Ignis wins Rep. Maria Salazar’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s 27th District
Rep. Salazar has named Alejandro Vides, Kush Mirchandani, and Heidi Schultz of MAST Academy as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s 27th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Ignis, the students said, “The aroma of burnt ashes filled the car. I looked out the backseat window, and all I saw was orange flames and black plumes of smoke. My dad, brother, and I were making the trip to my grandparent’s house in Tampa, Florida. Every time we would cross the Everglades, it was the same old boring seemingly endless river of grass. This time it was different. I watched in awe as fire fighters were digging trenches along the road, attempting to stop the fire from jumping. A plane flew overhead and dumped what seemed like an entire ocean of a mysterious red substance over the other side of the highway. At the age of seven, I was worried if the animals were going to be okay? Our old car didn’t let us close the exhaust and I found myself coughing through the blooms of smoke. Visibility was bad and I wondered how we made it out through?
The spark behind Ignis stemmed from the thought of my own grandparents encountering a forest fire like the Everglades Forest fire, as they lacked technological process and relied on my father’s assistance during emergencies. I decided to develop an application to provide people with advanced detection, tracking, and protection capabilities for their families in the face of devastating wildfires.”
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.