Apps on bullying, baggage claim, and trigonometry claim prizes.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Three Indian American high schoolers were on the winning team at California Congressman Mike Honda’s first-ever Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) Reception, where they were awarded for an app they built that helps fight bullying in schools.
Sravya Koduri, Amukta Nayak, and Shivani Mouleeswaran – along with another classmate of theirs named Christine Tung – are all students at Cupertino High School. Together, the four of them created iStander, an app that lets people who see bullying happen, either to themselves or someone else, send out the information to other as soon as possible.
“The app we created gives student bystanders a quick and effective way to directly message school authorities when bullying occurs,” said Koduri, in a statement. “iStander allows safe access to adult help on and off campus, since the alert hotline sends texts to administrators, parents, and friends instantly when a bullying incident occurs.”
The team was recognized for their achievement at an elaborate reception on June 16, in which Rep. Honda – who is currently campaigning against fellow Democrat Ro Khanna to keep his seat for the state’s 17th District in the US House of Representatives – lauded participants for showing just how innovative students can be when it comes to sciences and the liberal arts.
“What an impressive display of art and science,” Honda said, in a statement. “Our district has so many talented students. I’m glad Congress is encouraging their growth in the critic fields of science and art. We need to focus on STEAM education to ensure our future global competitiveness and success.”
Honda also commended the girls for creating an app that focused specifically on bullying, something that Honda said he feels strongly about and has worked on a great deal.
“Bullying is an epidemic that needs to stop,” said Honda. “As the founder of the Congressional Anti-Bullying Coalition, I’m glad to see this team using technology to address this problem. Getting an adult to a bullying situation quickly sends a message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”
The competition was dominated by Indian Americans, with the second and third-place prizes also going to students of Indian origin.
Mission San Jose High School student Ruchit Majmudar won second place for his app entitled BaggageTrack, a pretty self-explanatory idea that allows the user to make sure their checked-in baggage doesn’t get lost during flights. Those who travel constantly for business are likely lining up to download that one.
Third place went to Sonia Sachar, of Irvington High School, who won for her program entitled Pre-Calculuas Trigonometry Tutor. Both Sachar and Majmudar are based in Fremont, California, near San Francisco.
The first-place winners – Koduri Nayak, Mouleeswaran, and Tung – will each receive a Nokia 1020 Windows Phone, participation in the High School Summer Code Camp (from July 7-11), and a trip to the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose – all furnished by Microsoft.
“Winning this competition is honestly beyond words,” said Koduri. “Our team spent hours after school every day to make this app as functional and practical as possible. It feels really fulfilling to be recognized for all the effort we put in.”
The iStander team created a video to demonstrate just how effective their app can potentially be; it can be viewed below: