BrainBase wins Rep. Ami Bera’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Sixth District
Rep. Bera has named Sanaya Gilra, an eighth grader at Sutter Middle School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Sixth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of BrainBase, the student said, “Before my sixth-grade year, I thought doing math was a result of the effort I put in and it didn’t have to do with how my brain worked. But when my math teacher first introduced the concept of the dominant hemisphere, I was intrigued. She taught us that we have specialized tests and learning materials on the basis of the dominant brain. I started using materials based on my dominant brain in my other classes as well, which helped me improve my grades drastically. Because the education system is so one-dimensional, many suffer from an inability to learn in a way that is beneficial to them. I decided to create a space where teenagers can gain an understanding of this science and learn in their own way. When I started implementing these techniques in my everyday life, I found the time management, organization, and better communication skills come naturally. With these skills, teenagers will be able to learn faster and use their intrinsic strengths to their advantage.”
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.