Meet Global Impact Award Finalist ASL Aspire, a startup developing a comprehensive, American Sign Language-accessible STEM curriculum that empowers students and gives educators the tools they need for success. Founder Mona Jawad (PhD ’27) established the company after recognizing the challenges faced by Deaf educators in finding effective online learning tools for their students during the COVID pandemic. Due to the gaps in online learning platforms for deaf students, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, many lost interest in these subjects during the pandemic, and their grades suffered. Jawad and her team are working tirelessly to constantly improve their platform and work closely with deaf scientists who contribute to the development of inclusive and culturally relevant educational modules. The team has previously won Catalyst Funding in the Skandalaris Venture Competition and participated in the Skandalaris Launchpad program last summer.
Continue reading to discover how Jawad and her team are working to reshape educational accessibility for deaf students.
Mona, can you walk us through the origin story of ASL Aspire and what drew you to found it?
I started ASL Aspire to help people like my brother, who is the best mentor and friend I could ask for. He was born with hearing loss caused by a genetic disorder, and his journey inspired me to go into Speech and Hearing science. When the COVID lockdown hit, educators of the deaf who I was connected with started to tell me about how difficult it was to find tools to help their kids learn online. These bright young deaf students were simply not being considered, especially when it came to STEM learning, and as a result their grades and their attitudes towards STEM suffered. The idea for ASL Aspire came directly from one of those teachers who told me, “These kids love learning on their iPads and computers. I wish we had more play-based learning tools designed for them.”
What critical problem is your venture solving, and why is this solution needed now?
Until the 1970s, sign language was banned from higher education and scientific communities, leaving a lasting impact on STEM accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals. Even today, many STEM terms don’t exist in American Sign Language (ASL), creating a knowledge gap that limits educational and career opportunities. Globally, over 466 million DHH individuals face barriers to entering STEM fields, and in the U.S., deaf students are 70 times less likely to pursue STEM careers. This systemic exclusion contributes to high unemployment rates and represents a massive missed opportunity especially considering the deaf community in the U.S. holds an estimated $86 billion in discretionary spending power. ASL Aspire is tackling this critical problem by developing a comprehensive, ASL-accessible STEM curriculum that empowers students and gives educators the tools they need. With STEM fields driving the future economy, ensuring accessibility isn’t just about equity; it’s an economic imperative. The time to act is now.
How has ASL Aspire validated and refined its solution based on market feedback?
ASL Aspire began in 2021 as a STEM vocabulary app, focusing on helping students learn STEM words in American Sign Language (ASL) through gamification. However, through extensive research and direct market feedback from deaf students and educators, we quickly realized that the problem went far beyond just terminology. During one of our early school visits, teachers shared that even if we provided them with new ASL STEM vocabulary, they still had no way to update their curriculum. They needed comprehensive curriculums specifically designed for deaf students, and giving them another supplemental tool wasn’t enough – adapting existing resources was simply not feasible.
This insight led us to pivot in 2022 to develop a K-12 curriculum for deaf education, aligned with national standards like the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). This new approach was based directly on market feedback, and since then, we’ve received overwhelmingly positive responses from educators. In fact, we’ve yet to receive any negative feedback, which is a testament to the fact that we are addressing an unsaturated market. There are no full curriculum solutions available for deaf students learning in ASL.
Our team started as a research project, and even after incorporation, we’ve kept the R&D branch alive. Over the 2022-2023 school year, we ran a 1.5-year paid pilot program across five schools, impacting over 200 students. This allowed us to gather valuable real-time insights into how our platform is used in the classroom. Through the iCorps program, we’ve also validated our solution with over 250 teachers and school administrators, and we continue to refine our offering through ongoing focus groups with educators.
Beyond that, we’re actively conducting customer discovery with schools in the Midwest, where we analyze classroom usage, assess learning outcomes, and iterate on our app accordingly. This ongoing feedback loop ensures that ASL Aspire is not just a theoretical solution but a practical, effective tool that meets the real needs of deaf students and their teachers.
Where do you see your venture making its biggest impact in the next five years?
In the next five years, we see ASL Aspire making its biggest impact by transforming the landscape of STEM education for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Our vision is to expand beyond just STEM, developing comprehensive, inclusive educational content across multiple subjects that will be seamlessly integrated into classrooms nationwide. We aim to partner with more deaf residential schools, educational districts, and institutions to ensure that deaf students have access to the same opportunities as their hearing peers.
We also see our work influencing broader systemic change, helping to bridge the gap between education and industry. By equipping deaf students with the skills and knowledge they need to pursue careers in STEM, we’ll not only be fostering a new generation of deaf scientists, engineers, and tech leaders, but we’ll also be contributing to a more inclusive workforce. As we expand, we aim to leverage partnerships with organizations like NASA to inspire more inclusion in industries with traditionally low representation from the deaf community.
Ultimately, we envision ASL Aspire playing a pivotal role in reshaping educational accessibility, ensuring that the voices of deaf students are heard, valued, and empowered to shape the future of STEM.
How would the Global Impact Award help accelerate ASL Aspire’s growth?
The Global Impact Award would be instrumental in accelerating ASL Aspire’s growth by enabling us to invest in key areas that are critical to our expansion. First, we plan to hire a machine learning engineer who will enhance our platform with cutting-edge sign language recognition technology, a critical feature for validating ASL signs and providing real-time feedback to students. This will significantly improve the user experience and scale our offering to a larger audience.
Second, the award will allow us to expand our team by bringing in more deaf scientists to contribute to the development of inclusive and culturally relevant educational modules. Their expertise will ensure that our content not only meets educational standards but also resonates deeply with the Deaf community.
Lastly, we will use the funds to strengthen our global outreach efforts, targeting schools and executing paid marketing campaigns. Our focus will be on establishing international connections, particularly in Canada and Mexico, where there is a growing need for accessible STEM education for DHH students.
What is one piece of advice you would give to a future founder coming out of WashU?
One piece of advice I’d give to a future founder coming out of WashU is this: even if the odds seem stacked against you, if you’re building a solution for a significant problem, there will be people who will support you. The key is finding those supporters and building a community around your mission. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who believe in what you’re doing, whether it’s mentors, collaborators, or early users. As you build and iterate, that community will not only help you refine your solution but will also become your strongest advocates, helping you scale and succeed even when the road gets tough.
Learn more about ASL Aspire at aslaspire.com.
The Global Impact Award (GIA) is made possible by Washington University alumnus Suren G. Dutia and his wife, Jas K. Grewal. The goal of the award is to invest in individuals and high-growth entrepreneurial ventures associated with WashU that have a broad impact and exhibit an interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship.
The winner of the 2025 Global Impact Award will be announced at the WashU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards on Thursday, April 17. All are invited to attend the awards ceremony to see which team(s) will win up to $75,000 in non-dilutive funding for their venture.