At the start of my sophomore year in high school, Hurricane Irene slammed through my town, downing power lines, uprooting trees, and causing millions of dollars in property damage. With inoperable phone lines and little mobile web support, Ridgefield’s public school system had few functioning forms of communication. This information vacuum troubled me, and I realized that I could put my newly self-taught programming abilities to work helping my town.

So at the age of 15, I developed myRPS, an iOS app to allow direct communication of emergency alerts from schools to families. One year after Irene, Superstorm Sandy unleashed even more damage on Ridgefield, but this time myRPS helped to prevent chaos with real-time alerts about damage and closings.

The app continued to grow, providing mobile access to emergency alerts, teacher pages, homework, schedules, grades, and more. It gained acclaim from the students and families of Ridgefield and has been commended by the U.S. House of Representatives. I am truly grateful that my first large-scale project has actually improved the lives of so many people.