Environmental Tower Defense wins Rep. Joaquin Castro’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’s 20th District
Rep. Castro has named Justin Jin, an 11th grader at Louis D. Brandeis High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’s 20th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Environmental Tower Defense, the student said, “As a student who loved playing video games, I understand that traditional classroom learning often lacks the excitement and engagement that come naturally with gaming. This realization inspired me to combine the two worlds creating a fusion that offers the best of both education and entertainment. As a result, I wanted to create an app that not only captivates kids with a gaming experience, but also imparts valuable knowledge about environmental issues prevalent in today’s world. The children of our generation are growing up in a world where they will inevitably face challenges such as climate change, pollution, resource depletion and habitat destruction. It is crucial for them to learn about these challenges and their potential solutions from an age. My vision was to blend the joy of gaming, with the significance of education into one package.”
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.