneurial excellence
By Sue Cuyler, Director of Marketing & Communications
We were thrilled to welcome Michael Finn-Henry ’18 back to the Brimmer campus in October for an Alumni Spotlight Assembly with our Middle and Upper School students. A STEAM Diploma recipient, Finn-Henry joined Brimmer in 9th grade and quickly immersed himself in a range of challenging courses and community activities. He went on to major in mechanical engineering with a minor in business at Vanderbilt University. Today, at the ripe age of 24, he runs a multimillion-dollar medical device company, a venture he initiated during his undergraduate studies. The company, EndoShunt Medical, Inc., is developing the first targeted endovascular hemorrhage control device for trauma surgery, giving surgeons the time they need to save patients’ lives. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, showcasing his dedication to academic excellence.
Outside of school, Finn-Henry was (and still is) an accomplished world-class speed climber. To understand how he does it all, we invited him to join us for a special podcast-style conversation with Director of Innovation & Design Kathryn Lee P ’32, ’34 and Director of the STEAM Diploma Program Chris Hardman, two of his former teachers. Both remember Finn-Henry as a confident student who never shied away from asking questions and collaborating in class. Unbeknownst to him, Lee had secreted to the stage a cooler of energy drink Yerba Mate, which was hiding beneath her chair. As they toasted his return to campus with his signature drink, they reminisced about the cans he stored in his locker, a result of his partnership with the brand.
Having not been back to the Ruth Corkin Theatre since his senior year in 2018, Finn-Henry admitted it was a surreal experience. “The last time I was a student on this stage was during our performance of The Addams Family my senior year,” he remarked. It was a great segue into all that he accomplished during his time at Brimmer.
Given that Finn-Henry took part in the very first Problem Solving Through Design class back in 2017, we enjoyed learning just how much that course and others at Brimmer helped shape his career goals. “You were a part of so many firsts at Brimmer,” said Lee. “Not only were you one of the first to take my Problem Solving Through Design class, but you were also in the first STEAM Diploma cohort to use our then-brandnew Innovation Space and STEAM Lab/ Makerspace.” Lee would go on to develop a Problem Solving Through Design 2 class designed specifically for Finn-Henry and other students like him who wished to further their entrepreneurial work in this field.
In a lighthearted moment, Lee pointed out that Finn-Henry came to her classes already with a solid understanding of computeraided design (CAD) software. “You owned a 3D printer at a time when I was just learning how to use them,” she laughed. With a history of teaching himself skills, we asked where he found the motivation to try new courses, not having any idea what they might be like. “I knew the skills I was learning and using in my Brimmer classes would be relevant to my life,” he remarked. “They are the same skills I use today to run my business—and they are a mix of both soft skills and hard skills.”
While Finn-Henry was speaking, we projected slides of his first two inventive products at Brimmer: the ALL-PACKA, designed to help people living in cities and riding on public transportation transport groceries, and the PLAYTE, a product aimed at reducing food waste. “As a student, Michael very much had a mindset of wanting to help others with his innovation,” said Lee. “He empathizes with people and wants to better people’s lives. You could say it was a foreshadowing of what would come later for him when building a company that saves lives.”
During Finn-Henry’s semester-long PLAYTE project, he and his team spent weeks weighing and documenting food waste.
They then crafted a series of five beautifully designed, 3D printed plates containing hidden messages about food waste and including a mini marble maze in the center. “The idea was that you couldn’t play the game until your plate was finished,” he recalled. Using the Dining Commons as his lab and Brimmer students as his test subjects, he recalled getting valuable feedback from our Lower School students eager to try the game. In fact, a current 9th grader in the audience remembered being one of those Lower School student testers back in 2017!
Hardman recalled teaching Finn-Henry in AP Physics as well as STEAM Lab, including the semester he built his own drone. He was juggling a challenging course load, performing in the musical, and speed climbing professionally on the side. “With so many commitments on your plate and a finite number of hours in a week, what kind of sacrifices did you have to make?” Hardman asked. Finn-Henry’s response was immediate. “I prefer the term priorities,” he replied. “It is less about sacrifice for me and more about prioritizing one thing over another.”
He went on to share his learning challenges, specifically growing up with dyslexia, and explained that his athletic training and academics had to co-exist in his life for him to be successful. “Speed climbing has always felt like an escape,” he admitted. “When I couldn’t focus on my homework, I would go to the gym to train. Once I got my body moving in that way, I was able to return to the work and get it done.”
