PrideGuru wins Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s (NY-12) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

When asked what inspired the creation of PrideGuru, the student said, “I was inspired to create this app because I wanted a resource that people could show their parents after coming out. A few of my friends came out to their parents and they were not very supportive. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to improve a situation by using my technology skills. The idea is that if kids had something to show their parents after coming out, maybe their parents would be more accepting.”

Over 6,500 students registered for the 2020 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 3,088 functioning apps, marking the end of an extremely successful Congressional App Challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, 308 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, DC.

The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host competitions 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. The Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental support. In the six years of the Congressional App Challenge, thousands of functional apps have been created by over 30,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.