Scottsdale School Scout wins Rep. David Schweikert’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Arizona’s First District
Rep. Schweikert has named Lailla Burka, Isabelle Ellis, Tavek Jordan, and Vedant Vashi of Desert Mountain High School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Arizona’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Scottsdale School Scout, the students said, “Our motivation to create Scottsdale School Scout stems from personal experiences and a strong belief in the importance of finding the right high school. For instance, I, Lailla, first enrolled in Lakota West High School, which didn’t have many STEM-based clubs. This limitation impacted me as I couldn’t fully pursue my interests. I had a deep fascination with biology and wanted to participate in science competitions like the Science Olympiad, but the absence of a related club hindered my early involvement. However, my fortunes changed when I transferred to Desert Mountain High School, which offered a wealth of extracurricular activities. If I had access to a 10-question quiz to find the perfect high school, it would have saved me valuable time and allowed me to engage in more STEM-related extracurriculars during my freshman and sophomore years. We believe that these four years of high school are incredibly formative and can have a lasting impact on our futures. Selecting a unique high school that aligns with one’s interests and goals is of paramount importance. That’s why we created Scottsdale School Scout so that middle schoolers can effortlessly discover the ideal high school for them, sparing them from hours of research or making uninformed choices.”
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.