CivQuiz wins Rep. Andy Harris’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Maryland’s First District
Rep. Harris has named Nicholas Burleson of Queen Anne’s County High school and Tanner Lyon of Tanner Lyon as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Maryland’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of CivQuiz, the students said, “Throughout my life I have learned many things through my observations, one observation of crucial importance to me though is that the youth seems to not partake in civics anymore. Confused by this observation I thought back to my studies and understood that many could see the learning styles in this course being confined to a textbook. One thing became clear: civic education needed a revitalization. Understanding that something needed to change I took this issue into my own hands to inspire students all across the country in the field of civics. To combat this issue I developed CivQuiz. CivQuiz is more than just an app – it’s an interactive, visually stunning, and enjoyable tool designed to cater to various learning styles. Due to it being very versatile, it can be used in many different educational contexts, providing crucial tools for educators and learners alike. I aspire for CivQuiz to become a sense of inspiration for the youth across the nation. I desire for the youth to embrace civics as a subject but more importantly, recognize its relevance it has on their daily lives. Making these desires a reality CivQuiz strives to empower the next generation of informed and active citizens.”
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.