Pit-Stop wins Rep. Ken Calvert’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 41st District
Rep. Calvert has named Kieran Moylan and Jacob Nguyen of Eleanor Roosevelt High School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 41st District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Pit-Stop, the students said, “California is a vast and diverse state with rich culture and history. One of the easiest ways to explore California is by road, as people say; Only in California can you go snowboarding and surfing in one day. Road tripping around California is a fun and exciting thing to do, however along the way most people only stop for fast food and tourist locations, missing out on the rich history and places of interest along their journey. Our app hopes to allow for people to explore the higher quality local food and attractions when heading from one location to the next.”
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.