Student Wins App Challenge

She created EyeSpy, an app that can calculate if a driver is falling asleep. “I created this app because driver drowsiness is a huge problem, especially among teens,” she said.  “This idea originated when I saw my mom drive my brother and me from one sports practice to another. The monotonous routine caused her always to be exhausted and worn out from the drives and long hours. That is when I realized that other people may be experiencing the same issues that my mom was going through. I started researching the variable of sleepiness in road accidents and realized that drowsy drivers play a prominent role in the abundance of car fatalities each year. Furthermore, I decided to implement this idea and create Eyespy to help people around the world.”

The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. 

Anika, who is the founder of the Girls Who Code club at Hockaday, coded the app herself and has been invited to Washington, DC to showcase her app to Congress.