Hometown wins Rep. Greg Landsman’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s First District
Rep. Landsman has named Ramya Rajan, an 11th grader at Mason City Schools, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Hometown, the student said, “A lot of my college friends have talked about how difficult it is to stay in touch with people from high school and younger students from their hometown. In a state with a high percent of students going straight into college from high school, the relevance of this app increases in the context of Ohio. I also have this impending fear of losing touch with the people who are making my high school experience so amazing. I wanted to create an app with a streamlined and fun way to remember to stay in touch and take a minute to reach out, especially for introverts or people that have trouble sending that first text. It’s so crucial to keep connections throughout your life and have people who care about you in your circle. These support systems can break down in times of transition, such as that first exciting foray into college life. Hometown allows for connection to thrive. In addition, with frequent trips back home, packing can become a hassle. Hometown also has the capability to create different packing lists for different scenarios.”
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.