"It makes me proud:" Three students in Milwaukee get top honors for developing app

“It makes me proud:” Three students in Milwaukee get top honors for developing app

MILWAUKEE -- Three students in Milwaukee get top honors for developing an award-winning app! They're now hoping to inspire other young minds.

Washington High School junior Charles Wallace explains "WHS Bowling."

It's a bowling game app he developed with two other students, Zwannah Khalil and Melissa Vernon.

"We only had a class period to do it, so we worked on it at the school during lunch," said Charles Wallace.

The app ranked among the five best created by student groups from high schools around the country that are part of the Lenovo Scholar Network, a partnership aimed at growing the next generation of mobile app developers.

The network then invited the public to vote for their favorite among the top five. The Washington students’ app won.

The students showed it off at Washington High School's Information Technology Fair to MPS middle school students.

"It makes me proud because it is something I did. I put in my hard time, and seeing that it came out actually successful," said Wallace.

In a given school year, WHS students will put out about six to seven applications. Some of them will end up on the Google Play Store like the Bowling App, which is completely free.

MPS Superintendent Darienne Driver says app development is a way to keep students engaged.

"We want to make sure that on top of the core curriculum they are receiving, there are enough activities and things that interest them that keep them there," said Driver.

The iFair allows students to envision a career in information technology.

"It's one of the fastest growing fields," said Driver.

"I want to start my own computer company and I can see myself doing it," said Wallace.

Washington High School also received a $20,000 grant for app development. Both MPS' Washington and North Division High School are known for their information technology classes.