MCHS senior earns
$50,000 STEM grant
Mira Costa senior Maia Rocha has been awarded a $50,000 STEM grant by Chevron, recognizing her promise as a young technological innovator. Rocha, who has been coding since elementary school, developed the Doing Done productivity app.
“It is a productivity app mainly focused on productivity techniques for people with ADHD,” Rocha told the Manhattan Beach City Council during a recognition ceremony last week. “I myself have had a lot of trial and error with that area, and I’ve come up with a system that I’ve entered into an app that I use daily, and I hope that my users will also be able to use it daily.”
Rocha originally received a $1,700 grant from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy to help fund the app’s development. “Doing Done” was inspired by the KanBan workflow method that separates tasks into to-do, doing, and done in order to maintain peak productivity. As Rocha told La Vista newspaper last year, the app helps make the endless tasks required of a student more manageable and even sort of fun.
“Doing Done is at this point a necessity for me,” Rocha said. “I have all of my tasks there, from my AP practice to my laundry. It means the world to me to be able to take control of my life like this.”
Mayor Amy Howorth said she planned to download the app for herself.
“We couldn’t be more impressed and proud,” Howorth said. “I mean, this is incredible…I can’t wait to see what you do next.”
Rocha will attend USC next fall.
Pacific recognized
Pacific Elementary has earned the prestigious California Distinguished School honor bestowed by the state’s Department of Education. The school was recognized for its excellence in academic achievement and fostering a positive school climate. Pacific was one of 336 schools statewide named a distinguished school. The City Council honored the school, which was represented by Principal Amanda Vavao, at last week’s meeting.
Mayor Amy Howorth, a former MBUSD board trustee, said the California Distinguished School recognition is not easily achieved.
“This is something that takes a lot to accomplish,” Howorth said.
“First and foremost, it’s definitely a team effort,” Vavao said. “I know I’m one person standing up here, but I represent over 500 students and almost 100 staff members who are a huge part of the success that goes behind this award — not just the academic success, but creating an environment that is supportive of all learners, social, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically. So thank you to all of them, and thank you for being here to help us celebrate this.” ER
