Five San Jose teens were honored by Congress for creating dynamic and creative digital applications.
Each year, members of Congress solicit submissions from students across the district, and community and business leaders select the top entries.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta announced the winners of the 19th District Congressional App Challenge last week.
First place went to Caitlin Hsu, a student at Leland High School in San Jose. His app, Oakli, helps people live greener lives by providing motivation, education, and resources. Rep. Monterey said Oakli “motivates users through a game-like system that educates users with detailed information, fun facts, and recycling tools.” With the tap of a finger, users can sort objects and get specific instructions on how to recycle them from the county. ”
In addition to being invited to attend the 2023 #HouseofCode event in Washington, D.C. in spring 2024, Sue will have her work displayed at the U.S. Capitol for the remainder of the 118th Congress and featured on the House of Representatives website. I’m going to get the honor. www.House.gov.
The goal of the Congressional App Challenge is to encourage student innovation, creativity, and engagement in computer science through competition and the creation of new digital applications.
This year, 40 students from across California’s 19th Congressional District participated in the challenge and developed 24 original apps that address issues ranging from sustainability, education, and social justice. Student participants included middle school and high school students.
“As our daily lives become increasingly integrated with the digital world, young people will need to use their creativity, ingenuity and technical skills to compete in the global economy,” Panetta said in a statement. “The Congressional App Challenge provides a unique experience for students to test themselves and think outside the box to solve real-world problems through the power of technology.” Caitlin joins the other finalists and Together with the participants in this year’s challenge, they have produced some great projects that are exciting for future innovation in our community.”
Anya Lee and Andrew Lee of Notre Dame High School in San Jose won second place for their app Green Habit, which provides users with eco-friendly reminders throughout the day.
Aarini Naskar and Shriyanka Hiremagaluru, also from Notre Dame High School, are on Girlz Elevate, an app that provides a trusted platform for young women to connect with each other on topics such as mental health, academics, and peer pressure. Won 3rd place. and self-esteem.
A panel of District 19 technology leaders and scholars volunteered to serve as judges for this year’s challenge. This includes judges. Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Santa Cruz County Office of Education Jason Bogan, Dean of the Department of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz Mazi Seif Elsasr, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Naval Post Graduate School Marko Oleskanin, Owen Arden, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Santa Cruz Owen Arden, director of engineering, and Walt Duflock, vice president of innovation at Western Growers.
Officially launched by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, the Congressional App Challenge allows middle school and high school students to compete against other students by creating applications, or “apps,” for desktop/PC, web, tablet, and mobile. This is a nationwide initiative. , or other devices.