Terre Haute South Wins Rep. Bucshon’s (IN-08) 2019 Congressional App Challenge

Rep. Larry Bucshon has named a Terre Haute student as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in Indiana’s 8th district. Terre Haute South High School’s Samuel Ford submitted Terre Haute South, an informational app that provides a way for students, parents, and teachers to stay informed on what is happening at Terre Haute South High School.

When asked why they were passionate about creating an app that focuses on informing his classmates he replied, “  At the end of my Sophomore year, my school was struggling to keep everyone informed about what was happening at the school. I wanted to create a way for everyone in the school community to stay informed and be able to access the resources they need conveniently.” 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.