SignMe wins Rep. Jamie Raskin’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Maryland’s Eighth District
Rep. Raskin has named Sreeyan Nampally and Cody Gao of Thomas S. Wootton High School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Maryland’s Eighth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of SignMe, the students said, “In elementary school, I had a friend whose parents were both deaf and mute. I was always struck by the unique way in which he could effortlessly communicate with them using American Sign Language (ASL). To him, it was second nature, a language of love and understanding. But for anyone else attempting to converse with his parents, it was an entirely different story, often filled with frustration and miscommunication.
I vividly recall moments when we would visit his house, the stark contrast between the fluent exchanges he shared with his parents in ASL and the limited, often awkward attempts the rest of us made using spoken language. It was evident that a significant communication gap existed, not due to a lack of willingness but because of the stark linguistic divide between ASL and spoken language.
As I grew older, this experience lingered in my mind. I couldn’t help but think about the broader implications of this language barrier. How many individuals and families have faced similar challenges in their daily lives due to the lack of accessibility and understanding between ASL and spoken language? This thought became the seed of inspiration for me. Many kids at school also have this disability, and it creates a gaping hole between them and other kids their age. In order to try and solve this problem, we created this app.”
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.