Kathleen Rice Announces Hempstead Native As Winner of Congressional App Challenge
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY-04) today announced Gerry Stevens, a Hempstead resident and sophomore at Holy Trinity High School, as the winner of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge for New York’s 4
th Congressional District. Stevens created the “Sneaker Plaza App”, which helps consumers locate a specific shoe by searching stores in the surrounding area.
“I am proud to name Gerry Stevens as the winner of the NY-04 Congressional App Challenge competition,”
said Representative Kathleen Rice.“Gerry’s ‘Sneaker Plaza App’ showcased his excellent coding skills and innovating thinking to help consumers. Congratulations to Gerry on this impressive achievement!”
The
Congressional App Challenge (CAC) has been an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2014. Members of Congress host CAC contests in their districts for middle school and high school students to create and submit their original apps. These competitions are designed to encourage students to learn coding and inspire them to pursue careers in computer science. Since its inception, CAC has yielded 1,134 app submissions nationwide.
“I am thrilled to be recognized by Representative Rice as this year’s Congressional App Challenge winner,”
said Gerry Stevens. “I created this app to solve a problem. When a popular shoe comes out, stores sell out quickly. My app will allow people to quickly and easily search for stores that have their desired shoe in stock. I am very honored to win this award, and I hope it will motivate other students to follow their passions.”
CAC will honor this year’s student winners at its
#HouseOfCode ceremony on March 24 at the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, D.C. At the ceremony, students will hear from current lawmakers, tour the Library of Congress, and demo their apps for Representatives and the broader DC tech community. The names of the winners will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.