Aarav Dave said, ‘It’s important to do things you love with the people that you love. Which makes me proud to share this accomplishment with my brother.’

HAHIRA — Aarin and Aarav Dave developed an award-winning app for school safety.

Lowndes High School ninth-grader Aarin and Hahira Middle School seventh-grader Aarav competed in the Congressional App Challenge for the Eighth District with Congressman Austin Scott.

Scott congratulated the first-place app designers on a job well done and thanked them for developing another app that is effective and helpful.

Last year, Aarin won the congressional app challenge as an eighth-grader at HMS.

“It feels great to win again this year, alongside my brother this time,” Aarin Dave said. “I am proud to represent Lowndes County Schools once again.”

Aarav said, “It’s important to do things you love with the people that you love. Which makes me proud to share this accomplishment with my brother.”

He said last year he watched his brother work to develop the award-winning Life Skills app, which made him excited to compete this year.

The brothers built an app called Safeology, which has a three-step authentication process for school safety. The app is designed to increase school safety by giving school visitors a random question/answer to permit entry into the school.

Simultaneously, parents and guardians will have a QR code which they can scan on their phones or print to have school entry.

Mitchell Donahoo, HMS assistant principal and school safety coordinator, said, “The app supports our already strategic safety system by adding another measure which supports our mission to the safety of students and staff.”

Laila Taylor, teacher, said, “Aarin and Aarav are very special students.”

Taylor is a computer science teacher and FBLA advisor at HMS.

She said, “They truly have a heart of service and they are always willing to serve the school and others.”

Aarin and Aarav will visit Washington, D.C., to network with other young app developers and present their app design to the United States Congress in April.

Aarin said he is happy to be able to attend this year. Due to COVID-19, the past app presentation was held virtually.

The Safeology link will be available on house.gov for the country to view.