Rutherford Announces 2023 Congressional App Challenge Winners
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Rutherford (FL-05) announced the 2023 Congressional App Challenge winners for Florida's 5th Congressional District.
Sarah Park, enrolled at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, earned first place for her app “Spark Care+,” which provides mental wellness services to users by allowing them to select a personalized music piece based on their activity. For example, users can create music to help with relaxation, boost energy, meditate, or improve concentration.
Vandana Guru and Meghna Guru, enrolled at Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach and Switzerland Point Middle School in Jacksonville, earned second place for their app “Toast Buddies.” This app helps users overcome their fear of public speaking by receiving real-time feedback and collaboration on their performance. Users may also provide ratings and feedback to others in real-time.
Nikhil Kumar and Joseph Hadad, enrolled in Creekside High School in St. Johns, earned third place for their app “Aurora Vision,” which improves accessibility for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community by converting audio data into a visual interface. The app also transcribes spoken words, identifies familiar speakers, and alerts users to important environmental events, all while prioritizing user privacy and control over their data.
“On behalf of Florida’s 5th Congressional District, I am proud to host the annual Congressional App Challenge and encourage our students to pursue a future in STEM,” said Congressman Rutherford. “Sarah, Vandana, Meghna, Nikhil, and Joseph all show an impressive ability to combine creativity with the mechanics needed to create applications aimed at supporting others. I wish them well as they continue to exercise their talent and strive for excellence.”
The Congressional App Challenge is a nationwide competition designed to encourage student participation in computer science and coding. Student participants compete against their peers to create an application or “app” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices. The 2024 Congressional App Challenge is open to all students in Florida’s 5th Congressional District and will be open for submissions now until November 1, 2024. Learn more about the Congressional App Challenge here.
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