Maze Run Fun Wins Rep. Davidson’s (OH-08) 2019 Congressional App Challenge

Rep. Warren Davidson has named four Hamilton students as the winner of the Congressional App Challenge in Ohio’s 8th district. Sam Nunn, Brett Eads, Dalton Ashcraft and Jeremy Dean submitted Maze Run Fun, teaches anyone willing to learn about cyber security while also allowing a fun environment for the user.

When asked why they were passionate about creating an app that emphasizes school safety  the student replied, “In this day and age cyber security and safety is not just something that may be recommended it is something that is required and not many people know how to stay safe on the internet. We feel that since we have the knowledge and capability to spread awareness about cyber security that we should.” They hope to encourage other students to better their communities by using their computer science skills.  

Over 10,000 students registered for the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 2,177 functioning apps, marking the end of the most successful Congressional App Challenge to date. All told, 304 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, D.C.

The CAC is an 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. The non-profit Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental staffing and support. In the five years of the Congressional App Challenge, the program has yielded 1134 App Challenges across 48 states. Thousands of functional apps have been created by over 25,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.