YouthUNITE wins Rep. Shontel Brown’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s 11th District
Rep. Brown has named Ruzanna Gaboyan of Mayfield High School, and Benjamin Jeanty of William R. Boone High School as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s 11th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of YouthUnite, the students said, “YouthUNITE is a website that helps student activists by giving them a platform to showcase their events and connect with supporters. It has a Home Page introducing our goals and an Upcoming Events page where we publish events organized by students to help them gain more support. The Learn page educates users on activism and includes inspirational stories from other student activists. On the Host an Event page, students can submit their events to be reviewed and published, with clear submission guidelines. For any questions or concerns, the users can send us messages through the Contact Us page. The site is also accessible on mobile, so students can easily use it on any device. YouthUnite amplifies student voices and makes activism more impactful.”
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.