Integer Racers Wins Rep. Barragan’s (CA-44) 2019 Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Nanette Barragan has named two Los Angeles students as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in California’s 44th district. International Studies and Learning Center’s Giselle Cortez and Estevan Cortez submitted Integer Racers, an app that allows for students to practice their skills with integer expressions.
When asked why they were passionate about creating an app that helps students practice integers the students replied,“Our inspiration for this app came from our observations in our math classes. We noticed that many of our peers encountered difficulty with basic integer concepts, which reflected a weak foundation in this practice early on. This app would allow for students to practice and master this skill in an entertaining way.” They hope to encourage other students to better their communities by using their computer science skills.
Over 10,000 students registered for the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 2,177 functioning apps, marking the end of the most successful Congressional App Challenge to date. All told, 304 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, D.C.
The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. The non-profit Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental staffing and support. In the five years of the Congressional App Challenge, the program has yielded 1134 App Challenges across 48 states. Thousands of functional apps have been created by over 25,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.