NOVEMBER 18, 2022 | Lorain High School’s Romel Martin, a Career Technical Education student currently enrolled in a Project Lead the Way Computer Science program, can program, code, and build a functioning digital app in less than a day, and he has the money to prove it.
Fourteen-year-old Romel recently won a $200 cash prize at TECHCORPShack, a hack-a-thon hosted by TechCorps. The event allows high school students to learn about computer science in a fun, engaging, and inclusive environment. Romel's aunt signed him up for the event, which took place at Cuyahoga Community College on Saturday, November 12.
Romel said the cash prize he won made the 12 hours he spent at the event worth his while. And he said he is now rethinking what he will do at Lorain High and beyond.
“We were matched into teams, so I had to work with three people I didn’t know, and we had to use the MIT App Inventor to create a new app,” Romel said. “We sat down together and came up with an app called Recycrofact to spread awareness about recycling with a game component, so kids are engaged while they are learning.”
Romel credits Stephanie Bluso’s class with playing a part in his win. Bluso introduced the MIT App Inventor to his class, and Romel said he could do most of the programming because of that familiarity.
“The program is very easy to work with, but you still have to take your time to figure out how to program it so you can manipulate the app,” Romel said.
Romel said he learned that he works well in a team during the hack-a-thon and has a knack for computer science.
“I have been thinking that I’m pretty good at it, so now I am looking at careers and stuff,” he said.
Romel Martin is pictured above (to the far right), proudly holding his certificate.