New Territory teen helps create app to fight human trafficking
SUGAR LAND, TX -- Like many of today's youth, Sartartia Middle School student Mikey Martell began using technology at an age that would have been considered surprisingly young just a generation ago. The New Territory 13-year-old furthered his age group's reputation for technological proficiency at the Essence Festival's #YesWeCode hack-a-thon in New Orleans, where he and two other teens created an award-winning app designed to combat human trafficking.
Martell said he's used computers since the 1st or 2nd grade, but first began coding while working on a 5th grade science project. Though his interest has gone up and down in the field, he said he's stuck with the activity ever since.
"Mainly it was something I do to keep from being bored," Martell said, "but I recently started getting back into it."
