He's an award-winning app developer from Knoxville - and he's still in high school
When Dominick Pelaia thinks about artificial intelligence, he's not concerned about computers taking over human jobs. Instead, he's worried about machines' lack of understanding of human emotions.
And he's only 15.
Artificial intelligence can be used for idea generation and to get menial tasks done, he said. He embraces artificial intelligence and hopes to incorporate it in the future work.
"You can then focus your time on innovating," he said.
Most recently, he won U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett's Congressional App Challenge for an app he developed that embodies the empathy of which he speaks. Pelaia's creation, reMemory, helps dementia and Alzheimer's patients and their caretakers. He was inspired by his grandfather, who has dementia, and his grandmother, who takes care of him.
The app helps users track medications, do brain activities to keep patients engaged and connect to resources. Pelaia consulted with his grandmother, who provided critical feedback, as he developed the app.
Pelaia's school, L&N STEM Academy, is located in a now-defunct Knoxville train station that's over 100 years old. It's a stark contrast from what he learns within those walls. The school keeps winning accolades. Most recently, it ranked among the top 10 high schools in Tennessee.
Like his school, Pelaia's list of achievements is long. In middle school, an app he developed won Apple's Swift Student Challenge.
The Apple challenge is by invitation only. Student developers have three weeks to create a 3-minute experience using Swift. It has to show technical and creative capabilities.
Out of the many thousands of applicants worldwide, Pelaia was one of only 375 students to create a winning app. Most student developers that participate are college age. Pelaia was among the youngest – if not the youngest - to win, according to his dad, Thomas Pelaia.
For his coding skills, he won a gold medal in the 2024 regional Science Olympiad Robot Tour.
At school, he takes engineering and math classes that help him with his coding. He enjoys the "hands-on" STEM experience and getting to build webpages at school. Pelaia is also a Latin and chemistry student.
At school, he is taught Stanford University's Design Thinking Process, which begins with a class in empathizing, Principal James Allen said.
Pelaia started coding when he was 9. His mom took him to an Apple summer coding camp at West Town Mall. At the camp, he helped program a robot and "that's when I realized the capabilities," he said.
That camp kicked off what would be an enduring passion. He continued to code and his dad introduced him to Swift Playgrounds, an app that helps beginners learn how to develop.
He develops games and is hoping to get into web development. But, he's also into chess, drawing and write. During summers, he does kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a self-defense and martial art sport.
His advice to kids in elementary and middle school? Try different things.
"Take advantage of science and math clubs. Math and science are very important," he said. "Whether you like it or not, it's important to pay attention in school."
Areena Arora, data and investigative reporter for Knox News, can be reached by email at areena.arora@knoxnews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AreenaArora.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: L&N STEM Academy student Dominick Pelaia talks about coding and AI
