Luminous wins Rep. Valerie Foushee’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s Fourth District
Rep. Foushee has named Zaina Taha, an 11th grader at Durham Academy, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in North Carolina’s Fourth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Luminous, the student said, “The primary source of inspiration for the creation of my app stems from my volunteer work at the Triangle Disability Awareness council, an organization dedicated to advancing accessibility for individuals with disabilities, with a particular focus on those who are visually impaired. Over the course of my three years volunteering for this organization, I have been able to work closely with one of the co-chairs who faces severe visual impairment. This has allowed me to witness the daily challenges he encounters, particularly in identifying the objects around him. I therefore decided to create an app that could provide support to individuals facing similar circumstances, helping them gain a better understanding of their surroundings.”
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.