Two Local Student Groups Win $5,000 from the Verizon Innovative Leaning App Challenge

Glenwood Middle School and The Academy of the Holy Cross Students Named Best in Maryland, Now Eligible to Win National Awards

WHAT: A team of motivated students from Glenwood Middle School and The Academy of the Holy Cross in Glenwood and Kensington, Maryland, respectively have been named Best in State winners in the Fifth Annual Verizon Innovative Learning app challenge for their mobile app concepts Emploi and PantryPal. The team will receive a $5,000 award from the Verizon Foundation for their schools and tablets for each student team member.

As the two winners from Maryland, these teams are now eligible to win one of eight Best In Nation Awards, selected by a panel of education and industry experts, and the Fan Favorite Award, determined by public voting, to earn an additional $15,000 for their schools and the opportunity to work with MIT Media Lab experts to bring their app ideas to life.

From January 16 until February 14, 2017, anyone can vote to help team Emploi or PantryPal win the Fan Favorite award by texting the code found next to the team’s entry at www.verizon.com/appchallenge/vote to 22333. See the full list of Best in State winners eligible for the Fan Favorite award, here.

The students’ winning app ideas were selected from more than 1,800 submissions nationwide. The Emploi app allows adults to post tasks that need completed with the ability for teenagers to respond to the tasks, committing to a specific job. PantryPal tackles the problems of food insecurity and hunger; this app displays a map (using location services) to allow users to choose a food bank in their area and view which food items the pantry is in need of. Then users can deliver the specified food using in-app GPS services that direct the user to food banks in need.

The Fan Favorite and Best in Nation teams will present their completed apps at the annual Technology Student Association (TSA) Conference in Orlando, Fla. in June 2017, courtesy of Verizon Innovative Learning, the education initiative of the Verizon Foundation. Their apps will be downloadable from the Google Play store.

WHY: As the job market shifts due to the rapid progression of technological advances, it’s clear we need to do more to spark greater student interest and proficiency in technology, and give them project based learning opportunities.

Over the past four years of the app challenge, we’ve seen thousands of students use technology and work together to create app concepts that are addressing societal issues facing their schools and communities. By providing these kids with technology, role models and exposure to STEM-related careers, we can help them to achieve a brighter future.

WHO:

Available for interview:

• Students of the Emploi and PantryPal App Teams
• Kelly Storr (Emploi- Glenwood Middle School) and Lauren DeZinno (PantryPal- The Academy of the Holy Cross)
• Justina Nixon-Saintil, director of education programs, Verizon Foundation

WHEN: Voting is open from January 16 – February 14, 2017. National winners will be announced on February 15, 2017.