Announcing the winners of the 2014 Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero!

PRESS RELEASE

5 December 2014

ANNOUNCING THE WINNER of the 2014 Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero. Proudly sponsored by the University of Queensland, the Tech Girls Movement is proud to announce Sara Price, a year 7 student from Melbourne Girls Grammar School in Victoria as the winner of the national competition.

Sara’s app Positive Penguins has already sold 15000 copies. Dr Beekhuyzen, the Founder of the non-profit company and the Tech Girls Are Superheroes campaign said she couldn’t be more excited to bestow Sara and the other winners and finalists with the title of 2015 Ambassadors.

“Sara has shown creativity, determination and empathy in developing the idea for her technology solution to a situation many children face. She has articulated a way for children to deal with a stressful situation, and she has branded and marketed the idea well too”.

The app that Sara designed is a tool to help children understand how their emotions come from their thinking and teach them to challenge (or problem solve) the negative stories they tell themselves. Sara feels this is especially important when feelings relate to bullying, being different, anxiety, and worry. Sara has named herself Enthusiastica when she transforms into a superhero.

The second prize winner Emilie Morscheck (aka Storyteller) is in year 12 at Dickson College in Canberra, who proposed an innovative app called Beauty Is Only A Photoshop Layer Deep which helps girls feel better about their body image. Third prize goes to the self-named Terrific Trio of three girls in year 4 at the Whitsunday Anglican School in Queensland for their interactive cyber bullying solution that is built as Mindcraft Adventure Map. The team is made up of Taynah McMurtrie, Kate Rogers, and Alyssa Bremner.

A highly commended award is also being awarded to Jaycia Adams (aka Purple Princess), a year six student from Binjour Plateau State School in Queensland. Even though Jaycia’s school only has 21 students, that didn’t stop her from participating in her regional techie club run by teacher Robyn Peterson. 

“Jaycia’s computer access was not so good. She even had to drive to another town to get online for our Tech Girls Sessions!!” says Robyn.

Senator Michaelia Cash has been a strong supporter of the competition, launching it at ANU in May and recording a heartwarming personalised message for the finalists.

Marie Johnson, the Patron for the competition who runs the Centre for Digital Business, also gave an inspiring message to the finalists in a video, as did Helen McHugh from the ACS and many of the real life tech girl superheroes in the Tech Girls Are Superheroes book.

More details about all of the finalists can be found via: http://www.techgirlsmovement.org/2014-finalists.

All of the finalists will receive a prize pack and be mentored by real life tech women in featured in the free book for school girls, Tech Girls Are Superheroes. To order a book or for more information, go to www.techgirlsaresuperheroes.org.