When a student in the audience asked why he never considered becoming a full-time professional athlete, he didn’t hesitate. “The life of a professional athlete feels selfish to me,” he admitted. “If I win an athletic award, it is only benefitting me. But if I create a device that save lives, I am impacting millions.” Incidentally, when he was applying to colleges, his climbing did not factor into his decision. “I knew I needed to focus on engineering because wherever I landed, I could make the climbing happen.” Finn-Henry would go on to build that community for himself by starting Vanderbilt’s first climbing club. It was with several of his fellow Vanderbilt climbers that his company was launched.
It was only a matter of time before the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) came up. A student asked Finn-Henry about his approach to using AI in his busy life. As it turns out, Finn-Henry has developed many strategies for navigating a world with dyslexia, and AI is certainly one of them. “I find ChatGPT useful, but the reality is that you must be smarter than it,” he confessed. “You can’t rely on it 100% because you need to know how and when to correct the results.”
It was clear that Finn-Henry’s accomplishments have left a lasting impression on the Brimmer community. His entrepreneurial work, despite his dyslexia, has inspired others with neurodivergent profiles to understand the benefits of having a brain that learns differently. Finn-Henry has always taken what he perceived as a challenge and turned it into an asset. His ability to stay humble and grounded, considering his incredible achievements, was not lost on his audience, including both his mother and grandmother, who made the trip that day to hear him speak.
Based on the success of the event, we look forward to welcoming additional alumni back to Brimmer for future assemblies. ■
Igniting the Spark
Current STEAM Diploma Program students had lunch with Finn-Henry prior to the Assembly and discussed their current projects with him. Curious about his company, they asked how he got his device into the marketplace. He explained that the FDA required answers to two very important questions: Will this device kill someone? and What is the likelihood of that happening? “My product, when used as intended, actually gives people a chance to live,” he said. But he admitted that, prior to college, he never fully understood the importance of industrial design. His device required so many iterations to ensure it was accessible for all. “What started as a conversation with my fellow climbers led to emailing over 100 surgeons to ask them what problems needed fixing,” he said. “Only 10% responded, but you only need one idea to ignite that entrepreneurial spark!” And in a plug for the importance of art in the world (i.e., STEAM vs STEM), he shared with students that in the world of pitching ideas to funders, it is the people who present the best drawings who get the funding.
A Rising Star
“Michael Finn-Henry, a rising star in the world of speed climbing, has taken an extraordinary journey to pursue his Olympic dream. Born in Massachusetts, Michael’s introduction to climbing was not driven by Olympic aspirations but by a need for therapy due to his dyslexia. Nevertheless, scaling walls quickly became his passion, and it transformed his life.
His ascent to excellence began when he competed for USA Climbing, making his debut on the Men’s US team in 2016. In 2017, he earned a bronze medal at the Youth World Championship in Innsbruck, competing in the under-20 category. The following year, Michael reached the finals at the prestigious Villars Men’s World Cup, securing 9th place in the world rankings for men.
While pursuing his passion for climbing, Michael was also dedicated to his academic pursuits. Throughout his university years, he excelled as the reigning US Collegiate National Champion for four consecutive years, founding the Vanderbilt University
Climbing Team, and being selected as a USA Climbing 2021 Collegiate Ambassador for his work. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering and business, a testament to his commitment to excellence both on and off the wall.
In a significant career move, Michael transitioned from competing for the US team to representing Canada, leveraging his dual citizenship, despite having qualified first in the nation months earlier at the US national championship. The motivation behind this shift was the prospect of better training opportunities in British Columbia. His impact on the Canadian national team was immediate, as he swiftly rose to become the country’s highest-ranked speed climber.
One of Michael’s standout achievements was breaking the men’s national record twice, recording an astonishing time of 5.69 seconds at the 2022 Chamonix Men’s World Cup and further improving to 5.59 seconds at the 2023 Salt Lake City Men’s World Cup.
Beyond the climbing wall, Michael is a multifaceted individual. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Harvard University, showcasing his dedication to academic excellence. Additionally, he runs a multimillion-dollar medical device company, a venture he initiated during his undergraduate studies.
Michael’s unique journey is a testament to his ability to overcome obstacles, whether scaling cliffs at breakneck speeds or tackling complex academic and entrepreneurial challenges. His remarkable combination of climbing prowess, engineering ingenuity, and determination is a promising sign for his World Class Journey.”
