Panav Mhatre, a junior at Lebanon Trail High School, recently discovered that he is one of this year’s recipients of the Swift Student Challenge. The challenge required participants to create a game using Apple’s Swift coding software that addresses a real-world issue.
Expressing his excitement about winning, Mhatre shared his motivation behind developing a game with a practical impact. Reflecting on a visit to his grandparents’ farm in India, where he witnessed crops struggling due to environmental challenges, Mhatre felt compelled to focus on issues of environmental sustainability and climate change.
His game aims to educate users about recycling, pollution, extreme weather, and deforestation by taking them on a virtual journey from the United States to India and Brazil. Through interactive gameplay, Mhatre hopes to raise awareness about the global impact of climate change.
Looking ahead, Mhatre plans to enhance his app with AI features to make it accessible on the App Store. As one of the 50 Swift Student Challenge winners invited to the Worldwide Developers Conference in California, he sees collaboration and collective action as essential for driving meaningful change.
Mhatre’s ultimate goal is to inspire others to join the effort in addressing climate change, emphasizing the importance of collective action in effecting positive change on a global scale.
