Oakli wins Rep. Jimmy Panetta’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 19th District
Rep. Panetta has named Caitlynn Sue, a 10th grader at Leland High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in California’s 19th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Oakli, the student said, “I was inspired to create Oakli because of my own feelings about the environment. I was worried about the impacts of humans on the environment but felt like I couldn’t do anything about my concerns because I was young. I thought it was all in the hands of adults, so I didn’t do much to make a difference. However, when I did more research, not only did I realize that my actions could make a change, but I also realized that I had many misconceptions. For example, I was putting almost any kind of plastic in our recycle bin, but I learned that small items like plastic utensils will fall through cracks in recycling machinery and should not be recycled. Furthermore, even though I cared about the environment, I didn’t consistently make sustainable decisions since there was no way to keep myself accountable. Many other people have experiences like mine. According to the UN, 84% of young people want more information to prevent climate change. Environmental education is necessary to prevent misconceptions and spur change.
I also realized that people already have busy lives, so I would have to design an app with a simple and quick interface that wouldn’t take too much time but could have a big impact. Thus, Oakli was born.”
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.