Penn Hills Coding Team, comprised of Penn Hills High School students Peter Frachioni, Rachael McCann, Paige Webb, Samantha Yee, Eric Cronin and Olivia Senge won the PNC Code for Your Cause competition.
The team designed and created a wearable device that would warn the user if they were in danger of a panic attack or sensory overload. The students designed the electronics and wrote the code for the device. They also designed and coded a smartphone app to control it. The device is aimed at students with a variety of mental health issues (with a focus on students with anxiety issues and autistic students with sensory issues). The device was designed to send warnings to the student, their parents/teachers, and even a service animal with the dog collar accessory.
The team had bi-weekly meetings with a team of mentors that included software engineers at PNC. They presented their completed project remotely to several high-level PNC employees on May 2.
The judges awarded the team the Innovation Award for having the most innovative solution to a problem. The team was also awarded the Extra Credit Award for having the best overall project.
The students won a total of $15,000 for the coding classes at Penn Hills High School. They also won great prizes for themselves.
Rachel Schweitzer, a senior interior architecture and design major was named to the President’s List for the Spring 2022 semester at Bob Jones University. \
Brynna Luedde, a member of the Colgate University Class of 2023, has earned the Fall 2021 Dean’s Award with Distinction. Luedde is a political science major and is a graduate of The Ellis School.
