The Room Builder 3000 wins Rep. Cliff Bentz’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon’s Second District
Rep. Cliff Bentz has named Yahir Conejo-Garcia, Yael Estrada Gutierrez, and Bryson Jeppeson of Hermiston Senior High School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Oregon’s Second District.
When asked what inspired the creation of The Room Builder 3000, the students said, “We created this app at first to poke fun at our friend Yahir, then we wanted to help by making an app to build and design a room that he could use to plan out what he wanted to make. This initial shock was what launched our idea to then begin making demo after demo to show around to people and gather data on who wanted to use such an app. This tireless work on getting our idea off the grand was able to get us to progress our ideas and expand to create actual U.I. elements and expand the user experience.”
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.