Heman Bekele, a rising 10th grader at Woodson High School who invented a soap that could one day treat and prevent skin cancer, is Time magazine’s Kid of the Year for 2024.
Last October, Bekele, at the age of 14, won the 2023 3M Young Scientist Challenge for the soap. Bekele said at that time that he hoped to further develop the innovation and create a nonprofit to distribute the solution to the most common U.S. cancer to communities in need.
While it may be years before the soap hits the market, Bekele spent the summer working on the project in a Johns Hopkins lab. He plans to continue to do so.
Time said Bekele’s selflessness and ambition earned him the honor.
3M engineer Deborah Isabelle, who mentored the teen, said it is well deserved.
“Heman is an incredible charismatic, curious, intelligent, articulate young man,” Isabelle said. “But more than that, he’s compassionate and has a heart for people. He’s created an invention that has the potential to the make the world better for so many people.”
Feature image of Heman Bekele and mentor Deborah Isabelle in 2023, courtesy 3M
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