Mayflower wins Rep. Donald Norcross’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in New Jersey’s First District
Rep. Norcross has named Ethan Poon of Edison Academy Magnet School, Sanjay Ravishankar of Edison Academy Magnet School, Ronak Pathak of Cherry Hill High School East, and David Levin of Cherry Hill High School East as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in New Jersey’s First District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Mayflower, the students said, “Ethan’s mother, May, had been experiencing firsthand the difficulty of assimilating into the workforce of a new country. Our app’s name serves as a tribute to her and the app itself to the millions out there who have ever struggled with finding employment.
We aim to bridge the gap in representation and resources, the so-called networking gap by helping people who can’t write professional resumes or receive targeted interview prep. Current job apps like Linkedin and Glassdoor largely overlook this demographic and fail to provide instant help, promoting networking only for those with polished CVs and perfect interview skills.
We came across the job preparation app Monster through our friends and family who alleged that it accomplished much of what we were trying to do. We discovered, however, that the articles they provide can be difficult to synthesize, an inefficient solution in light of the powerful technology available today. Technology can truly recover from the crevice of those low income area inhabitants, immigrants, high school students, single parents, and returnees to the workforce who might have slipped in.”
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.