Student-built app works to redefine accessibility

In a world built for the neurotypical, what does accessibility truly look like? 

While growing up, Malia Wakesho-Ajwang thrived academically. But as a first-year college student, she struggled to adapt to strict deadlines and attendance, and assignments quickly became overwhelming. 

Around the same time, Wakesho-Ajwang received her ADHD diagnosis, helping explain her challenges and why the standard advice — to use a planner, calendar or checklist — never seemed to help. 

Wakesho-Ajwang, now a senior pursuing a double major in computer science and psychology, envisioned code-based changes to calendar systems to address these concerns. 

That led her to found asoma, the first scheduling application “built for ADHD brains,” but open to any college students seeking streamlined task management. 

Despite being in beta testing, asoma has gained recognition in numerous competitions, including first-place wins at EO Atlanta’s Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Competition and the undergraduate track at the Emory Goizueta Entrepreneurship Summit. 
 

Possibility through The Hatchery 

Wakesho-Ajwang’s first encounter with The Hatchery, Emory’s center for innovation, wasn’t as a founder, but through a job listing to become a Hatchery Innovation Consulting Fellow — students with specialized skills who serve as consultants to startups in areas where they need expertise. Her technology experience was essential in helping founders move their ventures forward. It was during this time that she began seriously considering entrepreneurship as a viable career path.

Through The Hatchery, student founders receive mentorship, workshops, networking opportunities, access to a collaborative community and entrepreneurial guidance. Opportunities to receive stipends and grants can help students build their ventures. The student-built company and its technology remain independently owned, managed and operated by the founders.

After serving as an innovation consulting fellow during spring 2025, Wakesho-Ajwang applied for and was accepted into the Techstars Emory Founder Catalyst program, a partnership between Emory and global accelerator Techstars. 

There, she received validation on asoma, and applied soon afterward for The Hatchery’s Incubator program, designed for early startups. She then progressed to the Summer Accelerator, meant for later-stage ventures. In between, she enrolled in the “Foundations of Entrepreneurship” class, part of the Stuart & Mimi Rose Program for Student Startups. 
 

Science-backed decisions 

Wakesho-Ajwang regularly consults researchers and professionals who can help her follow best practices for neurodiverse populations while designing asoma. As part of this journey, she embraces lessons learned from Yolanda Rankin, an associate professor of computer science at Emory.

For example, in “Topics in Computer Science,” Rankin teaches technological development through a people-centered lens. Rankin explains, “Malia has taken those lessons up in a way that puts front and center the challenges that ADHD populations are dealing with, not from a deficit perspective, but from an asset perspective.” 

Wakesho-Ajwang continues to work alongside Rankin on research supporting inclusivity in computer science. 

“Dr. Rankin is focusing on making a safe space for students who may feel daunted or be excluded and has helped me foster lifelong friendships here at Emory,” she says. 
 

A personalized platform 

Asoma combines neurodiversity-friendly task management with traditional calendar systems, helping users follow schedules that work for them. The application gathers data from multiple sources that the user connects, including email accounts, user-uploaded class assignments and users’ online calendars, allowing them to break down select tasks into manageable subtasks to meet deadlines. 

The app is one-way and read-only, Wakesho-Ajwang says. 

“Asoma cannot see grades, submissions, messages, class rosters or other students’ information.” The app also cannot change anything in the user’s learning management system. 

The app also continues to evolve through user interviews and emerging psychological research. As Wakesho-Ajwang says, “We’ve been connecting with ADHD specialists and neuroscientists both inside and outside of Emory, including Hatchery Innovator-in-Residence Stuart Zola, to make sure it’s the best platform possible.”

Though she initially envisioned herself as asoma’s chief technology officer given her computer science background, Wakesho-Ajwang found her footing as asoma’s CEO while building the team and expanding its mission. 

“Malia stepped into a leadership position that she didn’t expect. It’s really been a pleasure to watch her blossom into it,” says Rizky Etika, The Hatchery’s senior program coordinator. 

Etika adds that Wakesho-Ajwang’s characteristics make her an adept CEO. “Her humility helps other people trust her, and that has helped grow her confidence as a leader and as a founder.” 

Asoma’s strengths are more than a scheduling application. It is a vehicle for accessibility and, Wakesho-Ajwang hopes, a path toward lasting inclusivity. 

“Our main goal is to change the way people build things and make things neurodivergent-inclusive from the get-go,” she says.