MAGNAtech FRC Crescendo Robot Code wins Rep. Julia Letlow’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Louisiana’s Fifth District
Rep. Julia Letlow has named Gabriel Philippi, Brady Afeman, Gavin DiCarlo, and Shaik Ateeb of West Monroe High School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Louisiana’s Fifth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of MAGNAtech FRC Crescendo Robot Code, the students said, “This summer, our inexperienced members rewrote sections of the code allowing them to compare their individual code to the competition code that is published on the team’s GitHub. By teaching our inexperienced members, we provided the opportunity for our team to perform better at competitions. We are inspired to develop this app using Java programming language to make any changes made during short time frames easier to push the code from GitHub to the robot. Using this programming language not only helps improve our team, but it better prepares them for future careers in STEM, benefiting the community.”
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.