Teen tech trailblazers shine in Maine App Challenge
Photo / Whitney J. Fox Photography
From left, Maine App Challenge winners Oliver Emerson of Gorham High School, Eugene Irving Frost of Mountain Valley High School and Everett Hurder of Gorham High School with their scholarship awards from Tyler Technologies Inc.
Out of 127 high school technology innovators from 15 high schools who applied to this year’s Maine App Challenge, three took home prizes for the mobile applications they created.
The annual contest is sponsored by Tyler Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TYL), a Plano, Texas-based provider of software and technology solutions with more than 1,200 employees in Maine.
This year’s first place winner was Eugene Irving Frost of Rumford's Mountain Valley High School. He created a game called “Prospect: Re-Appraisal” featuring original art and music.
Second place went to Everett Hurder of Gorham High School. He created StudyBuddy, an app integrated with Google Classroom to help students track their course progress.
Third place went to Oliver Emerson, also of Gorham High School. He created Investment Investigator, a personalized tool that suggests interest-bearing account investments.
The winners received scholarships totaling $10,000 in 529 college savings plans, presented at a May 3 ceremony at Tyler Technologies’ office in Yarmouth.
“This year's Maine App Challenge winners displayed a strong mix of problem-solving, technical and creative skills — all things that will prepare them for a rewarding career in technology,” said Matt Jones, Maine App Challenge lead and product manager at Tyler Technologies.
“We are so impressed with the amount of talent that Maine students bring to this challenge year after year,” he added.
The Maine App Challenge introduces students to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines, and supports the notion that they can excel in those fields while remaining in Maine.
In addition to the three prizes for the individual winners, Tyler awarded $500 to Deering High School in Portland for having the most teams or individuals submitting an eligible entry.
As part of this year’s contest, Tyler collaborated with the Foster Center for Innovation at the University of Maine to host a series of free workshops for students to help with brainstorming, prototyping and testing their applications.
Tyler also partnered with the University of Maine on its Fundamentals of Innovation course available online to high school students as an early college course that allows them to earn college credits while designing an app submission for the Maine App Challenge.
Since its inception in 2015, the Maine App Challenge has awarded more than $110,000 in 529 college savings plans to students in Maine.
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