Canetis Cure Wins Rep. Thompson’s (MS-02) 2019 Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Bennie Thompson has named three Jackson students as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in Mississippi’s 2nd district. Jackson Public Schools Career Development Center’s Kameron Lewis, ShaMya Robinson and Shamar Stamps submitted Canetis Cure, is sound therapy app for those with depression and anxiety.
When asked why they were passionate about creating therapeutic app the students replied,“I was inspired to create this app, because I know as the years pass that more teens and young adults are suffering with depression and anxiety. They may be scared to talk to someone and feel lonely. Sounds or music may be their only way out.” 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.