Tortle wins Rep. Ami Bera’s 2022 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Seventh District

When asked what inspired the creation of Tortle, the student said, ”Taking from the famous tale, “the tortoise and the hare,” we were inspired by the lesson, “slow and steady wins the race.’ As current seniors in high school, we’ve understood the ups and downs and pressure of growing up and facing more strenuous courses and decisions for the future. Furthermore, with many of our peers voicing their mental health concerns and engaging in mental health advocacy, we could see that this is a very prevalent issue among all ages, especially teenagers. The mission of our app centers around how it is acceptable to take time and prioritize well being when feeling stressed. Sometimes, taking care of mental and physical well being sets you up with a clear mind to pursue other important tasks that could be causing stress. In addition, with the hustle culture that many young people believe in, we wanted to emphasize that it is okay for progress to take time, highlighted through many features of our app, including the mood tracker.
As technology is growing fast as a solution for convenience in various fields, we combined the topic of mental health with technology and app development. The app promotes a self-care quiz to suggest solutions for stress and negative emotions. Additionally, we have included a journal as an outlet for mental health support. As a team, we’ve made sure to create appropriate tones, color, and easy navigation to create an appealing and calming user interface. At the same time, we wanted to ensure that our app was accessible to everyone, and part of that process included making sure that the color schemes, hues, and saturation would be visible and differentiable for individuals with color blindness. All elements of the app essentially point to the idea that taking time for yourself is important and that it is okay to do, and that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get help if they need it.”