Trombone emoji designed by Maryland students approved for global use

HARFORD COUNTY -- An emoji designed and proposed by a group of Harford County Public School students has been approved for global use, district officials announced.

The students from the Science and Mathematics Academy at Aberdeen High School first submitted a proposal for the trombone emoji in November 2019.

The proposal was developed by students Brendan Althoff, Brandon Brown, Dillon Capalongo, Gabriel Cardell, William Davis, Evan Demos, Nathaniel Dimick, Kristen Doresy, Ian Leach, David Oguh, Cristopher Pappas and Mark Rosser, who all graduated between 2020 and 2021, school officials said.

The emoji was designed entirely by the students to address what they thought was a notable gap in musical instrument representation.

The students designed the emoji to symbolize humor, like the iconic "womp womp" sound often associated with playful mistakes, according to school officials.

After a five-year wait, the trombone emoji is coming to digital keyboards.

Sarah Ashley, Science and Mathematics Academy Program Specialist, reflected on the milestone. "This approval is the perfect end to a five-year journey filled with hard work and creativity. I couldn't be prouder of these graduates for taking a concept and turning it into something that will now be used worldwide!"