Spark Care+ wins Rep. John Rutherford’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s Fifth District
Rep. Rutherford has named Sarah Park, an 11th grader at The Bolles School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s Fifth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Spark Care+, the student said, “Music is my inspiration that leads to innovation. I am a young musician myself and intuitively discovered and experienced the healing power of music. I felt music has a healing power early on, and I experienced it in so many ways. Most people have a favorite piece to hear that cheers them up on a gloomy day or calms them down when they are overly excited or stressed. When we listen to music, it elicits many emotions. Inspired by the positive responses I observed, particularly from my grandmother who suffers from depression and anxiety, I began to explore the connection between music and science. As my research findings indicate that personalized music could aid in relaxation and energizing, I felt compelled to create an app so that many others in need of mental wellness support could easily access. I hope the Spark Care+ app can make mental wellness support accessible to many people.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official 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. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.