LAKEVIEW — So far, Damian Medina is having a stellar 2016.
Medina, 18, kicked off the year by handing Mayor Rahm Emanuel his self-designed business card after presenting his whiz kid success during a breakfast for early college STEM schools.
On Wednesday, Medina won an app-creating challenge for the 5th Congressional District. His app, "My Vote," is a resource guide for the 2016 election, featuring primary election forecasts and information about the election process.
"I would hope to attract all ages, not just older people. I would hope to attract the youth as well, and hopefully they would see that voting is important," Medina explains in a video demonstration.
The Congressional App Challenge instructed students to address a problem with a creative coding solution, whether a mobile or desktop app. Winners have their apps on display in the Capitol Building and the challenge's website.
Medina's app "reminds us that science and technology can be used to empower young Americans to become involved in the political process," said U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-5th).
Damian Medina, a senior at Lake View High School, designed the My Vote app for the Congressional App Challenge. [Screenshot]
Coding is nothing new to Medina, who has taken computer programming classes since starting at Lake View High School four years ago. The teen is part of Lake View's first graduating class to start the computer science program as freshmen.
"They're basically learning another language. They're learning code, but then they're able to apply it," said Principal Scott Grens.
Medina has won hackathons and app-creating contests over the last two years; among his winning designs is the Home Health Care app, which connects users with a directory of medical companies that provide home visits.
After an internship that paired Medina with a team building a website for the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance, Medina now plans to major in computer science in college, perhaps DePaul University or the University of Illinois.
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