Care Companion wins Rep. Haley Stevens’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s 11th District
Rep. Stevens has named Rakshan Samynathan, an 11th grader at International Academy East, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s 11th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Care Companion, the student said, “I was inspired to make the app since I had a friend with a complex medication regimen, I noticed that he had trouble with taking his medication and that resulted in him doing bad in school at times, having problems with his personal life in our friend group, at home with his siblings and parents, and even in public places, he was struggling to interact with people and complete simple tasks. I felt like I needed to do something about it, so I looked into this further and realized many people have this issue called medication non-adherence. People neglect their health leading them to neglect their relations and people/things around them and I want to make sure that everyone knows how to take care of themselves and remembers to take care of their body. Grappling with complex medication regimens, handling multiple medications, dosages, and schedules, can lead to many consequences. The lack of information about medications is another issue. There are countless news stories about accidental overdoses. Patients frequently lack knowledge about potential drug interactions, side effects, and coping strategies, which can result in fear, confusion, and negligence to follow their prescribed plans. I felt an app would be the most effective way of reaching my goals since technology can bridge the gap between healthcare providers and patients especially since our world is becoming more modernized.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
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 Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.