Supporting a four-year journey towards a dream

“Software is like magic that brings your ideas to life."

This is the story of Youngjun Lee, who won the Grand Prize in Samsung Junior Software Cup for developing an app called 'Don’t Forget Me'. Samsung Junior Software is a contest launched in 2015 with an aim to nurture young talent in software development.

He was only in sixth grade when he won the contest. As one of the prizes, he was invited to the Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) held in April 2016, and proudly presented his app in front of professional developers. Shortly after, he enrolled in the Junior Software Heroes program, and is currently receiving intensive software training.

"I can’t explain how excited I was to be recognized as one of the SDC developers"

Youngjun's first encounter with software was from a book about software development that his father had given him. Since then, Lee has long been dreaming of becoming a software engineer. One day, he found out about Samsung Junior Software Cup and applied for the contest right away.

Under the theme of “developing a software for my family,” he developed an app that allows families to take care of indoor plants more effectively. Using App Inventor, an app development tool that even elementary school students can use, he developed his own app step by step.

"Of course, it wasn’t an easy task. If anything went wrong, it would take over several hours to pinpoint and correct the error,” said Youngjun. "Sometimes I had a hard time figuring out why something didn’t work, but I was able to solve these problems with the help of Samsung employee mentors at the boot camp (a mentoring program for 60 finalists)."

"I was so happy that everyone treated me as a professional developer, not just a kid. It was also a valuable opportunity to see the latest ideas and technologies and meet amazing people. For me, SDC was like a new world," said Youngjun, when asked about his presentation at the SDC.

He also had a tip for aspiring developers. “I learned that it’s helpful to slow down sometimes. And if the algorithm is difficult, draw a chart and write things out. It’ll help you get organized."

Samsung’s support for Youngjun did not end as a one-time event. Samsung recognized his talent and helped him further develop and grow his genius. Junior Software Heroes program was intended to do exactly that, providing top notch software education for three years. An idea that started with an attempt to help his family take care of the plants evolved into a life-changing software solution. Samsung will continue to support his bright future awaiting infront of him.