Catholic Schools of Broome County Wins Rep. Brindisi’s (NY-22) 2019 Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Anthony Brindisi has named a Binghamton student as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in New York’s 22nd district. Seton Catholic Central’s Luke Redmore submitted Catholic Schools of Broome County, an app allowing students and families to view schedules, menus, grades, and much more, along with the ability to receive important alerts from principals.
When asked why they were passionate about creating an app that promotes safety the students replied,“Most school districts in my area now have their own app, and I felt that we were missing out on the ease that they bring to families. The project started just as an idea and personal challenge for myself. Once I realized its potential, I ran away with it and created something that I’m proud to say my peers greatly appreciate.” 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.