CleanMyBeach Wins Rep. Case’s (HI-01) 2019 Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Ed Case has named a Honolulu student as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in Hawaii’s 1st district. Laurel Springs Online School’s Arjun Sharma’s submitted CleanMyBeach, an app that focuses on streamlining the process of planning, publicizing, and finding local beach cleanups for event organizers and individuals.
When asked why they were passionate about creating an app that helps to maintain local beaches beauty the student replied, “Having seen and being exposed to so much trash and pollution over the years, I developed an interest in the environment and ways to protect it. I decided that I would do my part to make a difference.” The student hopes 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.