Mia Warren has a family friend who is legally blind and has to rely on sighted individuals in order to experience things as visual as a museum.
In order to help her friend Campbell Rutherford, the Karns High School senior developed the MIA Project – Museums Increasing Accessibility – to expand the possibilities for the visually impaired. Her vision was brought to life at the East Tennessee History Center (ETHC) in downtown Knoxville.
Warren developed a website where information on artifacts can be uploaded and linked through a QR code. Users scan the code to play the audio or translate the text to their language.
“The speed that Campbell listens to things is beyond anything we can understand,” Warren said. “It’s super, super fast, so we decided to do a text file so you can speed it up or slow it down to whatever pace you’d like to listen.”
It is now possible for more people than ever before to experience the ETHC with this increased accessibility, and Warren hopes to expand the program throughout Knoxville and beyond.
Other local museums have reached out to the developer to bring the project to their locations, and she hopes to approach additional high-traffic places to deploy MIA.
This amazing project earned Warren a Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement given within the organization, and was celebrated during the kick-off event with a proclamation to make Jan. 4, 2024, “Mia Warren Appreciation Day.”
“The whole ribbon-cutting ceremony was just insane. I was trying to not cry the whole time,” she said. “Just being able to open this program and seeing people other than Campbell using it and seeing it be successful was really, really exciting.”
The student is high-achieving beyond this incredible accomplishment.
She has been a dedicated Girl Scout and dancer for over a dozen years, and the AP scholar has participated in the band with a sprinkling of additional clubs and commitments over the years – all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
“My friends have really pushed me a lot,” Warren said. “I have been in the same group of friends ever since middle school because we are all in honors and AP classes together, and we really push each other to work harder.”
Planning to attend the University of Tennessee to study plant genetics, she hopes to discover new ways to grow vegetation and help the planet. She shared a piece of advice for any student who hopes to pursue as much as she has while succeeding and mastering all she does: “Go beyond simple.”