Aidan Blum Levine of Deering High School, at right, is the winner of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. Blum is shown here with Avery Gosselin of Maine Central Institute, left, and Michael Guertler of Yarmouth High School in June 2019 when the trio was awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships in another contest to develop working mobile applications. Courtesy Tyler Technologies
Deering High School junior Aiden Blum Levine is the winner of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge for Maine’s 1st District, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced recently.
His app, “Winditions,” allows users to post up-to-date weather conditions for winter sports so others can see real-time conditions without traveling to the location. It also includes a map to find new locations for winter sports.
Blum Levine designed the Winditions website and app at the urging of longtime math teacher Jeffrey Borland, who said he loves to cross-country ski, but it’s hard to know day-to-day whether conditions are favorable.
Borland said he’d actually had the idea for a tool like Winditions for a long time, and in fall 2018 he tapped Blum Levine to create it.
“I knew Aidan was really great with computers and I thought this would be a good project for him to learn new skills,” while also creating something worthwhile, Borland said. “He made it even better than I ever thought,” he added.
In announcing the winner, Pingree said, “Year after year, the apps Maine students develop are technically impressive, innovative, and solve problems that Americans face in their everyday lives,” Pingree said. “Aidan Blum Levine’s submission shows he really understands Mainers’ needs — an app that helps them track the areas best for winter exploration. Congratulations to him and my thanks to everyone who participated.”
The Congressional App Challenge is a nationwide competition. Members of Congress must choose to participate in order for students in their district to be eligible. Winning apps from each District will be displayed and recognized at an event in Washington, D.C., this spring. The Internet Education Foundation coordinates the competition.
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