Jot wins Rep. Gerald Connolly’s (VA-11) 2020 Congressional App Challenge

Rep. Gerald Connolly has named Darius Kianersi, Tony Tran, Aaron Amartuvshin, and Bryant Park from Thomas Jefferson High School For Science And Technology as the winners of the 2020 Congressional App Challenge in (VA-11). 

When asked what inspired the creation of Jot, the students said, “Mental health has always been a prominent issue in our community, and teenagers in general, are experiencing the highest rates of depression. Furthermore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns over mental health have been exacerbated by the resulting isolation and loneliness. We know from personal experience that journaling can help deal with stress and improve mental health, so we wanted to devise a solution to make journaling more accessible and friendly to all.”

Over 6,500 students registered for the 2020 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 3,088 functioning apps, marking the end of an extremely successful Congressional App Challenge amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All told, 308 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 49 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, DC.

The CAC is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host competitions 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 Internet Education Foundation provides the CAC with supplemental support. In the six years of the Congressional App Challenge, thousands of functional apps have been created by over 30,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.