CheckPoint Student wins Rep. Scott Peters’ 2024 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 50th District
Rep. Scott Peters has named Matthew DuBois and Luke Graham of La Jolla Country Day School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 50th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of CheckPoint Student, the students said, “We are often told to find systems or processes that can be improved in our everyday lives to rethink the current way of doing things. In the case of CheckPoint Student, we consistently had Free Periods first in the day at La Jolla Country Day School, requiring us to drop what we were doing in the library and walk across campus to write our name down on a clipboard. The inspiration for CheckPoint Student was to save ourselves and our peers time at our school, and we’re already seeing the impact it has on our daily lives, which pushes us to continue improving the app. We worked closely with attendance staff for the Upper School at La Jolla Country Day to ensure that every edit we make to the dashboard benefits their workflow, as they are important end-users.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
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 the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.