Three tech-savvy high school students from across Maine have received scholarships totaling $10,000 in the 2019 Tyler Technologies Maine App Challenge, a contest that encourages students to develop mobile applications and create videos showcasing their designs.

This year’s first-place winner was Michael Guertler of Yarmouth High School, who created TIMR, a camera app that relies on voice commands to take pictures. Guertler said that after being disappointed with his smartphone’s inability to take pictures using voice commands, he developed the app to take photos with a quick audio instruction.

From left, Avery Gosselin of Maine Central Institute, Michael Guertler of Yarmouth High School and Aidan Blum Levine of Deering High School were awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships Saturday in a contest to develop and showcase their own working mobile applications. Photo courtesy of Tyler Technologies

Guertler, a returning winner from the 2018 Maine App Challenge, received a $6,000 scholarship at an awards ceremony Saturday at contest sponsor Tyler Technologies’ Maine headquarters in Yarmouth.

Second place went to Avery Gosselin of the Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, who developed The Room of Requirement app. Maine Central has a “room of requirement” that houses donated goods that are intended to be distributed to people in need. With Gosselin’s app, students can conveniently request items from the room while maintaining privacy. He was awarded a $3,000 scholarship Saturday.

The third-place winner was Aidan Blum Levine of Deering High School in Portland for his creation, Winditions, an app that allows Mainers to check on and report trail conditions. Blum Levine created fliers and posted them at various trails around Portland to promote the app, which currently has more than 300 posts. He was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

“We are excited to catch a glimpse of Maine’s future through these innovative student designs,” said Chris Hepburn, a division president at Tyler Technologies. “The Maine App Challenge continues to encourage today’s high school students and introduce them to a future in technology, and we’re proud to support their continued education through scholarships.”

The Maine App Challenge was developed in partnership with Educate Maine’s Project>Login to encourage the next generation of professionals to pursue future careers in disciplines related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The winners successfully designed, developed and presented functional mobile applications and were rewarded with scholarships in 529 college savings plans.