EMTY wins Rep. Adriano Espaillat’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in New York’s 13th District
Rep. Adriano Espaillat has named Aarush Kumar of Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, Jett Rosado of NYC Lab School, Srinath Neelamagam of Townsend Harris High School, and Trinity Parris of Convent of the Sacred Heart as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in New York’s 13th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of EMTY, the students said, “We had a project presentation for the first period of school, and my train that morning got delayed. The train was delayed 30 minutes, so we sat around hoping the time the screen was telling me was just an error. Enough time went by and we were forced to walk to the bus. We all ended up being 25 minutes late and walked into class seeing each of our groups walking back to their seats after already presenting. We ended up getting a 0 for the presentation grade but that wasn’t even the worst part. Walking into class late felt so humiliating, and it had been completely out of my control. We thought of this app to help users gain more control over their commute, hopefully making it faster.”
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.