CORE wins Rep. Terri Sewell’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Alabama’s Seventh District

When asked what inspired the creation of CORE, the students said, “Our inspiration for this app came from the personal experiences of one of our members, Saisha Sahoo: When I was five years old, one of my favorite things to do after coming home from school on a hot summer day was to share a Haagen-Daz bar with my mom. This was a routine we followed every so often on hot summer days. On one of these days, my mom got a call from a random number, assuming it was just a spam call. She answered it expecting it to just be an automated voice telling her that she won a 1 billion dollar prize! But, it wasn’t, it was the doctor’s office calling to let her know that she tested positive for diabetes. She was in the middle of eating her part of the ice cream and told me to finish the rest. I happily obliged, but because I was five years old and didn’t know all the complicated terms that the doctor was saying, I didn’t know why. My mom was eventually able to create lasting habits that put her on the road to recovery. The only reason she was able to do this was because she constantly had my dad throughout the entire process, reminding her of her goal, checking in on her every day, and making sure she was happy throughout. I realize now that we are lucky, because the chronic condition my mom was diagnosed with was thankfully, easily diagnosed due to her wonderful physicians, the fact that she had a support system that constantly checked in on her, and lastly that this was a chronic condition with a path to recovery. Sadly, this isn’t the case for most people with chronic illness, as most have a hard time getting diagnosed and may not have a stable support system to back them up. Our app is designed to be that support system for them, by taking data every day and providing an accurate history it lets them track which habits and medications are working for their unique conditions.”