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Hersey student wins state innovation honor

Olivia Glowacka was recognized by the Mount Prospect village board this month for being a winner in the third annual Celebrating High School Innovators Competition.

Olivia, a student at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, was honored for her creation of a travel management and social media app called Dérive Travel Experience. She is one of just seven students from across the state so honored.

"I'm very happy that I got to be honored here in my town, and also just very happy in general with the result of the competition," Olivia said.

Her app was created in response to problems people face while traveling such as jet lag, fatigue, stress and challenges with packing, as well as not having connections while traveling to foreign regions. The app provides tools for managing trips and connecting with others.

"Olivia is that student who loves entrepreneurship, loves learning about business, loves learning about startups," teacher Daniel Vesper said.

The Celebrating High School Innovators program was created by Millikin University, Illinois State University and Pontiac Township High School to recognize high school students whose contributions are innovative, creative or inspirational.

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