Local students honored by lawmakers for app challenge

Andrew Lemons discusses his new app idea alongside his family dog, Izzy. / Screeshot of video from Andrew Lemons
Andrew Lemons discusses his new app idea alongside his family dog, Izzy. / Screeshot of video from Andrew Lemons

LaFayette High School sophomore Andrew Lemons came up with a way for pet owners to easily track and store their animal's records in the 21st century.

His plan was to create an app that is designed to store important documents such as medical records and reminders like when to administer medication or vaccines.

For his efforts and innovation, Lemons and the Animal Record Keeper app were chosen as the winner of Georgia's 14th District Congressional App Challenge sponsored by House Rep. Tom Graves.

The App Challenge is a nationwide, STEM-based initiative to encourage student creativity in education and computer science.

In Rep. Chuck Fleischmann's 3rd District in Tennessee, Colby Bowers and Emily Swanson from Sequoyah High School were chosen as winners for their "School App," which allows students to stay "up to date, informed and organized," according to a news release.

Fleischmann congratulated the two on Tuesday, saying, "Like many of their peers, Colby and Emily understand the demands of school events, club meetings, sporting events, and preparing for success in college that can often be overwhelming for students in East Tennessee and across the nation."

In his submission video, Lemons detailed his new app with the help of his dog, Izzy.

The information in Lemons' app can be emailed or messaged to anyone directly from the app. Lemons said that his inspiration for creating the app was Izzy, especially since his family travels often and most dog parks require verification of certain vaccinations.

The app, also known as ARK, was created using SwiftUI, a developer tool designed by Apple.

Graves said in a news release that he was impressed with Lemons' creative and original idea.

"As a pet owner and animal lover, I agree with Andrew that an app like ARK would certainly come in handy," he said. "Northwest Georgia is full of so many talented students, and I encourage them to start developing ideas for next year's challenge."

The three local judges who reviewed the submissions were Timothy P. Hawkins, associate professor at Dalton State College; Dwight Watt, computer support and cybersecurity program director at Georgia Northwestern Technical College; and Charles Howell, retired IT director of operations for Floyd Medical Center.

Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.

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