BloomBud wins Rep. Tony Cardenas’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 29th District
Rep. Cardenas has named Fatima Ahmed, a 10th grader at Academy of Scientific Exploration – Cesar E. Chavez Learning Academies, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 29th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of BloomBud, the student said, “To be more eco-friendly and sustainable is a motto we must take on as global issues such as climate change begin to negatively affect communities. I’ve held this belief for years now after seeing the disproportional impact that global warming has on low-income and minority communities. So, when taking on this project, I created an essential question to answer: ‘In these trying times, what can I do to aid others to lessen their environmental impact, while also improving their quality of life?’. That is how the gardening assistant application “BloomBud” came to be. BloomBud hopes to encourage a more ‘green’ attitude with all its users, helping them pursue an enjoyable hobby like gardening that simultaneously has a positive effect on the environment. Growing plants betters the air quality, as plants will absorb the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and generate clean oxygen. Additionally, gardening is a sustainable hobby, since users won’t have to spend a lot of money to get started (besides initial purchases of seeds, pots, and soil) or create any waste when continuing. Apps like BloomBud promote environmental awareness to users in a fun and easy to understand way, while also helping them better their own quality of life with a sustainable hobby.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
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 Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.