Holtville Middle School students need votes to win national app competition

HOLTVILLE, AL (WSFA) - A team of seventh graders at Holtville Middle School is asking for the community to pull out their cellphones and help them win "Fan Favorite" for a national app-building contest.

The seven-member team is made up of Brooke Carrico, Erin Wilson, Todd Wilson, Sam Woodin, Bethany Parson, Hannah Moody and Carter Brink. The students decided to create an app called "Where's My School Bus?".

"We had multiple people in our lives tell us that they had problems with the buses sometimes," Carrico said. "So, it tells you what time it'll arrive at your neighborhood, what time it'll arrive at the school and if it's late, it tells you if you need to pick up a bus note. It even tells you what the weather's like so you know what to wear that day at the bus stop."

It took the team two weeks to put the concept together. With the help of their faculty adviser, Melody Wilkerson, they were able to submit the paperwork and questionnaire to be considered for the Verizon Innovative Learning app building competition. Winning best in Alabama, for their age group, won $5,000 for the team's school.

Now, the team is looking to clench one of the eight national spots, more specifically, the "Fan Favorite" award. If they advance, their school will receive and additional $15,000 and each student will receive a tablet. Also, the students will take a free trip to a tech conference in Orlando, Florida to present their idea. They will also get the chance to work with an MIT Media Lab to create their app.

The team is asking the community to help them reach their goal by voting as many times as they can from Monday until Feb. 14. To vote, text "BusTrack"
to 22333.

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